SaneThinking.com "About the Aphorism category."

About the Aphorism category.

For those who don't know, an aphorism is a short statement that neatly sums up an idea and sometimes it does it with an extra twist.

Mostly these will be my own, by which I mean I either dreamt them up myself or at least I was convinced I did.

This is one by Oscar Wilde to give you the idea or a flavour of aphorisms.

Oscar was asked if he would consider writing his autobiography, in reply he said:

"A man's face is his autobiography"

Now that is an example of an aphorism, it neatly sums up an idea in a short statement.

But Oscar took it a step further (as was his wont) as he added:

"Just as a women's face is her work of fiction"

Here then I will set in stone some of my own aphorisms, one's I think I coined. But in thinking that, I have to cautiously add that it may well be that, in fact, despite my ignorance, someone else, some other earlier time, had already had the same idea and stated it, perhaps even more poetically too, but I won't let that put me off and all I can say is, in that case, I simply wasn't aware of the alternative source.

Sincerity of Belief is like the weight of a book.(2006)

The value of the weight of any book is in how serious an injury it could be relied on to cause if it were thrown at someone.
Optionally, it may also be useful to prop a fire-door open in order to cause further needless death and injury.
Regardless of how much suffering it produces it can always be presented as if the content were considered to be the real topic of interest.
Indeed, it may well be presented as if the weight were equal and no different to the content.
If the point is still elusive then it may also be compared to a politician's smile -
especially as he authorizes some new secret terror upon the blind and bleating.

In other words the value of the weight of any book is a nonsense concept,
as is, of course you know by now, anyone's proudly asserted:
"Sincerity of Belief"

So, when you hear someone say to you words like
"...and I sincerely believe that..."
feel free to interupt and ask
"... of course you do, but, tell me, do you happen to genuinely believe it too?"

Genuine Belief requires reason.
Sincere belief only needs emotion.(2008)

You may say that no one ever proclaims the weight of a book to be valuable. I agree before you even say it. However, that is only because no one would be fooled by such a claim. But many are fooled by those who would make such a claim but choose instead to make some special announcement about their "sincere belief". The analogy is meant to make you realize that placing a supposed high value on sincerity (of some belief), as certain people do, is just like placing the value of a book in it's weight. The "sincere believer" has given up on reason and is making an 'emotional' appeal because he can't or can't be bothered to establish good reason for the belief so it would be the same if you placed the value of a book in it's weight instead of it's content because you can't be bothered, or don't have the intellectual capacity or intelligence, to be able to grasp the meaning of the content and are thus oblivious to it's real value therefore they pose as knowing it's value by subsituting it's weight for it's content, and this IS a commonplace dishonesty or failing.

Something similar is going on with the police and it may be that this is also the subtle difference between all nazis and those of us for whom nazism is anathema more or less automatically. Those who believe the value of something is in some special quality that it has and others who are insensitive to such special qualities and, out of angry resentment and petulent fury with those who are brighter than they are, they truncate meaning using force (I did imply the brutality adequately I hope ealier with reference to death and pointless injury?)

Anyway, this is supposed to be an aphorism even if it has become a heavily extended one, and not an article in it's own right, so forgive me if we move along nicely now.

Respect for any system should never be greater than scrutiny of it. (2007)

Sufficient unto the day be the work thereof especially if it's one minute to midnight.

By Paul E. Coughlin
SaneThinking.com
10 July 2008

You may like to know that there may be other articles, similar to this one, here, in this category:
Aphorisms

If no earlier date is shown above then this page began life on 10.07.2008

Enter your search terms Submit search form

Web SaneThinking.com