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What's the difference or different hues of meaning between these three phrases?

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I think you mean "corporeal," not "corporal." – KitFox♦ Feb 10 '12 at 15:22
Isn't this more for philosophy.SE? – Mitch Feb 10 '12 at 16:03
A "corporal world" is the equivalent of the officers' club, but for two-stripers. :-) – Jay Feb 13 '12 at 21:25

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In common usage, they all mean pretty much the same thing. In a specific philosophical or religious context they might have distinct meanings, but as Mitch says in his comment, if you want to get into that this probably isn't the right site.

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Ah! I see. Thank you. NO, I just thought that they all have a very clear difference in common usage. – brilliant Feb 10 '12 at 16:16
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No. Most words don't have clear meaning differences in any usage. In fact, most words have many meanings, depending on their context and use; the illusion of precise differentiation is achieved more by presupposition, implication, and misdirection. – John Lawler Feb 10 '12 at 17:08
@John - Do you think, though, that in some contexts using one of these three would be more often than the other two? For example, "corporeal" might be more fitting in a theological doctrinal body-vs-soul topics, while "material" would fit more in a secular virtue-vs-money topics. It doesn't strike me as very likely that Madonna would as well sing "I am a material girl, living in a corporeal world" instead of "material world". – brilliant Feb 11 '12 at 5:37
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@brilliant The phrase "material world" refers to the physical, corporeal world. If you say, "Madonna is a very material girl" you mean she is very interested in money. It's two different, unrelated definitions of the word. I assume the song was intended to be something of a pun on this: I'm a material (greedy) person living in a material (corporeal) world. (A surprisingly sophisticated pun for a pop tune, now that you bring it up.) continued ... – Jay Feb 13 '12 at 16:21
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(continued) Similarly, the word "materialism" can mean "greed", or it can also refer to the philosophical theory that the material world is the only reality there is, i.e. there is no such thing as the supernatural, souls, etc. – Jay Feb 13 '12 at 16:22
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