Stratagem 36
Original German
Den Gegner durch sinnlosen Wortschwall verdutzen, verblüffen. Es beruht darauf daß
„Gewöhnlich glaubt der Mensch, wenn er nur Worte hört,Es müsse sich dabei doch auch was denken lassen.“
Wenn er nun sich sei[n]er eignen Schwäche im Stillen bewußt ist, wenn er gewohnt ist mancherlei zu hören, was er nicht versteht, und doch dabei zu thun als verstände er es; so kann man ihm dadurch imponiren, daß man ihm einen gelehrt oder tiefsinnig klingenden Unsinn bei dem ihm Hören, Sehn und Denken vergeht, mit ernsthafter Miene vorschwatzt, und solches für den unbestreitbarsten Beweis seiner eignen Thesis ausgiebt. Bekanntlich haben in neuern Zeiten selbst dem ganzen Deutschen Publiko gegenüber, einige Philosophen diesen Kunstgriff mit dem brilliantesten Erfolg angewandt. Weil aber exempla odiosa sind, wollen wir ein älteres Beispiel nehmen aus Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, p 34.
Musean translation
Machine-assisted, directly from Deussen’s German edition (1923).
Stun and bewilder the opponent with a senseless flood of words. This rests upon the fact that:
“A person generally believes, on merely hearing words,Some thought must surely lie within.”
If he is secretly conscious of his own weakness, if he is used to hearing much that he does not understand while pretending that he does, one can impress him by gravely spouting learned- or profound-sounding nonsense that bewilders his hearing, sight and thought, and passing it off as the most indisputable proof of one's own thesis. As everyone knows, in recent times some philosophers have employed this stratagem with the most brilliant success, even before the whole German public. But since examples are odious, let us take an older example from Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, p 34.
Plain English translation
Machine-assisted, independently translated directly from Deussen’s German edition (1923).
Overwhelm and confuse the opponent with meaningless talk. This works because:
“People usually think, when all they hear is words,There must be something there they can make sense of.”
Suppose the opponent secretly knows their own weakness. They are used to hearing things they do not understand and pretending they do. You can impress them by seriously spouting nonsense that sounds learned or profound and leaves them unable to hear, see or think clearly. Present it as the strongest possible proof of your claim. In recent times, as everyone knows, some philosophers have used this trick with brilliant success, even before the entire German public. But examples are offensive, so we will take an older example from Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, p 34.
About this section
Stratagem 36 is part of The Art of Being Right by Arthur Schopenhauer. This page sets the German original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 41 of 43 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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