- NEW!
by Chezter is going to save the Redheads on October 29th, 2007
I believe it is, we are what we were created for. Same as if the world ends and you are the last man on earth. Are you still a man even though there are no women?
Both may cease to be able to fulfill their purpose, but they are in essence still what they were created for IMO :-)
by GiraffeyedDonor-ish on October 29th, 2007
uuh, sure! It has to be a key for something...even if it's a key to aid in opening a letter or something like that!
(Just for the reference, I like old fashioned keys...)
by Barcaluv on October 29th, 2007
Yes : )
by Drastic on October 29th, 2007
Sure! If I made a pen with no ink, it's still a pen. Right?
by ...... on October 29th, 2007
another if a tree fell type question. I say it knows not what else to be except what it was designed to be.
by Kiss A Fat Babys Ass on October 29th, 2007
yes it is. Thats like that saying "if a tree falls in the woods on a bear shitting in the woods" well I don't remember how it goes but yes its still a key.
by rachel. StarsInAPortraitIcecreamInTheSky on October 29th, 2007
Yes because it still is who it is and can feel its purpose.
Its like a relationship that is put on hold because of life circumstances. The feelings it brings and the wants are still there, although there not a reality. An w/ the key, the key still has its purpose to unlock something, even though it can't. It is still real, and its presence can be like a reminder that in a relationship that had to end or go on break right now, that you can still feel the way you feel w/ the person in a sense, even if there not there.
-the key keeps the essence of what it means to open something alive
-it reminds you that your feelings are ok and real..and it can even give hope to the future.
-and the key is a resemblance of something beautiful, it reminds you that your not supposed to forget about the experience you feel when you open something and feel alive, or when you open your heart to someone and feel alive w/ that person.
by Israel on February 8th, 2008
then what would you name it nothing? it is something? right? so it is a key, because that was its purpose, it is just not useful anymore.
by koldkanuck on December 12th, 2007
Is a lock still a lock if the key is lost.
by football_player19 on October 29th, 2007
A key without a lock to unlock is like a boat without a sea to sail. So, no.
by VSPrasad on February 11th, 2008
At present, it may appear that there is nothing to unlock. But we do not know what the future holds for us.
A key in hand is better than none.
by fyrespryte on November 2nd, 2007
No. It is just some nicely fashioned metal.
"Key- a small metal instrument specially cut to fit into a lock and move its bolt."
It can't be a key then.
by Patti jo on November 2nd, 2007
Great question and that could go either way , yes and no ' I think just depends if the key finds the lock one day
+ 5
by Snowman on October 29th, 2007
Yes
by Anna on October 29th, 2007
Most definately
by Sandman on September 5th, 2009
Depends whether you can sing in the new key, say F minor, for example.
by Gusty540 on December 14th, 2008
If you define a key as something used to open a lock, then if there's nothing to unlock the key no longer fits the definition and ceases to be a key. We might call it an inanimate object. It would still meet your stereotype of a key if you saw it but could not be defined as a key. If a lock was made later for the key to work in, it would again meet the requirements to be a key.
by Mario--leaving AB for a while on December 10th, 2008
hmmm good question. well i dont know really, but i would assume that the sole purpsose of a key IS to unlock somethig so why would a key be made if it was not matched to anything to unlock?
by nantucketboy123 on November 22nd, 2008
I am going to say no. For it to be a key it needs to unlock something. If that doesn't exist, neither does the key.
by Odinne on November 21st, 2008
if this was meant to be a utilitarian question,then no. it stops being a key. physicality does not mean identity. man is not man just because it looks like a man. but answering a question like this, which concerns an object, should not be clumsily answered to make a comparison with man's condition. with objects, there should be purpose before it is created, that is, essence precedes existence. with man, existence precedes essence. man BECOMES man. if we are to assume that we were created for something, and reduce ourselves to mere blobs of caged purpose created by someone else (because only that could be assumed considering we did not wish to be born, and the fact that we were not even there to make any choice), then we are no different from a dead object.
by dcman91 on November 15th, 2008
if by nothing to unlock u mean that a lock was never created, then wouldnt the key not exist either becuse a key was created to unlock a lock but if no lock was created then there was no key created either.
by hhhttt on September 22nd, 2008
It could go either
No. It is a peice of metal in an odd shape.
