Grammar Of Assent
An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent (commonly abbreviated to the last three words) is John Henry Newman's seminal work. While it was completed in 1870, Newman revealed to friends that it took him 20 years to write the book.
Newman's aim was to show that the scientific standards for evidence and assent are too narrow and inapplicable in concrete life. He argued that logic and its conclusions are not transferable to real life decision making as such. As a result, it is inappropriate to judge the validity of assent in concrete faith by conventional logical standards because paper logic is unequal to the task. "Logic is loose at both ends," he said, meaning that the process of logic initially depends on restrictive assumptions and is thus unable to fit its conclusions neatly into real world situations.
Read more about Grammar Of Assent: Aim and Content, Chapter Breakdown
Famous quotes containing the words grammar of, grammar and/or assent:
“Grammar is the logic of speech, even as logic is the grammar of reason.”
—Richard Chenevix Trench (1807–1886)
“All the facts of nature are nouns of the intellect, and make the grammar of the eternal language. Every word has a double, treble or centuple use and meaning.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“I cannot assent to a measure which stains our credit. We must keep that untainted. We are a debtor nation. Low rates of interest on the vast indebtedness we must carry for many years, is the important end to be kept in view. Expediency and justice both demand honest coinage.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)