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Swift Observation on Adversative Coordinating Conjunctions
29-May-20In the universe, there are no opposites and no contraries; adversatives are all a matter of interpretation, the operation of brain in the world. They are eloquent insofar as the interpreters share a common worldview, which links together certain traits. They are hence useful for interpreting a person’s worldview. Two different writers might write:
“She was a liberal, but a racist.”
Or:
“She was a liberal, and hence a racist.”
The two statements are the two bits of data: liberal, racist; the linkage is a matter of worldview. Different people can passionately believe the worldview of either sentence. Some writers like the subtle implications of “and” here:
“She was a liberal, and [hence?] a racist.”
But “and” is the neutralest word our language can offer. It’s the adversatives where the interpretation is clear. One hears this kind of thing all the time. “He’s a ____, but ____.” The implication is that the two traits are “normally” opposed. But the universe does not traffic in such oppositions; our brains do.