A Fortiori
A Fortiori
I noticed with mounting irritation that Jerry Fodor keeps using the Latin phrase “a fortiori” to mean “it follows that” in Hume Variations. It doesn’t mean that; it means “with stronger reason” (look it up). The correct construction is “it follows a fortiori that p”. You can’t say “a fortiori a fortiori”—as if that meant “it follows with stronger reason”. Moreover, no one ever corrected him, including copy-editors. Does no one know what “a fortiori” means? It reminds me of people who use the phrase “craven cowards”: “craven” means “cowardly”. These are not difficult points. We all make mistakes, but really come on.
It must be a daunting task for a mere proof reader to correct a big professor on a technical term
Am I going to tell Jimi Hendrix he’s not playing a particular key correctly?
That’s not it–I’ve had many corrections from proof-readers, some of them actually correct! People just don’t know what unusual words mean.
“Close proximity” is like “craven cowards.” And why do people say, “I want to thank so-and-so” instead of just thanking so-and-so?
And what about “small little”?
And neither “legendary” nor “iconic” means “famous,” as they are used to refer to celebrities.
The word “iconic” is now overused to the point of imbecility, as is “unprecedented”.
Perhaps I should stop complaining about this one, because it has become ubiquitous, but “issues” does not mean “problems.” “I called the dentist because I have issues with my teeth” sounds ridiculous.
What shocked me was Jerry Fodor repeatedly making this error with “a fortiori” and no one noticing it! I’ve never seen this mistake before in any other academic writer.