So that we're clear on the stakes we're playing for here, I'll respond to a common meme going around.
When someone says that what we're discussing is
"mere semantics"
or that we're
"playing semantic games"
my response is
Semantics is the study of meaning.
What could possibly be more important than learning how to find meaning in, and to make meaning out of, the universe around us?
We're going to get deep into the semantic woods as we explore this issue, so I will make a point of explicitly grounding it in why that semantic meaning-making is so important to us, as we go along.