Stratagem 2
Original German
Die Homonymie benutzen, um die aufgestellte Behauptung auch auf das auszudehnen, was außer dem gleichen Wort wenig oder nichts mit der in Rede stehenden Sache gemein hat, dies dann lukulent widerlegen, und so sich das Ansehn geben als habe man die Behauptung widerlegt.
Anmerkung. Synonyma sind zwei Worte für denselben Begriff: — Homonyma zwei Begriffe die durch dasselbe Wort bezeichnet werden. Siehe Aristot. Topica Lib. I. cap. 13. Tief, Schneidend, Hoch, bald von Körpern bald von Tönen gebraucht sind Homonyma. Ehrlich und Redlich Synonyma.
Man kann diesen Kunstgriff als identisch mit dem Sophisma ex homonymia betrachten: jedoch das offenbare Sophisma der Homonymie wird nicht im Ernst täuschen.
Omne lumen potest extinguiIntellectus est lumenIntellectus potest extingui.
Hier merkt man gleich daß vier termini sind: lumen eigentlich und lumen bildlich verstanden. Aber bei feinen Fällen täuscht es allerdings, namentlich wo die Begriffe die durch denselben Ausdruck bezeichnet werden verwandt sind und in einander übergehn.
Exempel 1.1 A. Sie sind noch nicht eingeweiht in die Myst[erien] d[er] K[anti]schen Phil[osophie].
B. Ach, wo Mysterien sind, davon will ich nicht[s] wissen.
[Exempel 2.] Ich tadelte das Princip der Ehre, nach welchem man durch eine erhaltene Beleidigung ehrlos wird, es sei denn, daß man sie durch eine größere Beleidigung erwidere, oder durch Blut, das des Gegners oder sein eigenes, abwasche, als unverständig; als Grund führte ich an, die wahre Ehre könne nicht verletzt werden durch das was man litte, sondern ganz allein durch das was man thäte; denn widerfahren könne Jedem Jedes. — Der Gegner machte den direkten Angriff auf den Grund: er zeigte mir lukulent, daß wenn einem Kaufmann Betrug oder Unrechtlichkeit, oder Nachlässigkeit in seinem Gewerbe fälschlich nachgesagt würde, dies ein Angriff auf seine Ehre sei, die hier verletzt würde, lediglich durch das was er leide, und die er nur herstellen könne, indem er solchen Angreifer zur Strafe und Widerruf brächte. —
Hier schob er also, durch die Homonymie, die Bürgerliche Ehre welche sonst Guter Name heißt und deren Verletzung durch Verläumdung geschieht, dem Begriff der ritterlichen Ehre unter, die sonst auch point d’honneur heißt und deren Verletzung durch Beleidigungen geschieht. Und weil ein Angriff auf erstere nicht unbeachtet zu lassen ist, sondern durch öffentliche Widerlegung abgewehrt werden muß; so müßte mit demselben Recht ein Angriff auf letztere auch nicht unbeachtet bleiben, sondern abgewehrt [werden] durch stärkere Beleidigung und Duell. — Also ein Vermengen [zwei] wesentlich verschiedener Dinge durch die Homonymie des Wort[e]s Ehre: und dadurch eine mutatio controversiae, zu Wege gebracht durch die Homonymie.
1 [Daneben am Rand:] (Die absichtlich ersonnenen Fälle sind nie fein genug, um täuschend zu seyn; man muß sie also aus der wirklichen eignen Erfahrung sammeln. Es wäre sehr gut, wenn man jedem Kunstgriff einen kurzen und treffen[d] bezeichnenden Namen geben könnte, mittelst dessen man, vorkommenden Falls, den Gebrauch dieses oder jenes Kunstgriffs augenblicklich vorwerfen könnte.)
Musean translation
Machine-assisted, directly from Deussen’s German edition (1923).
Use homonymy to extend the assertion to something that, apart from the same word, has little or nothing in common with the matter under discussion. Then refute this decisively, giving the impression that you have refuted the assertion itself.
Observation. Synonyms are two words for the same concept; homonyms are two concepts designated by the same word. See Aristot. Topica Lib. I. cap. 13. “Deep,” “sharp” and “high,” used now of bodies, now of sounds, are homonyms. “Honest” and “upright” are synonyms.
