A Syllogism for You
The syllogism below shouldn't pose great problems for you. However, give it some thought and indicate what is wrong with it, if anything.
Nothing is better than complete happiness.
A tomato sandwich is better than nothing.
A tomato sandwich is better than complete happiness.
posted by Patrick @ 10:08 PM
1 Comments:
I like this -- it reminds me of a sentence that has always perplexed me, from Herman Melville's short story, "Bartleby the Scrivener." Somewhere in the story, the narrator comments, "Nothing so aggravates an earnest person as a passive resistance."
Seems to me we can read that two ways -- with the focus on "passive resistance," which is probably what most people would do on a first read. Or, perhaps more interestingly given the context in that story, with the focus on "(the) Nothing." Which changes the meaning of the sentence to something like this:
"The Nothing so aggravates an earnest person (in the form of) a passive resistance."
So my problem with the syllogism: the awkwardness of the word "nothing."
Post a Comment
<< Home