LSD-2-Quote-or-Not

To Quote

or Not to Quote…

By Ed Aurelio C. Reyes

Executive Director, SanibLakas Foundation; moderator, LightShare e-Group; executive con­venor, Lambat-Liwanag Network for Empowering Paradigms; etc.

I AM at times a heavy user of quotations in discourse, even in conversation. And I use other people’s words for either or both of two purposes: argumentative and aes­thetic.

Let me begin by explaining the second one. Quoting for aesthetic effect is for added impact, using someone else’s skills in metaphors and in word­craft to show how my own point can be stated more sharply, more eloquently, more beautifully, than I ever can.

But here, the desired effect is to have added impact, not to decisively convince. My own arguments should accomplish the convincing and the “im­ported” quote here is but icing to my very own cake. Other­wise, I would be quoting for the first purpose above, some­thing I really dislike but oc­casionally catch myself doing.

Studying exchanges of ar­guments, as in debates and po­lemics, I often come across writers who quote heavily to convince. They are, in turn, of two types: those who quote quite effectively and those who don’t. There are also two types of readers.

Effective quoting for argu­mentation assumes that, one, the person being quoted is a recognized authority on the subject at hand and that, two, the actual quotation is appli­cable to the case in point. Otherwise, this works only because many readers consi­der authoritative whatever name is dropped, even if they hear it the first time but are too proud to admit so.

To an uncritical reader, im­pressive quotations in the writ­er’s text or speaker’s ora­tory, citing impressive or im­press­ive-sounding sources, is a­lmost always effective. Per­son-based “isms” tend to cre­ate multitudes of such uncrit­ical readers. Just drop the ma­gic­al name of their idol/mas­ter/guru and they will feel duty-bound to be con­vinced or at least to appear to be con­vinced, whether or not the quote be authentic, in pro­per context, and relevant at all.

One has to exert more effort to con­vince critical, inde­pendent thinking peo­ple.

Of course there are extremes on this matter, and the bot­tom line is actually intellectual honesty. If disci­pline has to come at all into the process of working out and testing other people’s ideas, it can only be the dis­cipline of intellectual honesty.

Predisposed loyalty to a person-based “ism” has been a nemesis of this ethic and rigor.

For this reason, the history of humankind has recorded long periods where otherwise-intelligent multitudes were uncontrollably following ideo­logical or demagogic Pied Pi­pers. Lack of intellectual hon­esty in many people renders very plausible the storyline of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

To those who would drop a quote or two as a knee-jerk reaction to my unreadiness to believe their arguments I want to ask: why hide under a coat of quotes? Why use a security blanket, a crutch? If indeed you stand by your ideas, why don’t you speak out for these views and assert and defend them the best way you can? Of course you may add any­body else’s quotes without having to depend on them. Otherwise, there will be serious doubt whether you really understand that point or you had just been told that you do “understand” it en­ough to convince yourself and others.

I hope I have made my point clear and convincing on this matter of handling and mis­handling quotes for argu­mentation, because I am about to throw in two quotations right here and now.

For aesthetics, of course! You know, just icing on my cake.

The first quotation I borrow from the eloquent discourse of Cicero, the great thinker and orator of Rome:

“In discussion it is not so much the weight of authority as force of argument that should be demanded. Indeed, the authority of those who pro­­fess to teach is often a positive hindrance to those who desire to learn; they cease to employ their own judgment, and take what they perceive to be the verdict of their chosen master as settling the question.

“In fact I am not disposed to approve the practice tradi­tionally ascribed to the Pytha­goreans, who, when question­ed as to the grounds of any assertion that they advanced in debate, are said to have been accustomed to reply, The Master said so, ‘the Master’ being Pythagoras. So potent was an opinion already de­cided, making authority pre­vail unsupported by reason.”

Cicero’s example is, of course, in the obviously ridi­culous extreme. Those who have been trying to foist au­thority figures and authorita­tive quotes on me have not been all that bad. But some have come quite close.

I marvel at the honesty of Michel de Montaigne, a noted philosopher in 15th Century Europe, who commented in his Essays about his own use of quotations from others:

“I sometimes get others to say what I cannot put so well myself because of the weak­ness of my language, and some­times because of the weak­ness of my intellect… (and) sometimes…to rein in the temerity of those hasty criticisms which leap to attack writings of every kind, espe­cially recent writings by men still alive… I have to hide my weaknesses beneath those great reputations.”

Well...

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