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Post by rmarks1 on Sept 5, 2018 14:13:22 GMT -5
“Clearness and vividness in writing often turn on mere specificity. To say that Major André was hanged is clear and definite; to say that he as killed is less definite, because you do not know in what way he was killed; to say that he died is still more indefinite because you do not even know whether his death was due to violence or to natural causes. If we were to use this statement as a varying symbol by which to rank writers for clearness, we might, I think, get something like the following: Swift, Macauley, and Shaw would say that André was hanged. Bradley would say that he was killed. Bosanquet would say that he died. Kant would say that his mortal existence achieved its termination. Hegel would say that a finite determination of infinity had been further determined by its own negation.”
Source: Brand Blanshard, On Philosophical Style, Manchester University Press, 1954, pp. 30-31.
Bob
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Post by raybar on Sept 5, 2018 14:30:48 GMT -5
"a finite determination of infinity had been further determined by its own negation."
Language like that is the reason I seldom read philosophy.
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Post by rmarks1 on Sept 8, 2018 22:33:41 GMT -5
"a finite determination of infinity had been further determined by its own negation." Language like that is the reason I seldom read philosophy.
The problem is that philosophy is supposed to teach people how to think. Yet the entire field is filled with nonsense.
Bob
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Post by faskew on Sept 10, 2018 8:09:49 GMT -5
I took several philosophy classes in college, hoping to learn things. All I learned was how to argue about what words mean. No actual information. 8-<
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