One of the foremost thinkers of our time, Noam Chomsky, has argued that the United States is a rogue state. To arrive at this conclusion, he applied the definition the U.S. government uses to identify rogue states. A quibble about semantics? Certainly not, if by that we mean an insignificant argument. Much rather it is an example of the eminently political nature of determining the meaning of words and how they relate to facts.
This relationship is at the heart of the most influential current of Eastern philosophy. In "Analects," Confucius explains the fundamental importance of language to politics. He taught that "if we don't use the correct words we live public lies. If we live public lies the political system is a sham." The "rectification of names" was, therefore, the noblest and most important task to secure just government and harmonious social organization.
Centuries of Confucian and Neo-Confucian teachings have revolved around this all important issue of how the world is, and should be, grasped through the categories that find expression in language. Within this tradition, early modern Japanese philosopher Ogyu Sorai (1666-1728) occupies a pre-eminent position.