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Lies, untruths, sarcasm, and meaning Shadowkiller Send a noteboard - 09/12/2009 07:46:25 PM
I promoted this to a top-level response because I think it's long enough to cover the whole topic. Pardon me for picking this apart in such detail. It's necessary for me to do this in order to understand what's going on.

There are two separate issues here:
Can AS speak untrue words? and
Can AS lie?

We take as a premise that sarcasm is allowed under the oath. So that we're all on the same page here, I will give the definition of sarcasm that I'm using. It is from m-w.com, and is "a sharp and often satirical or ironic utterance designed to cut or give pain." That last part is important. To count as sarcasm, the statement must by definition be intended to hurt the recipient.

Also, I use as the definition of "lie: to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive" which is also from m-w.com

You are claiming three distinct things.
1. The ability to use sarcasm violates the letter of the oath by allowing AS to speak untrue words. As evidence I present your quote
I am not alleging that an AS should be unable to use sarcasm, I'm saying sarcasm should not allow her to speak untrue words.


You also claim, 2. The ability to use sarcasm allows AS to lie. I present the title of your original topic, "Cadsuane lies!" and also your statement
...an AS can lie if she couches it in sarcasm...


Finally, you claim, 3. The use of sarcasm implies the ability to make an untrue statement that is not intended to deceive (so it is not a lie) but is obviously not true.
Romanda, knowing that Egwene is wearing a red dress in full view of everyone in the camp, can claim Egwene's dress is in fact yellow, because obviously everyone knows the real truth? I think we both know that should not be possible.


Your claims are, 3. not true (but, as you said, we both knew that), 2. not true, and 1. true. I think I can tie all these answers together consistently with the practice by the characters of following the oath by adding one concept: the meaning conveyed by a statement.

Your example in claim 3 is exactly what Verin does with Egwene to prove she can lie. She says that Egwene's dress is green. In other words, she makes a statement that conveys no meaning beyond its words, and those words are untrue. So the meaning conveyed is untrue, and it is not allowed.

What about sarcasm? Recall above when I defined "sarcasm," and I emphasized part of the definition by saying, "To count as sarcasm, the statement must by definition be intended to hurt the recipient."

To be sarcastic not only permits one to speak untrue words, it requires one to speak untrue words. By the letter of the oath this practice should not be allowed. But it is. So what does this imply? If we look at the meaning conveyed by sarcasm, it has nothing to do with the words of the statement. The actual meaning of Cadsuane's statement is not "I did not know what you just told me," but is, "You're an idiot" or some such thing. (I'll return to this in my closing)

Now, on to claim 2. Can one use sarcasm to lie? I claim one cannot.

If we accept that a statement is sarcastic, we've already accepted that it was intended to hurt. It cannot, therefore, be also intended to deceive. If a person makes an untrue statement with intent to deceive, that person cannot at the same time be using that statement to ironically make fun of the recipient. It doesn't make sense to intend a person to believe your lie but also intend for them not to believe it and be hurt by it. If you want the recipient to be hurt by a statement (and we know you do because it's a sarcastic statement) they must know the statement is false. So to intend to hurt, you must intend for them to know the statement is false. This is the exact opposite of intending to deceive. So using sarcasm is not the same as lying. The two are incompatible.

To close, I argue that given what we know from studying sarcasm, the intent of a statement does not matter to the oath. What matters is the truth of the actual meaning conveyed by a statement. To lie is to intend to deceive, and is prohibited. To say that a white dress is green does not intend to deceive, but those untrue words are prohibited. Both are prohibited because the meaning conveyed is untrue.

To sarcastically say "I didn't know that" is, in fact, speaking untrue words. Yet it is allowed. I say that is because the actual meaning conveyed, this statement is false and I want it to hurt, is not untrue.

(To anticipate your response, you might say, "Well, it shouldn't be allowed." I don't think that matters, because it very explicitly is allowed.)

