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Sextus Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
To use commas or not to use them (to Clive)
Hi Clive, some of the remarks you made in one of my previous thread have made me think about whether I should use commas in the following examples:
1) "My second purpose is to determine whether the Pyrrhonist’s quest for, and attainment of, ataraxia and his philanthropia are, as has been generally thought, essential aspects of his stance."
2) "There is another crucial text, probably the most important, that should remove all appearance of dogmatism from the exposition of the Skeptic’s quest for, and attainment of, ataraxia made in PH i and iii."
3) "The purpose of this section is to determine whether the quest for, and the attainment of, ataraxia in matters of belief should be deemed essential to Pyrrhonism."
In this case, I'm referring to the quest for ataraxia and the attainment of ataraxia as two different things; and I'm gonna emphasize this point in the section in question.
4) "It seems to follow from this that both the quest for, and the attainment of, ataraxia are essential to the Pyrrhonean philosophy."
5) "The second text is found at AM i 6, where, as was noted before, there is no mention of the Skeptic’s quest for, and attainment of, unperturbedness in the story of his philosophical journey."
6) "Certainly PH i 232–233 cannot be taken as conclusive evidence that the quest for, and the attainment of, ataraxia are not essential to Pyrrhonism."
7) "I find this omission at the very least suggestive, since if the search for, or the attainment of, ataraxia were inherent in Pyrrhonism, one would certainly expect Sextus to mention them in the present passage".
8) "I shall begin by analyzing Sextus Empiricus’ exposition of the Skeptic’s search for, and attainment of, unperturbedness with the object of showing that he is consistently Pyrrhonean".
9) "In what follows I shall attempt to show that Sextus does not regard the search for, and the attainment of, ataraxia in matters of belief as essential to his Skepticism."
10) "Even if at times the tone and the terminology employed by Sextus seem to point to the contrary, the Skeptic’s search for, and attainment of, ataraxia and his philanthropic therapy do not commit him to any belief."
Thanks,
Sextus
1) "My second purpose is to determine whether the Pyrrhonist’s quest for, and attainment of, ataraxia and his philanthropia are, as has been generally thought, essential aspects of his stance."
2) "There is another crucial text, probably the most important, that should remove all appearance of dogmatism from the exposition of the Skeptic’s quest for, and attainment of, ataraxia made in PH i and iii."
3) "The purpose of this section is to determine whether the quest for, and the attainment of, ataraxia in matters of belief should be deemed essential to Pyrrhonism."
In this case, I'm referring to the quest for ataraxia and the attainment of ataraxia as two different things; and I'm gonna emphasize this point in the section in question.
4) "It seems to follow from this that both the quest for, and the attainment of, ataraxia are essential to the Pyrrhonean philosophy."
5) "The second text is found at AM i 6, where, as was noted before, there is no mention of the Skeptic’s quest for, and attainment of, unperturbedness in the story of his philosophical journey."
6) "Certainly PH i 232–233 cannot be taken as conclusive evidence that the quest for, and the attainment of, ataraxia are not essential to Pyrrhonism."
7) "I find this omission at the very least suggestive, since if the search for, or the attainment of, ataraxia were inherent in Pyrrhonism, one would certainly expect Sextus to mention them in the present passage".
8) "I shall begin by analyzing Sextus Empiricus’ exposition of the Skeptic’s search for, and attainment of, unperturbedness with the object of showing that he is consistently Pyrrhonean".
9) "In what follows I shall attempt to show that Sextus does not regard the search for, and the attainment of, ataraxia in matters of belief as essential to his Skepticism."
10) "Even if at times the tone and the terminology employed by Sextus seem to point to the contrary, the Skeptic’s search for, and attainment of, ataraxia and his philanthropic therapy do not commit him to any belief."
Thanks,
Sextus
Top answer
Hi Sextus, I forget what I said, but I hope it was something like this. Generally speaking, a comma represents a pause, for breath. The pause in speaking, and the comma in writing, should be timed to help clarify meaning by giving some separation to thoughts and ideas, where such separation is warranted.
