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NL888 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
What does "who are we to say that is not the way" mean?
Does "who are we to say that is not the way" mean "if we are the people who say that is not the way, who are we?"
Context:
Among Collins’s most controversial beliefs is that of “theistic evolution”, which claims natural selection is the tool that God chose to create man. In his version of the theory, he argues that man will not evolve further.
“I see God’s hand at work through the mechanism of evolution. If God chose to create human beings in his image and decided that the mechanism of evolution was an elegant way to accomplish that goal, who are we to say that is not the way,” he says.
Context:
Among Collins’s most controversial beliefs is that of “theistic evolution”, which claims natural selection is the tool that God chose to create man. In his version of the theory, he argues that man will not evolve further.
“I see God’s hand at work through the mechanism of evolution. If God chose to create human beings in his image and decided that the mechanism of evolution was an elegant way to accomplish that goal, who are we to say that is not the way,” he says.
Top answer
" No. Who are we to say ...? ~ Do we have any special knowledge that gives us the authority to say ...?
- " No.
- Who are we to say ...?
- ~ Do we have any special knowledge that gives us the authority to say ...?
- It's a rhetorical question that expects the answer "no", so it amounts to: Who are we to say ...?
- ~ Maybe we are wrong to say ....
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2 Answers
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NL888Does "who are we to say that is not the way" mean "if we are the people who say that is not the way, who are we?"No.
Who are we to say ...? ~ Do we have any special knowledge that gives us the authority to say ...?
It's a rhetorical question that expects the answer "no", so it amounts to:
Who are we to say ...? ~ Maybe we are
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"Who are we to say that is not the way" can mean a few things, but the general concept is that it means "we have no right/authority/basis to question/doubt/judge something. We can not possibly know better than someone else (or in your context, ***) such that our opinion would matter. Or said another way, we cannot possibly be the authority on the matter being discussed, so why should we say othe
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