Edit:
I've thought about it more, and it seems that the oath will allow a statement to pass if either the wording of the statement or the meaning of the statement or both are true.
So true words + true meaning is obviously allowed.
True words + false meaning, or a lie by omission, is also obviously allowed. We have an overabundance of this in the series.
False words + true meaning is sarcasm (so I claim) and is allowed even though directly contradictory to the wording of the oath.
False words + false meaning is, of course, not allowed.
This message last edited by Shadowkiller on 09/12/2009 at 08:23:51 PM
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Cadsuane lies! - 06/12/2009 06:10:41 PM 2020 Views
Re: Cadsuane lies! - 06/12/2009 06:18:39 PM 1225 Views
Sarcasm is one thing - 06/12/2009 06:43:12 PM 946 Views
I disagree - 06/12/2009 06:51:27 PM 902 Views
RJ has said they're allowed to be sarcastic - 06/12/2009 07:07:32 PM 863 Views
How does that jive with the Oaths? - 06/12/2009 07:13:21 PM 902 Views
Good point, but in that same book Tamra said that Gitara didn't say anything before dying *NM* - 06/12/2009 07:53:31 PM 414 Views
Re: Good point, but in that same book Tamra said that Gitara didn't say anything before dying - 06/12/2009 08:03:36 PM 957 Views
Yes, she did state it. - 06/12/2009 08:57:47 PM 881 Views
Re: Yes, she did state it. - 07/12/2009 01:39:07 AM 846 Views
Re: How does that jive with the Oaths? - 06/12/2009 07:57:10 PM 799 Views
The Oaths focus on INTENT - 06/12/2009 10:01:27 PM 859 Views
None of what you describe is an Oath ingrained into your bones. - 07/12/2009 01:52:49 AM 725 Views
It's ENTIRELY about self-rationalization - 07/12/2009 03:59:00 AM 713 Views
^This. *NM* - 07/12/2009 08:23:27 AM 397 Views
Because it isn't a lie - 06/12/2009 07:44:29 PM 868 Views
I understand this, I'm not arguing that an AS should not be able to be sarcastic - 06/12/2009 08:08:15 PM 859 Views
Verin didn't say it sarcastically. - 06/12/2009 08:11:31 PM 704 Views
Really? I never would have known that without you - 06/12/2009 08:39:56 PM 788 Views
Re: I understand this, I'm not arguing that an AS should not be able to be sarcastic - 06/12/2009 08:35:23 PM 886 Views
Quote for you - 06/12/2009 08:42:52 PM 823 Views
Re: Quote for you - 07/12/2009 01:30:57 AM 746 Views
The sarcasm was for him repeating himself to her. The "remember" is the part she's refering to. - 07/12/2009 10:15:06 AM 664 Views
That's why I think this example of sarcasm works as opposed to Cadsuane who makes a false statement - 07/12/2009 03:17:52 PM 722 Views
sarcasm is sarcasm. In both instances their is technically a lie. - 07/12/2009 11:28:02 PM 682 Views
Not at all the case - 07/12/2009 11:58:42 PM 770 Views
Do you really believe he waited till the last minute to tell Seonid? - 14/12/2009 01:32:37 PM 830 Views
That's the whole point of her being able to say what she did! - 14/12/2009 04:05:24 PM 622 Views
What about the Sheriam thing? - 07/12/2009 01:49:32 PM 704 Views
Re: What about the Sheriam thing? - 07/12/2009 02:15:25 PM 669 Views
I actually don't take it as proof. - 07/12/2009 09:00:58 PM 705 Views
Yeah, I thought about that possibility too... - 07/12/2009 10:21:16 PM 928 Views
Sarcasm - 06/12/2009 07:14:47 PM 900 Views
It's obviously meant to be sarcasm, I just don't like - 06/12/2009 07:18:40 PM 695 Views
Here is what RJ said about it - 06/12/2009 07:41:18 PM 845 Views
Well I have to say I think RJ made the wrong call with this one *NM* - 06/12/2009 07:43:47 PM 369 Views
Like my momma used to say... - 06/12/2009 11:27:22 PM 741 Views
Your momma is a wise woman. - 07/12/2009 03:14:27 PM 641 Views
Agreed. - 07/12/2009 01:45:39 AM 649 Views
You can already drive a truck through the oaths. Does this one additional tiny gap really matter? - 07/12/2009 04:07:16 AM 678 Views
Alys (Moiraine alias) *NM* - 07/12/2009 05:13:18 AM 991 Views
No, no it doesn't. - 08/12/2009 03:31:11 PM 653 Views
Re: No, no it doesn't. - 08/12/2009 04:41:42 PM 694 Views
what do you think a RL lie detector would tell in this case? - 07/12/2009 12:27:07 PM 647 Views
in RL you would get warned by the investigator to cooperate - 07/12/2009 01:04:33 PM 693 Views
But how would the machine reading indicate? - 07/12/2009 07:04:22 PM 677 Views
Where's the problem? - 09/12/2009 04:18:40 PM 609 Views
It's in the way the Oath is worded - 09/12/2009 05:14:39 PM 663 Views
Re: It's in the way the Oath is worded - 09/12/2009 05:36:59 PM 674 Views
See the Cadsuane quote, but I'll give you another one - 09/12/2009 06:15:32 PM 873 Views
PS You misread my original quote - 09/12/2009 11:00:56 PM 614 Views
You're so right. My fault. *NM* - 10/12/2009 12:57:29 AM 583 Views
No worries! It a discussion forum, we're supposed to discuss - 10/12/2009 12:58:39 AM 679 Views
Re: PS You misread my original quote - 28/12/2009 10:04:51 PM 786 Views
Lies, untruths, sarcasm, and meaning - 09/12/2009 07:46:25 PM 741 Views
We are starting understand each other - 09/12/2009 10:09:41 PM 702 Views
Re: We are starting understand each other - 10/12/2009 01:03:08 AM 640 Views
Completely agree - 10/12/2009 01:23:36 AM 699 Views
Why do you think she *had* noticed the Aiel? *NM* - 14/12/2009 02:02:24 PM 299 Views
because she arrived with Rand and dozens of Maidens, - 15/12/2009 01:02:43 AM 625 Views

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