Intended Meaning
Extravagance here means exceeding the dividing line between what is lawful and what is forbidden. The meaning is that when a person exceeds this limit, they enter the sphere of the prohibited, not merely making something greater than what is needed.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: definitional
- Argument movement: Extravagance is exceeding the dividing line between the lawful and the forbidden.
- Central terms: extravagance, limit, lawful, forbidden.
- Degree of centrality: subsidiary.
The atom presents a boundary definition of extravagance, linking it to transgression rather than mere excess. This definition helps regulate behavior within the scope of legislation.
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Basis
- Supporting text: “Extravagance: exceeding the dividing line between the lawful and the forbidden.”
Location of the Basis in the Book
- Book: Drying Up the Springs of Terrorism.
- Location: in the first section of the book, within his discussion of extravagance and wastefulness.
- Type of basis: close evidence.
- Verification marker: exceeding the dividing line between the lawful and the forbidden
- Reading note: This passage is suitable as evidence because it explains extravagance as transgressing the dividing line between the lawful and the forbidden.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: the formulation above is an analytical summary, and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted word for word.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports a larger conclusion in the chapter or prepares for it.
Editorial Note
It is read within the network of limits, not as a purely linguistic issue.