You need to pin down an object of study, a first principle from which other principles can emerge, and part of the process is to say, "Hey, it's not literature we're talking about.

首要原则是，需要锁定要谈论，即学习的目标，可是，谁知道什么是文学。

耶鲁公开课 - 文学理论导论课程节选

So it's not that the result is going to be that I'm going to try to convince you that death isn't bad, but it takes actually a little bit of work to pin down precisely what is it about death that's bad and how can it be death?

所以，这么说,并不是我试图让你相信死亡不是坏事，但是这的确要花点时间来准确地说清楚,什么让死亡成了坏事，和怎样才算死亡？

耶鲁公开课 - 死亡课程节选