I hadn't been to my dentist since May-2004 (normally I went on weekends, but since Sofia and the kids moved to Montreal, I am not in Ottawa on the weekends). Last night, as I was munching on some cashews, I felt a pain in one of my molars and then some grit in my mouth. I went and washed it out, assuming that maybe there had been a stone or something amount the cashews. Turns out I noticed a hole in the surface of the molar (top right, second from the back, my wisdom teeth were removed years ago). Fishing around for grit in my mouth, it looked like crumbled filling. So I assumed that my filling had cracked and crumbled and come out. Went to the dentist this morning, he took an x-ray and came back with bad news. I have a large cavity under the filling, which gave way. The filling did not fall out, but rather impacted into the space of the cavity. He did not rework the filling, since the cavity is very near the root - cleaning it out would likely result in exposing the root. As some
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"If someone says, 'It's not about the money, it's about the principle', it's about the money."
Everybody is not as gifted with words as you are, Richard. You are very articulate, and we all know how intelligent you are.
Some people might refer to the principle of the matter when they can't explain in words exactly what they mean.
Sometimes I can feel that something is right. I don't have to verbally utter a list of premises and a valid conclusion. It's in my heart. I can feel it.
But then again, maybe this is just a demonstration of my unintelligence.
(There many other examples in various shades of gray not a sdramatic as this one.)
man with the fun (I think I am going to start calling you matt again to save myself some typing). It is not a question of being literate, since it tends to be literate people who use that expression more. Less literate people tend to use, "Because I said so!" (Incidentally, not to worry, I was not hot under the collar when I wrote that and nothing had spurred it aside from wanting to get a post out.)
MOI: I think the world is black and white, people just muddle it up and make it grey. I have no problem with principled people, I have a problem with people standing on principle.
For a straw man example, consider a strongly unionized organization with a clear divisions of labour. Suppose you have two classes of workers - supervisory and manual labourer. The manual labourer is digging a hole, the sides collapse in and trap him.
"John! Can you grab a shovel and dig me out!"
“I'll radio for a labourer to come and help you out."
"I can't wait. I'm feeling something sharp digging into my left thigh."
"It's not my job."
"I don't care if it's your job or not! I need help getting out now!"
"I want to help you, but it's the principle of the matter."
I do this in my job all the time. Disciplining children in school is a good example. There is no rule that everyone uses each time without considering the other factors involved. It is still very subjective and I'm glad they usually give us the credit making these calls in an intelligent humanistic way.
As always, Richard, you manage to open a can of worms that would take a lifetime to debate! But you provide good fodder for our brain growth! Keep doing that!
MOI: I never intend to open a can of worms. For me the issue is simple and clear cut - black and white, you might say.
barbara: The difficulty is that there is some subtle linguistic difference in being a principled person and someone saying, "It is the principle of the thing.".
In English, at least no natively spoken / written English I am familiar with, do we defend moral or ethical actions / choices by saying, "It is the principle of the thing." We will, instead, use moral or emotional terms to defend our position. (I am willing to give non-native speakers the benefit of the doubt, since linguistic usage may be different in their native tongue).
When a person says, "It is the principle of the matter." As far as I am concerned they are not arguing about the morality or ethics of something, they are simply arguing about the letter of the law.
While precision in the use of words is important - it certainly reduces misunderstandings if we all use words in pretty much the same way - it is equally important not to get carried away with the precise meanings and nuances of words, but to understand them in the broader context. And all I'm pointing out is that "It's the principle of the matter" is never used in a moral context, simply a legalistic or power one.
Or ... maybe I need to go and brush up on my understanding of the English language.