At least as far as English is concerned, one never simply "knows nothing". There is always a limiter... "about". "I know nothing about the Urdu language". In common speech, the explicit limitation may be omitted, but inferred through context.
Either way, in this case, "nothing" is actually a something - specifically, the lack of a quality or absence of a "something".
Anyone claiming to know nothing, without context or limitation, is engaging in hyperbole. Such a statement is inherently self-contradictory in any case - one must know of something in order to have a conception of nothing.
Ah, but you assume a lot. What if I were speaking of the state of nothing, what if by 'know' I didn't mean 'has knowledge of', but an intimate connection with? I appreciate the semantics, and I agree, in common speech, nothing is an object. But the entire point is, if even nothing is something, how can we know, or experience, pure nothingness? Well, we can't, is the simple answer, but I like to contemplate it anyway.
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anonymous
January 18 2011, 02:10:16 UTC
Thanks for this video…I have been brain storming for something just like this and thanks to you I have what I was looking for and not all those spam looking links that make you want to click them just to see what they lead too…my pet peave.
Comments 15
There is always a limiter... "about". "I know nothing about the Urdu language". In common speech, the explicit limitation may be omitted, but inferred through context.
Either way, in this case, "nothing" is actually a something - specifically, the lack of a quality or absence of a "something".
Anyone claiming to know nothing, without context or limitation, is engaging in hyperbole. Such a statement is inherently self-contradictory in any case - one must know of something in order to have a conception of nothing.
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Experiencing it first hand is typically unpleasant :)
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