"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 28 Apr 2004 00:57:45 +0100, "Donal" said:

See http://www.history-of-philosophy.com/certitude.htm

"It is moral certitude which we generally attain
in the conduct of life, concerning, for example, the friendship of
others,
the fidelity
of a wife or a husband, the form of government under which we live, or
the
occurrence of certain historical events, such as the Protestant
Reformation
or the
French Revolution. "


Yep, you still seem to be suggesting that I was right all along.

Nope. I suggested only that you _think_ you were right all along.

Then you should have said "moralistic". "Moral" implies that I was correct
(in your opinion).
"Moralistic" would have implied that you felt that I was wrong.


You think
it so strongly that you're morally certain of it. But it ain't necessarily
so.

Of course, it is possible that I was wrong. However, you used the phrase
"moral certitude". That means that you think that my opinion was correct.
If you had said "moralistic certitude", then I would have assumed that you
were hinting at a certain pomposity on my part.





The fact that you're morally certain that someone is your friend doesn't
make it so. The fact that you're morally certain that your wife is
faithful
doesn't make it so. Etc., etc. Moral certainty is subjective.

Goodness!
If you feel morally correct about something, and I disagree with you, then I
would classify your correctness as "moralistic". In other words, I would be
saying that you were wrong. If I agreed with you, then I would classify
your corectness as "moral".

Can you see the difference between the two words?


"Moralistic" has a
vaguely pejorative connotation, and I didn't want to characterize either
you
or your certitude as "moralistic."



Hmmmmm.... you are beginning to sound like Jax.

Are you trying to say that you can claim that somebody is wrong without
insulting them?

Puleeeease! If you now recognise that "moralistic" has a pejorative tone,
then why don't you admit that you used the wrong word in the first place?


Really, Dave! Your grammar "flame" has backfired. You are not the great
*expert* on the English language that your education led you to believe.




Regards


Donal
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