open texture

== English == === Etymology === Coined by Austrian philosopher Friedrich Waismann in 1945. === Noun === open texture (philosophy) A philosophical concept that refers to the universal possibility of imprecision in empirical statements. (law) The phenomenon that legal rules are a function of language and are thus subject to attempts at definition of vague or interpretative terms. ==== Usage notes ==== The philosophical concept of open texture differs slightly from that of vagueness. For instance, the term "mother" is not vague, but can be made to seem imprecise (read "open-textured") if one draws a distinction between the mother who produces the ovum, the one who carries the fetus, and the one who delivers the baby. [1]