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Quoting out of context (view source)
Revision as of 05:12, September 28, 2019
, 05:12, September 28, 2019grammar - revised "What can be possibly be misleading" to "What could possibly be misleading"
An '''out of context''' quotation is a kind of discrediting [[rhetoric|attack]] which appears to use a person's own words against him, but is deceptive because the apparent meaning of the quoted words—even though they are accurately quoted—is different from the meaning of the longer passage from which the words were taken. Out of context quotations can also be used to promote ideas, but ultimately lead to the diminishing of the original work.
An '''out of context''' quotation is a kind of discrediting [[rhetoric|attack]] which appears to use a person's own words against him, but is deceptive because the apparent meaning of the quoted words—even though they are accurately quoted—is different from the meaning of the longer passage from which the words were taken.
<!--Editors: please resist the temptation to transform this into a long list of examples, and, in particular, avoid examples that relate to live political or Conservapedian disputes. Only a relatively small number of examples are needed. They should be chosen as most clearly illustrating the points being made. This is best done with non-controversial examples. Controversial examples are less clear, because different readers will perceive what they are reading in different ways; in a controversial topic, what one person sees as a "quotation out of context" may be seen by another as perfectly fair. Thanks. --dpbsmith --->
<!--Editors: please resist the temptation to transform this into a long list of examples, and, in particular, avoid examples that relate to live political or Conservapedian disputes. Only a relatively small number of examples are needed. They should be chosen as most clearly illustrating the points being made. This is best done with non-controversial examples. Controversial examples are less clear, because different readers will perceive what they are reading in different ways; in a controversial topic, what one person sees as a "quotation out of context" may be seen by another as perfectly fair. Thanks. --dpbsmith --->
To illustrate:
To illustrate:
One Gilson Gardner wrote:
One Gilson Gardner wrote:
:"It is silly to say that the moon is made of green cheese."<ref name=greencheese>Gardner, Gilson (1907) "Why is a Joke Funny?" Putnam's Magazine, [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0FpJA91aGz6m10unt60lPyx&id=ZWYCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=%22the+moon+is+made+of+green+cheese%22&as_brr=1&ie=ISO-8859-1#PPA56,M1 p. 56]</ref>
:"It is silly to say that the moon is made of green cheese."<ref name=greencheese>Gardner, Gilson (1907) "Why is a Joke Funny?" Putnam's Magazine, [https://books.google.com/books?vid=0FpJA91aGz6m10unt60lPyx&id=ZWYCAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=%22the+moon+is+made+of+green+cheese%22&as_brr=1&ie=ISO-8859-1#PPA56,M1 p. 56]</ref>
One could quote this out of context as:
One could quote this out of context as:
:"...the moon is made of green cheese."—Gilson Gardner
:"...the moon is made of green cheese."—Gilson Gardner
:"Beauty is truth, truth beauty" wrote the [[Romanticism|Romantic]] poet [[John Keats]] in "Ode on a Grecian Urn." That famous citation, which expresses 19th-century Romanticism's trust in feeling over reason, is pertinent in the case of Anne Carson's newest volume...<ref>Berstein, Richard (2001), "Books of the Times: Beauty is Truth, and Sometimes Betrayal," February 14, 2001, p. E1</ref>
:"Beauty is truth, truth beauty" wrote the [[Romanticism|Romantic]] poet [[John Keats]] in "Ode on a Grecian Urn." That famous citation, which expresses 19th-century Romanticism's trust in feeling over reason, is pertinent in the case of Anne Carson's newest volume...<ref>Berstein, Richard (2001), "Books of the Times: Beauty is Truth, and Sometimes Betrayal," February 14, 2001, p. E1</ref>
What can be possibly be misleading in this [[reviewer]]'s quotation of what is probably the most famous line Keats ever wrote? The missing context here is an additional set of quotation marks. The actual closing lines of the poem are:
What could possibly be misleading in this [[reviewer]]'s quotation of what is probably the most famous line Keats ever wrote? The missing context here is an additional set of quotation marks. The actual closing lines of the poem are:
When old age shall this generation waste,<br>
When old age shall this generation waste,<br>
Sometimes, even a subtle change in wording can radically change what the speaker meant to say. For example, Charles E. Wilson, president of [[General Motors]] from 1941 to 1953, is often slightly misquoted as having said
Sometimes, even a subtle change in wording can radically change what the speaker meant to say. For example, Charles E. Wilson, president of [[General Motors]] from 1941 to 1953, is often slightly misquoted as having said
:"What's good for General Motors is good for the country."