Yes. It can be used to open something else. (Letter Opener)
by technios on September 20th, 2008
it is simply a mystery if you do not know where the lock to unlock is... chances are there is a lock or else the key would have not been made
by clancydog on September 20th, 2008
i don't think it is. i think you define something by its purpose rather than it's appearance. if it looks like a key but doesn't unlock anything, i don't think it is a key.
by Nightwatchdog on September 6th, 2008
A "key" is always a "key" - if the lock is open, broken or missing then it may be called a "useless key" untill another use is found for it. Would you call a key a "candybar" if it was unable to open something? Perhaps the key would work in another lock someplace else - most likely it would - as there are only a finite number of lock combinations in current use.
A key is a key is a key. If it was made as a key it is called a key.
Is a car not a car if it dosn't work? Is the Titanic still not a ship even though it has sunk?
by LookOverThere on September 3rd, 2008
Why not? It may simply be useless, but nevertheless, a key.
by LANGIE on June 1st, 2008
thats a good question
by Universe Of Life on June 1st, 2008
Yes! ... as is the lock still a lock without a key
by mac-mac on June 1st, 2008
yes.. because it is what it is made for.
by Everything. Nothing. on May 28th, 2008
If there is nothing to unlock, it would not have been a key in the first place.
I believe the real key is to find something to unlock.
by inari. on May 26th, 2008
yes. the object remains a key, its just now without purpose. But it still remains what it essentially is.
by PirateSavvy on May 13th, 2008
Everyone is going to have their different perspectives, but I for one believe that it is still a key. Just because it lost its purpose, does not mean that it lost its identity.
A lot of people who think that it's no longer a key, say that it's just a piece of metal formed like a key. But I think they are just contradicting themselves. Because in the end, it will always be seen or called a key whether or not it lost its purpose.
by Sweet T on April 20th, 2008
It is a key, sometimes there are hidden locks that you havent found.
by MvL on April 20th, 2008
Very nice question.
I think, like many interesting philosophical questions, it ultimately can be answered by examining how we use and mean different words. The word "key" is used, often interchangeably, in two distinct semantic senses.
The first is that of an object that would be visually recognized as having the shape and form of what we are taught to generally identify as "key". So here, semantically, we are categorizing it based on its appearance - it's shape.
The second is that of fuctionality. "Key" in this semantic context means something capable of opening one or more locks, or, perhaps more specifically and unambiguously, something capable of opening and specifically designed to open one or more locks (to avoid including lockpicks in this semantic functional category of "keys"). Here we categorize it based on its function - it's purpose.
A key that is not designed to fit any lock would still be a key in the first semantic sense (by appearance-recognition), but not a key in the second semantic sense (by purpose / function). On the other hand, there may be keys that open highly irregular locks, or electronic keys that unlock both physical and/or computerized locks, that we would not recognize normally in the first semantic category (based on their shapes), but that we would recognize in the second semantic category (because they serve to unlock).
Fun question.
by Xpianus on April 9th, 2008
no if the lock is destroyed and it still lives it must either have or find new purpose
by philosopher-saint on April 7th, 2008
Is a doobie a doobie if you haven't a match? ;-)
by HybRiD on April 6th, 2008
An appendix is still an appendix, yet it serves no purpose.
by Mr Wibblesworth on April 5th, 2008
Yes, because you've already defined the object as a key.
Your question was of the form "Is x=x, if condition y holds?". x=x is a self-evident logical truth, so the consequent of the conditional is true and thus the whole statement works out to be true - regardless of condition y's truth or falsity. Condition y can say anything it wants, even be totally contradictory or logically impossible, and the statement is still true, simply because all keys are keys.
The real question is: if there exists nothing to be unlocked, how did you make the first step to identifying the object as being a key? So "a key-like object that would be a key in a world containing objects for it to unlock" may not be a key in a world with no 'unlockables', but an object known or defined to be a key would be, IF it existed.
by chantal on April 2nd, 2008
the essence of the key is to unlock things... if there is nothing to unlock then it is nothing but a metal made in a key form... lol! did i make sense?
by Anonymous on March 26th, 2008
That's a futile response there. The question which is at hand here is whether the key actually has a purpose if it cannot be fullfilled and therefore defeating its purpose. Should it be called something else then?
