But is it not right
to say that in any case the person who talks both of conscious and
unconscious thoughts thereby uses the word
“thoughts” in two different ways? Do we
use a hammer in two different ways when we hit a nail with it
and, on the other hand, drive a peg into a hole? And
do we use it in two different ways or in the same way when we drive
this peg into this hole and, on the other hand, another peg into
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another
hole? Or should we only call it different uses when in
one case we drive something into something and in the other, say,
we smash something? Or is this all using the hammer in
one way and is it to be called a different way only when we use the
hammer as a paper weight? ‒ ‒ ‒ In which cases are we
to say that a word is used in two different ways and in which
that it is used in one way? To say that a word is used
in two (or more) different ways does in itself not yet give
us any idea about its use. It only specifies a way of
looking at this usage by providing a schema for its description
with two (or more) subdivisions. It is all right
to say: “I do
two things with this
hammer: I drive a nail into this board and one into
that board”. But I could also have said:
“I am doing only one thing with this hammer; I
am driving a nail into this board and one into that
board”. There can be two kinds of discussions
as to “whether a word is used in one way or in two
ways”: (a) Two people may discuss whether
the English word “cleave” is only used for
chopping up something or also for joining things together.
This is a discussion about the acts of a certain actual
usage. (b) They may discuss whether
the word “altus”, standing for
“deep” and “high” is
thereby used in two different ways. This
question is analogous to the question whether the word
“thought” is used in two ways or in one when we
talk of conscious and unconscious thought. The man who
says “surely, these are two different usages” has
already decided to use a two-way
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schema, and what he said
expressed this decision.