[lit-ideas] Re: As Far As I Know (Not Far) [Not even that far]
- From: Donal McEvoy <donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:12:13 +0100 (BST)
Anyone who thinks the sense of "As far as I know..." in standard English usage
is "ironic" [or paradoxical], does not understand the sense of the phrase in
standard English where it is used unironically and with no sense of
paradoxicality.
Only a philosopher hell-bent on imposing their stipulated sense of 'know' on
the community of speakers of English, might mistakenly detect some "irony" or
"paradoxicality" in such an expression. But then isn't this the way? The
philosopher begins by appealing to the sense of standard usage and ends up
stipulating a sense to standard usage different to its actual sense....as far
as I know anyway.
Donal
________________________________
From: "Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx" <Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tuesday, 30 April 2013, 16:16
Subject: [lit-ideas] As Far As I Know (Not Far)
My last post today.
In a message dated 4/30/2013 12:51:23 P.M. UTC-02,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Even the first person present tense use of 'know' does not always preclude
the possibility that what I 'know' is untrue: "As far as I know..." is a
standard English phrase where 'know' is used in the first person present
tense in a sense that does not logically preclude the possibility that my
first person 'knowledge' may be mistaken or untrue - all that standard usage
may preclude here is that I cannot assert that I presently 'know' x while
simultaneously believing x false. It is quite compatible with standard usage
that even in the first person present tense I can assert I 'know' x, because
I believe x with adequate 'justification', even though I may admit that
'x' (contrary to my belief and its grounds) may be false. The idea that
standard English usage operates with a foolish conceit as to the infallibility
of what I 'know' is not one derived from understanding the sense of standard
English usage (or the people who speak standard English): any contrary
suggestion is philosopher's make-believe. When I claim to 'know', I may be
claiming that my relevant belief is genuine (and that I have grounds adequate
for it to be genuine) without claiming that I 'know' with incontrovertible
certainty: in other words, my use of 'know' even in the first person
present tense may be understood in the sense of my being sincere and rational
in
my belief and not in the sense that I am an idiot with no critical sense of
my own fallibility.
Interesting. For the record, google hits involving "not far" which May
Disimplicate McEvoy. Or not.
The idea being that the "as far" is 'ironic' -- (perhaps) and perhaps a
scare quote is advisable:
"As far as I 'know' (not far, to the extent that 'know' is perhaps not the
right lexical item to use here, _pace_ Popper _and_ Grice)..."
I think Grice does use "so far as I know (not far admittedly)". Or
something. Charming locution, though -- even if anti-sceptical (or perhaps
Because
Anti-Sceptical, in ways).
I will try to reconsider the other points by McEvoy tomorrow -- or
something.
Cheers,
Speranza
---
Twitter / Storystudiouk: @sarramanning As far as I know ...
https://twitter.com/Storystudiouk/status/282217599675293696
21/dic/2012 – @sarramanning As far as I know (not far, admittedly) m&s
continental-style chocs are actually made by thorntons. Wd explain a lot!
#calories ...
duel : Message: Re: [duel] End game
games.groups.yahoo.com/group/duel/.../22493
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As far as I know (not far) there is not a single > manager who would be >
directly effected by a HOF/Legends retirement that > is opposed to the
idea. > The last ...
Talk:Farsi - Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Talk:Farsi
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As far as I know (not far) the principal language in Afghanistan is Farsi,
a descendant of Persian, an old Indo-European language. Parsi: net.flame -
29 Feb 1984 ...
Saint Malo, France in June. | Squat the Planet Forums
squattheplanet.com › ... › International Travel
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13/feb/2013 - 6 post - 4 autori
Saint Malo is a very nice town, but there is no squat, nor alternative
places in town, as far as I know. Not far from there, anyway, in the same ...
Buying a used bolt action. - The Firing Line Forums
thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t...
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06/feb/2013 - 25 post - 12 autori
For the action, as far as i know (not far), it doesn't matter how "stiff"
it is, so long as it cycles well and locks into place. Babyfacenelson is
offline ...
Research - Stem Cells: Therapies for the Future
ec.europa.eu › European Commission › Research
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I
Racin' March 22-24 - TrackForum
_www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php_
(http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php) ?...
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22/mar/2013 - 21 post - 4 autori
Far as I know (not far) Brownstown is running (about 30 miles west of
Vernon, Indiana. L'burg is having practice on Saturday afternoon.
A Little Bit Utopian? — Crooked Timber
crookedtimber.org/2013/03/20/a-little-bit-utopian/
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20/mar/2013 – But the main idea, which as far as I know (not far) isn't
actually a position Wright proposes, is just that without viability you
haven't really ...
The Pinoy Catholic: Cardinal Tagle's fan is so ANGRY at me.
thepinoycatholic.blogspot.com/.../cardinal-tagles-f...
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14/feb/2013 – As far as I know, [Not far enough.] vestments are part of
the general instruction, not canon law. [Where the hell did I mention Canon
Law here?
WordPress › Support » Multiple Excerpt Lengths on Index, Same ...
wordpress.org › ... › How-To and Troubleshooting
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As far as I know (not far) once you set the excerpt length, you cannot
change the length for display on a different page. Can anyone confirm that?
Thanks all ...
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