“Circular argument”: An argument whose conclusion is the same as one of its premises. (Quora)
I flail about in music theory, often ending where I started — insufficiently informed and grandly blogging my perplexity. To feed this cause I’ve been on the lookout for a stimulating case of circular reasoning. Cue Margaret Renkl, who writes today that “the
primacy of an informed conscience belongs as deeply to church tradition as the current brand of pastoral authoritarianism does.”
Here’s the helpful circle:
Catholics today don’t hear much about the primacy of an informed conscience because many priests take the position that a conscience at odds with the church is by definition insufficiently informed.
(Margaret Renkl, “How to Defy the Catholic Church,” NYTimes, 7-1-19)
My grasp of music theory is at odds with music theory! Undeterred now, I find the primacy of an informed conscience to be a stirring phrase. It will goad me while I mount Rocinante and break lances with the diatonic scale.
(c) 2019 JMN
New Old Proverb
This old proverb is new to me. It has the virtues of a good proverb: pith, spunk, rhyme, and fertile ambiguity resolvable by context. It also illustrates the vital role of skillfully used quotation marks.
(c) 2019 JMN