"I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false is guilty of falsehood, and the accidental truth of the assertion does not justify or excuse him."
It's quoting Abraham Lincoln, and there's supposed to be something glaringly wrong with it, but I don't see it. Can anyone help me? I feel such a dope.
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Makes sense to me...
"I believe", is not the same as "knowing"? That's my guess.
I go along with Mrs S. Lincoln's "I believe" means that he, too, is subject to his own rule. He does not know for sure, therefore he is committing a possible falsehood himself.
Here's what I have to think...
See, Abe made a very clear statement, yet, he hasn't done the background research to provide his belief a backbone. To say that stating something one may not know to be true offends his statement. He's making a statement that he may not know to be true.
Mrs. Staggs wins. Thank you Mrs. Staggs. Thank you all. I'm glad Carni didn't catch it, because that gives me some good company. Maybe she read the same editorial I did in the Gazette Times.
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