663:âIt is not that the sentence asserts nothing; on the contrary, it is because the sentence asserts something patently falseâŠ. The sentence uttered is perfectly meaningful; what is nonsensical and meaningless is the fact that the person has uttered it. To put the matter another way, we can make sense of the sentence ; we know what it asserts. But we cannot make sense of the man uttering it; we do not understand why he would utter it. Thus, when we use terms like ânonsenseâ and âmeaninglessâ in the epistemic sense, the correct use of them requires only that what is uttered seem absurdly false. Of course, to seem preposterously false, the sentence must assert something, and thus be either true or false.â (PP&A, 60).
283:
625:
stay putâ (OC §341-343). In a 1968 article titled âPretenceâ, Robert
Caldwell states that: âA general doubt is simply a groundless one, for it fails to respect the conceptual structure of the practice in which doubt is sometimes legitimateâ (Caldwell 1968, p49). "If you are not certain of any fact," Wittgenstein notes, "you cannot be certain of the meaning of your words either" (OC §114). Truth-functionally speaking, Mooreâs attempted assertion and the skepticâs denial are epistemically useless. "Neither the question nor the assertion makes sense" (OC §10). In other words,
640:
With some mental effort however, they can be dissolved in such a way that a rational person can justifiably ignore them. According to
Wittgenstein, "It is not our aim to refine or complete the system of rules for the use of our words in unheard-of ways. For the clarity that we are aiming at is indeed complete clarity. But this simply means that the philosophical problems should completely disappear" (PI §133). The net effect is to expose a âA whole cloud of philosophy condensed into a drop of grammarâ (PI p222).
39:
699:, highlights this positive meaning of nonsense to undermine every philosophical conception which does not take note of the absolute lack of meaning of the world and life. Nonsense implies the destruction of all views or opinions, on the wake of the Indian Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna. In the name of nonsense, it is finally refused the conception of duality and the Aristotelian formal logic.
585:âs âProof of an External Worldâ as an example of disguised epistemic nonsense. Mooreâs âproofâ is essentially an attempt to assert the truth of the sentence âHere is one handâ as a paradigm case of genuine knowledge. He does this during a lecture before The British Academy where the existence of his hand is so obvious as to appear indubitable. If Moore does indeed
636:, are nonsense (OC §37&58). Both bogus theories violate the rules of the epistemic game that make genuine doubt and certainty meaningful. Caldwell concludes that: âThe concepts of certainty and doubt apply to our judgments only when the sense of what we judge is firmly establishedâ (Caldwell, p57).
639:
The broader implication is that classical philosophical âproblemsâ may be little more than complicated semantic illusions that are empirically unsolvable (cf. Schönbaumsfeld 2016). They arise when semantically correct sentences are misused in epistemic contexts thus creating the illusion of meaning.
600:
Wittgenstein however shows that Mooreâs attempt fails because his proof tries to solve a pseudo-problem that is patently nonsensical. Moore mistakenly assumes that syntactically correct sentences are meaningful regardless of how one uses them. In
Wittgensteinâs view, linguistic meaning for the most
624:
According to
Wittgenstein, such propositional sentences instead express fundamental beliefs that function as non-cognitive âhingesâ. Such hinges establish the rules by which the language-game of doubt and certainty is played. Wittgenstein points out that âIf I want the door to turn the hinges must
678:
the skepticâs âdenialâ of âHere is one handâ in the context of the
British Academy are preposterous. Therefore, both claims are epistemic nonsense disguised in meaningful syntax. âhe mistake hereâ according to Caldwell, âlies in thinking that criteria provide us with certainty when they actually
669:
makes a similar argument in part VI of his monograph, âWhy Not
Scepticism?â (WNS 1971). A Wittgensteinian, however, might respond that Lehrer and Moore make the same mistake. Both assume that it is the sentence that is doing the âassertingâ, not just the philosopherâs misuse of it in the wrong
174:
have used nonsense in their works, often creating entire works using it for reasons ranging from pure comic amusement or satire, to illustrating a point about language or reasoning. In the philosophy of language and philosophy of science, nonsense is distinguished from
655:
sense that it seems nonsensical. For example, the sentence âWorms integrate the moon by C# when moralizing to rescind applesâ is neither true nor false and therefore is semantic nonsense. Epistemic nonsense, however, is perfectly grammatical and semantical. It just
237:
and seemingly irrelevant and/or incompatible characteristics, which conspire to make the phrase meaningless, but are open to interpretation. The phrase "the square root of
Tuesday" operates on the latter principle. This principle is behind the inscrutability of the
682:âThe real discovery,â according to Wittgenstein, âis the one that makes me capable of stopping doing philosophy when I want to.âThe one that gives philosophy peace, so that it is no longer tormented by questions which bring itself in questionâŠ. There is not
549:'s writings, the word "nonsense" carries a special technical meaning which differs significantly from the normal use of the word. In this sense, "nonsense" does not refer to meaningless gibberish, but rather to the lack of sense in the context of
792:
Scientists have attempted to teach machines to produce nonsense. The Markov chain technique is one method which has been used to generate texts by algorithm and randomizing techniques that seem meaningful. Another method is sometimes called the
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philosophical method, though there are indeed methods, like different therapiesâ (PI §133). He goes on to say that âThe philosopher's treatment of a question is like the treatment of an illnessâ (PI §255).