One may regard this stratagem as identical with the sophism arising from homonymy. An obvious sophism of homonymy, however, will deceive no one in earnest.
Every light can be extinguished.The intellect is a light.The intellect can be extinguished.
Here one immediately notices that there are four terms: “light” understood literally and “light” understood figuratively. But in subtle cases it certainly deceives, particularly when the concepts designated by the same expression are related and shade into one another.
Example 1.1 A: “You have not yet been initiated into the mysteries of Kantian philosophy.”
B: “Ah, where there are mysteries, I want to know nothing of them.”
[Example 2.] I criticized as irrational the principle of honor according to which receiving an insult makes one dishonored unless one answers it with a greater insult or washes it away with blood, the opponent's or one's own. My reason was that true honor cannot be injured by what one suffers, but only by what one does; anything can happen to anyone. The opponent made a direct attack upon this ground. He showed me decisively that falsely accusing a merchant of fraud, dishonesty or negligence in his business constitutes an attack on his honor. Here his honor is injured solely through what he suffers, and he can restore it only by bringing the attacker to punishment and retraction.
Thus, by homonymy, he slipped civil honor, otherwise called a good name, which is injured by slander, under the concept of chivalric honor, also called point d’honneur, which is injured by insults. Since an attack on the former must not be ignored but must be repelled by public refutation, an attack on the latter, by the same right, must not be ignored either, but repelled by a stronger insult and a duel. Two essentially different things are thus confounded through the homonymy of the word “honor”, and a change in the point at issue is brought about through homonymy.
1 [Beside this in the margin:] Deliberately invented cases are never subtle enough to deceive; they must therefore be collected from one's own actual experience. It would be very good if every stratagem could be given a short, aptly descriptive name, by means of which, when it occurred, one could immediately reproach someone for employing this or that stratagem.
Plain English translation
Machine-assisted, independently translated directly from Deussen’s German edition (1923).
Use different meanings of the same word to extend a claim to something that shares little or nothing with the subject except that word. Clearly refute this new claim, then make it look as if you have refuted the original.
Remark. Synonyms are two words for one concept. Homonyms are two concepts expressed by one word. See Aristot. Topica Lib. I. cap. 13. “Deep,” “cutting” and “high,” used sometimes about bodies and sometimes about sounds, are homonyms. “Honest” and “trustworthy” are synonyms.
This trick can be treated as the fallacy based on homonyms. But an obvious example of that fallacy will not really deceive anyone.
Any light can be put out.The intellect is a light.The intellect can be put out.
We immediately see that this uses four terms: “light” in its literal meaning and “light” in its figurative meaning. Subtle cases can certainly deceive people, though, especially when the concepts expressed by the same word are related and overlap.
Example 1.1 A: “You have not yet been introduced to the mysteries of Kant's philosophy.”
B: “Well, I want nothing to do with mysteries.”
[Example 2.] I criticized a principle of honor as unreasonable. According to it, an insult dishonors the person insulted unless they answer with a worse insult or wash it away with blood, either the opponent's or their own. My reason was that true honor can be harmed only by what we do, not by what we suffer. Anything can happen to anyone. The opponent attacked that reason directly. He clearly showed that falsely accusing a merchant of fraud, dishonesty or negligence in their trade attacks their honor. In this case their honor is harmed entirely through something they suffer. They can restore it only by getting the attacker punished and making them withdraw the accusation.
By using the two meanings of “honor,” he slipped civil honor, usually called a good reputation, which is harmed by slander, into the idea of a duelist's honor, also called point d’honneur, which is harmed by insults. An attack on the first cannot be ignored: it must be answered with a public refutation. So, he argued, an attack on the second must also be answered, with a worse insult and a duel. He mixed up two essentially different things by using the two meanings of the word “honor”. This changed the issue being argued about.
1 [Beside this in the margin:] Invented cases are never subtle enough to deceive. We must collect cases from our own actual experience. It would be very useful to give each trick a short name that accurately describes it. Then, whenever someone used it, we could immediately accuse them of using that particular trick.
About this section
Stratagem 2 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 7 of 43 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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