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There are many political, cultural, and geographical definitions of Europe. Sometimes Israel is a part of Europe, and sometimes a small part of Kazakhstan is in

There are many political, cultural, and geographical definitions of Europe. Sometimes Israel is a part of Europe, and sometimes a small part of Kazakhstan is in Europe. Sometimes the EU, the EEA, the Schengen Area, and the Eurozone are also called Europe, even though they cover only a part of Europe. It's as if Europeans deliberately wanted to make life difficult for people who believe in categories.

Scarblac 5y ago
We don't go as far as having one country regularly referring to itself as "Europe" though.
rob74 5y ago
It's not Europeans who are trying to do that, it's careless journalists like the author of this article. I'm European, and for me if you talk about Europe, you are still referring to the continent (which however has its own issues, as it takes up only a part of the land mass known as Eurasia, which leads to some countries like Russia and Turkey being partly located in Europe). Any other entity that gets conflated with "Europe" (the EU, the Schengen Area etc.) should be referred to by that name...
- jltsiren 5y ago
  Europeans also do it all the time. For example, when I still lived in Finland, going to Europe meant traveling to the continental Europe south of the Baltic Sea. Finland was not in Europe, Sweden was not in Europe, the UK was not in Europe, and Denmark was a borderline case. Poland was the northern and eastern limit of Europe. Mediterranean beach resorts were also not in Europe, but nearby cities were again borderline cases. And when I read Finnish news, the EU is usually referred to either as "EU" or "Eurooppa". The actual name "Euroopan unioni" is too long, and it takes a lot of effort to write it and even more effort to say it.
afiori 5y ago
The Categories Were Made For Man, Not Man For The Categories: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-made-for-man-not-man-for-the-categories/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-ma...

Scarblac 5y ago

We don't go as far as having one country regularly referring to itself as "Europe" though.

rob74 5y ago

It's not Europeans who are trying to do that, it's careless journalists like the author of this article. I'm European, and for me if you talk about Europe, you are still referring to the continent (which however has its own issues, as it takes up only a part of the land mass known as Eurasia, which leads to some countries like Russia and Turkey being partly located in Europe). Any other entity that gets conflated with "Europe" (the EU, the Schengen Area etc.) should be referred to by that name...

jltsiren 5y ago
Europeans also do it all the time. For example, when I still lived in Finland, going to Europe meant traveling to the continental Europe south of the Baltic Sea. Finland was not in Europe, Sweden was not in Europe, the UK was not in Europe, and Denmark was a borderline case. Poland was the northern and eastern limit of Europe. Mediterranean beach resorts were also not in Europe, but nearby cities were again borderline cases. And when I read Finnish news, the EU is usually referred to either as "EU" or "Eurooppa". The actual name "Euroopan unioni" is too long, and it takes a lot of effort to write it and even more effort to say it.

afiori 5y ago

The Categories Were Made For Man, Not Man For The Categories: https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-made-for-man-not-man-for-the-categories/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/11/21/the-categories-were-ma...