Open texture is the potential for vagueness, not vagueness itself
Evidence
It is worth stressing that “open texture” is not the same as vagueness, but is rather the characteristic of any language, even the most precise language, to become vague in the face of unforeseen applications. Open texture is not vagueness but is rather the omnipresent possibility of vagueness. — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 690
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines Waismann/Hart’s ‘open texture’ as capacity-to-become-vague, distinct from actual vagueness.
- XREF: Connects to the core/penumbra distinction and Hart’s legal positivism discussed elsewhere in this chapter. — connects to: Open-textured relevant mysteries outcompete fully explained concepts culturally; Vagueness itself functions as an instrument of domination — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 114