I appreciate what you're saying; it's only the first paragraph and he wants to nail some initial things down that he sees as straightforward context or examples

I appreciate what you're saying; it's only the first paragraph and he wants to nail some initial things down that he sees as straightforward context or examples. But it is not straightforward to me. Or, in my impression, most philosophers. I'm reluctant to agree that aliens will assign any importance or even understand concepts like geometry or calculus. So to me, it is not preliminary context but it is a critical part of the discussion.