1200:
Schönbaumsfeld, Genia (2020). "G E Moore's
Attempt to Refute Scepticism and Wittgenstein's Critique" video lecture. University of South Hampton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SINqcUocOAU.
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part is the way sentences are used in various contexts to accomplish certain goals (PI §43). J. L. Austin likewise notes that "It is, of course, not really correct that a sentence ever
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561:
that some of the propositions contained in his own book should be regarded as nonsense. Used in this way, "nonsense" does not necessarily carry negative connotations.
613:, and the statement itself is a 'logical construction' out of the makings of statements" (Austin 1962, p1, note1). Disguised epistemic nonsense therefore is the
621:). Mooreâs unintentional misuse of âHere is one handâ thus fails to state anything that his audience could possibly understand in the context of his lecture.
222:
577:(PI §464), he says that âMy aim is: to teach you to pass from a piece of disguised nonsense to something that is patent nonsense.â In his remarks
557:, and purely mathematical propositions may be regarded as "nonsense". For example, "1+1=2" is a nonsensical proposition. Wittgenstein wrote in
244:"What is the sound of one hand clapping?", where one hand would presumably be insufficient for clapping without the intervention of another.
766:
It is harder for cryptographers to deal with the presence or absence of meaning in a text in which the level of redundancy and repetition is
617:
of ordinary declarative sentences in philosophical contexts where they seem meaningful but produce little or nothing of significance (cf.
1075:
731:
to determine whether a given text is in fact nonsense or not. These algorithms typically analyze the presence of repetitions and
293:
Nonsense verse is the verse form of literary nonsense, a genre that can manifest in many other ways. Its best-known exponent is
679:
provide senseâ (Caldwell p53). No one, including philosophers, has special dispensation from committing this semantic fallacy.
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Starting from
Wittgenstein, but through an original perspective, the Italian philosopher Leonardo Vittorio Arena, in his book
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texts resemble random distributions, to avoid telltale repetitions and patterns which may give an opening for cryptanalysis.
214:
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1100:
Biletzki, Anat and Anat Matar, "Ludwig
Wittgenstein", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2008 Edition) "
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In contrast to the above Wittgensteinian approach to nonsense, Cornman, Lehrer and Pappas argue in their textbook,
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233:, yet the result is nonsense. The inspiration for this attempt at creating verbal nonsense came from the idea of
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to be preposterously false. When the skeptic boldly asserts the sentence : âWe know nothing whatsoeverâ then:
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attempts to state this analysis mathematically. By contrast, cryptographers typically seek to make their
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6. A new branch of philosophy called âhinge epistemologyâ has sprouted from Wittgensteinâs remarks
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was a computer program which generated nonsense texts by this method; however, Racter's book,
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method of distinguishing sense from nonsense. It is also an important field of study in
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scattering of letters, punctuation marks and spaces do not exhibit these regularities.
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in a text; in meaningful texts, certain frequently used words recur, for example,
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to be nonsense verse, but actually are not, such as the popular 1940s song
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647:(PP&A) that philosophical skepticism is perfectly meaningful in the
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could also be termed a nonsense verse. There are also some works which
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Nonsense verse is part of a long line of tradition predating Lear: the
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275:(1871), is a nonsense poem written in the English language. The word
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as an example of nonsense. However, this can easily be confused with
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The William James Lectures delivered at Harvard University in 1955.
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The problem of distinguishing sense from nonsense is important in
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Lewis Carroll, seeking a nonsense riddle, once posed the question
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James Cornman, Keith Lehrer & George Pappas (PP&A 1992).
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or meaningfulness, and attempts have been made to come up with a
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998:(3rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Basil Blackwell Ltd. pp. 11e.
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Lehrer, Keith (WNS 1971). âWhy Not Scepticism?â part VI,
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896:, random nonsense characters generated by foreign text
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And hooptiously drangle me with crinkly bindlewurdles,
1176:â 4th ed. Hackett Publishing Co., Inc., Indianapolis.
1174:
Philosophical Problems and Arguments: An Introduction
1158:
Austin, J. L. (1962). "How to Do Things with Words",
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Philosophical Problems and Arguments: An Introduction
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Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There
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is also occasionally used as a synonym of nonsense.
926:, a program that generates nonsense research papers
799:method: it involves creating templates for various
63:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
346:. However, there are other possible answers (e.g.
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1063:. 1 November 2005 – via Project Gutenberg.
482:Groop I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes,
229:make sense and are arranged according to proper
715:fields. For example, they need to distinguish
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426:The Crankadox leaned o'er the edge of the moon,
597:) must be false. (cf. Schönbaumsfeld (2020).
1165:Caldwell, Robert L., âPretenceâ (Jan. 1968),
289:(c. 1875 James Miller edition) by Edward Lear
16:Communication that lacks any coherent meaning
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774:(for example, in the mysterious text of the
480:As plurdled gabbleblotchits on a lurgid bee.
