3 ms·

The pedestrian phrasing is in service of communicating an idea simply. The text you quoted is building to a point: "Useful writing tells people something true

The pedestrian phrasing is in service of communicating an idea simply. The text you quoted is building to a point: "Useful writing tells people something true and important that they didn't already know, and tells them as unequivocally as possible." Plainly stated; thought-provoking and useful as a tool for assessing prose. I am more inclined to read essays with PG's name attached, but that's because they reliably provide an interesting perspective on their subject matter.

CaptArmchair 7y ago
> "Useful writing tells people something true and important that they didn't already know, and tells them as unequivocally as possible." The fallacy here is that statement assumes that what you're saying is a priori true and important, regardless of what the reader might think. As if that thought already existed out there, being true and important in its own right and you were the first to merely stumble across it. "Useful writing" presumes that the reader will agree with the usefulness of your writing and accept whatever you've written at face value. Whereas the entire point of publishing an essay is to push your thoughts out into the world, out of your control, where others might de-construct and criticize what you're bringing to their doorstep. Useful writing is basically a take on Positivism. And while that works in certain areas of scientific endeavor, there's a long philosophical tradition that argues against taking this too far. Especially in social and sociological sciences. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism
injb 7y ago
This, exactly. He's providing a definition of the term "useful writing" so that he can use that phrase throughout the essay and know that the reader knows exactly what he means.

3 ms·

The pedestrian phrasing is in service of communicating an idea simply. The text you quoted is building to a point: "Useful writing tells people something true

by FragenAntworten 7y ago

CaptArmchair 7y ago
> "Useful writing tells people something true and important that they didn't already know, and tells them as unequivocally as possible." The fallacy here is that statement assumes that what you're saying is a priori true and important, regardless of what the reader might think. As if that thought already existed out there, being true and important in its own right and you were the first to merely stumble across it. "Useful writing" presumes that the reader will agree with the usefulness of your writing and accept whatever you've written at face value. Whereas the entire point of publishing an essay is to push your thoughts out into the world, out of your control, where others might de-construct and criticize what you're bringing to their doorstep. Useful writing is basically a take on Positivism. And while that works in certain areas of scientific endeavor, there's a long philosophical tradition that argues against taking this too far. Especially in social and sociological sciences. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positivism
injb 7y ago
This, exactly. He's providing a definition of the term "useful writing" so that he can use that phrase throughout the essay and know that the reader knows exactly what he means.