Meaning and Purpose: Same or Different?

Lou Marinoff in his delightful book entitled Plato, Not Prozac muses over the difference between meaning and purpose by providing an excellent metaphor. Imagine you go to a French restaurant to order some food. If you do not understand French, the menu will not have any meaning for you, even though it will still serve its purpose. Thus one can find purpose without meaning. On the other hand, if you understand French just fine but the prices are so high that you cannot afford to buy anything, then the menu means something to you but serves no purpose. So you can find meaning without purpose. Now imagine someone who has never been in a restaurant and does not know French. The menu will have no meaning for him and serve no purpose. And finally if a person instead of ordering food begins to eat the menu, then it will be case of confusing meaning with purpose. ReplyForward