A Dennettian Ode

 

We know not what spurs our habits,

Our compulsions, our drives.

Most thought hides; we are but abbots,

Stewards of sacred hives;

Served by legions of selfless monks,

Who follow a scripture

Written by idiots and drunks.

The mind is a picture.

Morphological Mayhem

STUDY THIS CLOSELY AND BEHOLD UTTER CHAOS

Any third parenthetical argument following a verb is a notable, regular, inconstant feature.

The un-inflected and suffixal varieties of the free morphemes "pos-" and "pound"

pose (verb; transitive);  pose (verb; intransitive, "for"), pose (noun), posit (verb; transitive, "that-clause"), posit (noun), position (verb; transitive, reflexive), position (noun)

pound (verb; intransitive, "on"), pound (verb; transitive), pound (noun)

The most promiscuous prefix groups using these varieties

propose (verb; intransitive), propose (verb; transitive), proposal (noun), proposition (verb; transitive), proposition (noun)

propound (verb; transitive)

expose (verb; transitive, reflexive), exposure (noun), exposition (noun), expository (adjective)

expound (verb; intransitive, "on"), expound (verb; transitive)

impose (verb; transitive, reflexive), impose (verb; intransitive, "on"), imposing (adjective), imposition (noun)

impound (verb; transitive)

dispose (verb; intransitive, "of"), disposition (noun), disposal (noun), disposal (adjective)

depose (verb; transitive), deposition (noun), deposit (verb; transitive), deposit (noun)

DOES NOT EXIST: proposit (noun), proposit (verb), proposure (noun), propository (adjective), proposing (adjective), proposal (adjective), exposition (verb; transitive), exposal (noun), exposal (adjective), exposit (verb), exposit (noun), expose (noun) [we had to borrow French "exposé"!], exposing (adjective), impository (adjective), imposal (noun), imposal (adjective), imposit (verb), imposit (noun), impose (noun) [we had to borrow French "impôt"], imposition (verb; transitive), dispound (verb), dispository (adjective), disposit (verb; transitive), disposit (noun), dispose (noun), disposition (verb, transitive), disposing (adjective), depound (verb), depository (adjective), deposal (noun), deposal (adjective), depose (noun), deposition (verb; transitive), deposing (adjective)

Other Pairs with Semantically Related Prefixes:

compose (verb; transitive), composite (noun), composite (adjective), composition (noun), compound (verb; transitive), compound (noun)

oppose (verb; transitive), opposite (adjective) [pronounced with different stress!], opposition (noun)

DOES NOT EXIST: opposite (noun), oppound (verb; transitive), oppound (noun)

 

suppose (verb; transitive, "that-clause"), supposition (noun), suppository (noun)

superpose (verb; transitive), superposition (noun)

DOES NOT EXIST: superpose (verb, transitive, "that-clause"), superpository (noun)

 

transpose (verb; transitive), transposition (noun)

interpose (verb; transitive, reflexive), interposition (noun) [rare]