by Who? on March 26th, 2008
According to Merriam-Webster Online the definition of key is:
1 a: a usually metal instrument by which the bolt of a lock is turned
b: any of various devices having the form or function of such a key
2 a: a means of gaining or preventing entrance, possession, or control
b: an instrumental or deciding factor
3 a: something that gives an explanation or identification or provides a solution <the key to a riddle>
b: a list of words or phrases giving an explanation of symbols or abbreviations
c: an aid to interpretation or identification : clue
d: an arrangement of the salient characters of a group of plants or animals or of taxa designed to facilitate identification e: a map legend
4 a (1): cotter pin (2): cotter
b: a keystone in an arch
c: a small piece of wood or metal used as a wedge or for preventing motion between parts
5 a: one of the levers of a keyboard musical instrument that actuates the mechanism and produces the tones
b: a lever that controls a vent in the side of a woodwind instrument or a valve in a brass instrument
c: a part to be depressed by a finger that serves as one unit of a keyboard
6: samara
7: a system of tones and harmonies generated from a hierarchical scale of seven tones based on a tonic <the key of G major>
8 a: characteristic style or tone
b: the tone or pitch of a voice
c: the predominant tone of a photograph with respect to its lightness or darkness
9: a decoration or charm resembling a key
10: a small switch for opening or closing an electric circuit <a telegraph key>
11: the set of instructions governing the encipherment and decipherment of messages
12: a free-throw area in basketball
If you mean a key by definition 1, then no. It is now a key by definition 9.
So basically, it is no longer a key, but now it is a key.
by iwnit on March 24th, 2008
Well, maybe there is something to lock?
by philosopher-saint on March 23rd, 2008
imho, either a useless piece of metal or useless information.
by Matthewisdom on March 19th, 2008
Why was it made?
by friend2umon on March 16th, 2008
a cause is a cause because of its effect...; so are either key or lock cause or effect?
...it seems that they are both effect...manifested because of a thought of what seems to be...
...so the key will therefore remain a key, despite the presence or absence of a lock, until its cause is gone...
by Symbeline on March 16th, 2008
It's still recognized as a key even if it has nothing to unlock.
by XGAAHDX on March 15th, 2008
by assigning names to things we are commiting the fundamental attribution error. Anything is what it can be used for regardless of what men call it. A key with a lock is more than just a key.
by jeanie16 on March 11th, 2008
of course. It can be no other thing. It does not need a lock to be a key.
by pritstick on March 10th, 2008
It depends on what th edefinition of a key is?
How do you define a key?
by stolfa on February 21st, 2008
A key could be vocal.. for example, an entry word for a locked room, (say the right word and you are let in).. if that room becomes eternally open. the vocal key once used is no longer a key, but simply a word again.
Just as a material formed into a physical key, for a door where the lock it was made for no longer exists, in essence, is just that material again, but still looks like what we view to be a key.
And if you cut up a piece of metal into a shape that you think looks like a key, it is just a piece of metal still, just in the shape of a key. which is exactly what a key that did unlock something becomes if it no longer does. Taking aside the fact you could create a lock for the key, at that moment in time when it has nothing to unlock, it just looks and feels like what we view to be a key, but actually isn't one.
so really when you see a key that you dont know actually unlocks something, you don't know whether it is a key or not, or just looks like one.
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Comments
Very interesting. Thank you.
by - retroglide - on October 29th, 2007
ahh.. A key has a significant purpose. It either unlocks something, or did unlock something; but what if the key had no purpose from the beginning.. is it still called a key ?
Why was mankind created.. ? seems like you posess the answers philosophers are still having trouble answering with an example like that. :)
by Joyeux on May 26th, 2008
If man was named after a purpose.. and that purpose doesn’t exist anymore.. than no.. we wouldn’t be considered man anymore. :P
by Joyeux on May 26th, 2008
But then what if that purpose returned? The man himself has not changed at all, so wasn't he in essence always a man? This is where opinions based on inner influences vs. outside influences bring the subject to a stalemate ;)
by Chezter is going to save the Redheads on May 26th, 2008
Hmmmm. Interesting. But; If only the purpose returns, then your correct.. But if it doesn’t return, man himself wouldn’t change, but the name behind it would. Just a specie, not a man.
but thinking about it more… yeah... probably a stalemate subject between the two... which sux.
by Joyeux on May 26th, 2008