1077:Wittgenstein: the way out of the fly-bottle
430:Where the Gryxabodill madly whistled a tune
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488:With my blurglecruncheon, see if I don't!
456:By signing his name with an icicle quill;
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821:The Policemanâs Beard is Half Constructed
123:Learn how and when to remove this message
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1103:The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
450:The Mayor of Scuttleton burned his nose
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486:Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts
454:He lost his money and spoiled his will
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494:Philosophy of language and of science
215:Colorless green ideas sleep furiously
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432:To the air of "Ti-fol-de-ding-dee."
61:adding citations to reliable sources
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376:'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
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1211:Textual analysis of nonsense poems
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1038:"Top poetry is complete nonsense"
378:Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
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1169:, New Series, Vol. 77, No. 305.
1020:"the definition of Jabberwocky"
803:and filling in the blanks with
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512:, nonsense refers to a lack of
452:Trying to warm his copper toes;
48:needs additional citations for
1186:Schönbaumsfeld, Genia (2016).
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674:Mooreâs attempted âassertionâ
559:Tractatus Logico Philosophicus
428:And wistfully gazed on the sea
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941:, nonsense text derived from
909:Non-lexical vocables in music
382:And the mome raths outgrabe.
380:All mimsy were the borogoves,
996:Philosophical Investigations
575:Philosophical Investigations
565:Disguised Epistemic Nonsense
553:. In this context, logical
406:and the monkeys all say BOO!
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1190:. Oxford University Press,
1074:Schroeder, Severin (2006).
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605:a statement: rather, it is
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21:Nonsense (disambiguation)
1216:Text of a nonsense drama
1162:Oxford, Clarendon Press.
981:
634:philosophical skepticism
591:philosophical skepticism
476:Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
437:The first four lines of
387:The first four lines of
338:. Someone answered him,
300:The Owl and the Pussycat
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26:Not to be confused with
1080:. Polity. p. 110.
697:Nonsense as the meaning
691:Leonardo Vittorio Arena
462:Oh Freddled Gruntbuggly
439:The Mayor of Scuttleton
404:Where the cows go Bong!
191:regarding separating a
1246:Philosophy of language
1126:Daniele Moyal-Sharrock
506:philosophy of language
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466:Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz
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630:philosophical realism
539:Further information:
528:Further information:
510:philosophy of science
498:Further information:
473:
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402:On the Ning Nang Nong
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390:On the Ning Nang Nong
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1060:A Nonsense Anthology
419:James Whitcomb Riley
415:Spirk Troll-Derisive
336:like a writing desk?
57:improve this article
19:For other uses, see
1183:, vol. II, 289-290.
1181:Philosophical Forum
889:Metasemantic poetry
801:sentence structures
581:(OC), he considers
571:Ludwig Wittgenstein
551:sense and reference
547:Ludwig Wittgenstein
541:Ludwig Wittgenstein
413:The first verse of
361:The first verse of
1044:. 10 October 1998.
776:Voynich manuscript
632:and its negation,
611:making a statement
530:Logical positivism
524:Logical positivism
291:
287:A Book of Nonsense
1196:978-0-19-878394-7
1148:(Scribner, 1996)
1087:978-0-7456-2615-4
978:
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874:Literary nonsense
855:, nonsense as art
772:natural languages
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593:(formerly called
316:Hey Diddle Diddle
231:grammatical rules
225:. The individual
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298:
297:, author of
292:
286:
276:
266:
252:
251:
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226:
219:Noam Chomsky
213:The phrase "
212:
189:cryptography
135:
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110:
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67:
55:Please help
50:verification
47:
1256:Imagination
1142:Kahn, David
943:e-mail spam
583:G. E. Moore
555:tautologies
364:Jabberwocky
295:Edward Lear
277:jabberwocky
265:) found in
254:Jabberwocky
172:songwriters
28:Non-science
1225:Categories
1136:References
948:Word salad
904:Nonce word
879:Logorrhoea
786:See also:
757:Zipf's law
733:redundancy
729:algorithms
711:and other
185:consistent
160:ridiculous
83:newspapers
72:"Nonsense"
1241:Word play
963:Moonshine
859:Gibberish
838:Absurdity
813:recursion
670:context.
653:epistemic
332:How is a
305:limericks
168:novelists
156:absurdity
1251:Aphasias
1231:Nonsense
1042:BBC News
939:Spam Lit
894:Mojibake
885:nonsense
848:Bullshit
827:See also
796:Mad Libs
649:semantic
595:idealism
508:and the
357:Examples
340:Because
203:Literary
181:coherent
136:Nonsense
1236:Riddles
958:Simlish
935:Spoetry
658:appears
518:meaning
504:In the
162:. Many
158:or the
148:writing
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144:speech
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982:Notes
721:noise
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514:sense
500:Sense
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227:words
197:noise
195:from
177:sense
164:poets
104:JSTOR
90:books
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1167:Mind
1150:ISBN
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1000:ISBN
937:and
883:i.e.
853:Dada
751:. A
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672:Both
627:both
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