:"What's good for General Motors is good for the country."
The context was his confirmation hearing before the [[Senate]] for his appointment as [[Secretary of Defense]]. He was asked whether, as a [[government official]], he would be capable of making a decision that would adversely affect General Motors. What he said in full was:
The context was his confirmation hearing before the [[United States Senate|Senate]] for his appointment as [[Secretary of Defense]]. He was asked whether, as a [[government official]], he would be capable of making a decision that would adversely affect General Motors. What he said in full was:
:"Yes, sir, I could. I cannot conceive of any because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors, and vice versa."<ref>Keyes, Ralph (1992): ''Nice Guys Finish Seventh: False Phrases, Spurious Sayings, and Familiar Misquotations,'', p. 8</ref>
:"Yes, sir, I could. I cannot conceive of any because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors, and vice versa."<ref>Keyes, Ralph (1992): ''Nice Guys Finish Seventh: False Phrases, Spurious Sayings, and Familiar Misquotations,'', p. 8</ref>
It's not totally unfair to translate the "vice versa" into "What's good for General Motors is good for the country," but chopping off the "for years I thought" and "what was good for the country was good for General Motors" is; it transforms a forthright statement into a piece of fatuous arrogance.
It's not totally unfair to translate the "vice versa" into "What's good for General Motors is good for the country," but chopping off the "for years I thought" and "what was good for the country was good for General Motors" is; it transforms a forthright statement into a piece of fatuous arrogance.
A blatant example involved columnist Alex Beam writing in the [[Boston Globe]] regarding Conservapedia:<ref>Beam, Alex, [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2007/06/06/just_the_facts____and_theyre_always_right/ Just the facts -- and they're always right], Boston Globe, 4th June 2007.</ref>
{{QuoteBox|Their entry on kangaroos, for instance, says that, "like all modern animals . . . kangaroos are the descendants of the two founding members of the modern kangaroo baramin that were taken aboard Noah's Ark prior to the Great Flood."}}
By quoting this out of context, Beam gave the impression that Conservapedia was claiming this as the truth. The actual truth, however, is that the quoted text was immediately preceded by "According to the origins theory model used by creation scientists...".<ref>See also [[Conservapedia:Alex Beam's column about Conservapedia]].</ref>
==Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty==
About the supposedly anti-gay remarks of Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson:
*Obviously, context is everything when it comes to understanding truth, but context is also kryptonite to an anti-Christian media and left only interested in furthering their own bigoted agenda.
*To begin with, the Duck Commander did not single out homosexual behavior; he listed over a half-dozen sins, including adultery, greed, bestiality, drunkenness, idolatry, etc. But the most important thing Robertson said I have yet to see anyone in the elite media report:
*:You put in your article that the Robertson family really believes strongly that if the human race loved each other and they loved God, we would just be better off. We ought to just be repentant, turn to God, and let’s get on with it, and everything will turn around. [https://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/12/20/phil-robertson-quote-media-not-reporting Breitbart]
==Founding Fathers==
The [[Founding Fathers]] are a popular source of quotes which end up many times being out of context. One of the most common Founding Father quotes is [[Benjamin Franklin]]'s "Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety", which is commonly quoted in the context of the [[Patriot Act]]. The reality is that if you read his 1755 Letter to the Governor, nothing remotely close to the Patriot Act applies.<ref>[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Franklin/01-06-02-0107 Pennsylvania Assembly: Reply to the Governor, 11 November 1755]</ref>
==See also==
[[Cafeteria Christianity]]
== References ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Rhetoric]]
[[Category:Rhetoric]]