Greeting

“Thanks,” Frank said, taking a maple bar from the box. “Frank, this is Carlos,” Sasha said. “Carlos is an experienced agile coach. We’ve brought him in to help us as we learn to work in this new, agile way.” Frank and Carlos shook hands and exchanged greetings. “It looks like everyone is here except Rose,” Frank said. “Let’s go ahead and get started. We can fill her in later. We probably won’t talk about the artwork much in this meeting anyway.” “We can’t start, Frank,” Carlos said. “This is important

and famous, I looked at him, without the spectacles, in surprise, and admiration, and wondered how your neighbor over the way had been so entirely untouched by his homage. I watched their intercourse in society, I saw her gay smile, her cordial greeting; I marked his frank address, his lofty courtesy. Their manner told no tales. The Best American Humorous Short Stories, by Various eager world was balked, and I pulled out my spectacles. 52 "I had seen her, already, and now I saw him. He

strangers We have fallen so low, so low. And the poor shake of the hand Victim of an inhuman fate Went to finish its career Impounded by the law. Georges Brassens -239- The Rose, the Bottle and the Handshake- the outlawing of warm spontaneous greetings by political correctness Brassens deplores the fact that spontaneous gestures of friendliness and goodwill that were quite normal in the past are increasingly seen as suspect and are even being proscribed by the contemporary social code. He describes

the ensuing query 'Gavagai?'. ____________________ file://E:\Incoming\quine.1960.word_and_object.html 28/4/2007 Página 24 de 200 3See Firth, Elements of Social Organization, p. 23, on the analogous matter of identifying a gesture of greeting. -30- § 8. STIMULATION AND STIMULUS MEANING It is important to think of what prompts the native's assent to 'Gavagai?' as stimulations and not rabbits. Stimulation can remain the same though the rabbit be supplanted by a counterfeit. Conversely

abroad, in the manner indicated in number 1, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine. (2) Symbols, within the meaning of subsection (1), shall be, in particular, flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting. Symbols which are so similar as to be mistaken for those named in sentence 1 shall be deemed to be equivalent thereto. (3) Section 86 subsections (3) and (4), shall apply accordingly. 215 Regarding the principle of freedom of speech see: Tedford/HerbeckHaiman