- Hi Sextus, I forget what I said, but I hope it was something like this.
- Generally speaking, a comma represents a pause, for breath.
- The pause in speaking, and the comma in writing, should be timed to help clarify meaning by giving some separation to thoughts and ideas, where such separation is warranted.
- The trend is to use fewer commas, and shorter sentences, than in the past.
- Compare Dickens.
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13 Answers
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Hi Sextus,
I forget what I said, but I hope it was something like this. Generally speaking, a comma represents a pause, for breath. The pause in speaking, and the comma in writing, should be timed to help clarify meaning by giving some separation to thoughts and ideas, where such separation is warranted. The trend is to use fewer commas, and shorter sentences, than in the past. Compare D
I forget what I said, but I hope it was something like this. Generally speaking, a comma represents a pause, for breath. The pause in speaking, and the comma in writing, should be timed to help clarify meaning by giving some separation to thoughts and ideas, where such separation is warranted. The trend is to use fewer commas, and shorter sentences, than in the past. Compare D
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Thanks a lot for the answers and explanation, Clive. I've got a couple of remarks.
2) "There is another crucial text, probably the most important, that should remove all appearance of dogmatism from the exposition of the Skeptic’s quest for, and attainment of, ataraxia made in PH i and iii." I don't really feel that the cooa
2) "There is another crucial text, probably the most important, that should remove all appearance of dogmatism from the exposition of the Skeptic’s quest for, and attainment of, ataraxia made in PH i and iii." I don't really feel that the cooa
00
Hi,
A few further remarks.
Clive
2) "There is another crucial text, probably the most important, that should remove all appearance of dogmatism from the exposition of the Skeptic’s quest for, and attainment of, ataraxia made in PH
A few further remarks.
Clive
2) "There is another crucial text, probably the most important, that should remove all appearance of dogmatism from the exposition of the Skeptic’s quest for, and attainment of, ataraxia made in PH
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Clive"Made in PH i and iii" qualifies "the exposition of the Skeptic’s quest for and attainment of ataraxia". This is why I thought it wasn't necessary to write a comma before it. I'd prefer to say '. . . from the exposition, made in PH i and iii, of the Skeptic’s quest fo
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Hi,
Well, now it sounds like the text and the exposition are two different things. I domn't think that's what you mean, is it?
Clive
Well, now it sounds like the text and the exposition are two different things. I domn't think that's what you mean, is it?
Clive
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Yes, it is. The "crucial text" should remove the appearance of dogmatism from the exposition presented in the corresponding texts of PH i and iii.
Sextus
Sextus
00
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I've thought that I could perhaps say this when I've got three items:
1) “The second purpose is to determine whether the Pyrrhonist’s search for and attainment of ataraxia, and his philanthropia are, as has been generally thought [or: accepted] among scholars, essential aspects of his stance.”
Or perhaps I could put another comma after 'philanthropia'.
1) “The second purpose is to determine whether the Pyrrhonist’s search for and attainment of ataraxia, and his philanthropia are, as has been generally thought [or: accepted] among scholars, essential aspects of his stance.”
Or perhaps I could put another comma after 'philanthropia'.
00
Hi,
1) “The second purpose is to determine whether the Pyrrhonist’s search for and attainment of ataraxia, and his philanthropia are, as has been generally thought [or: accepted] among scholars, essential aspects of his stance.”
Or perhaps I could put another comma after 'philanthropia'. Yes, definitely.
1) “The second purpose is to determine whether the Pyrrhonist’s search for and attainment of ataraxia, and his philanthropia are, as has been generally thought [or: accepted] among scholars, essential aspects of his stance.”
Or perhaps I could put another comma after 'philanthropia'. Yes, definitely.
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Clive, taking into account your view about commas, it seems to me that you would eliminate those I use in the following examples:
"However, in the texts examined Sextus appears to theorize about the means for, and the hindrance to, the attainment of unperturbedness and happiness".
"But this being a suppositio
"However, in the texts examined Sextus appears to theorize about the means for, and the hindrance to, the attainment of unperturbedness and happiness".
"But this being a suppositio
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