Parliament of Things

Bruno Latour is the philosopher behind the title of this wiki. On this wiki we Idea Mine a range of disciplines around the notion that science, law, media and politics can be remixed in new and potentially fruitful ways.

# What is a Thing?

A thing is an abstract term. In common parlance, it is a general term we use to refer to an object. The modern meaning takes it's lead from the referential theory of meaning - Wikipedia .

Interestingly however the original sense of the word "thing" is that of a gathering or political assembly. A Thingstead was an early law court. The meaning of a "thing" in this sense is a political definition, and it would seem by looking at the history of legal terminology, we can see how this softer deliberative meaning, became codified.

# Thing as Assembly

Witgenstein famously argued against referentialism, famously saying that:

> The meaning of a word is its use > > Wittgenstein see Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy .

A Chose in Action is a Common Law legal definition derived form the French meaning Thing in Action.