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| Thus in ] with an argument from silence, the absence of a reference to an event or a document is used to cast doubt on the event not mentioned.<ref name=RHall55 /> While most historical approaches rely on what an author's works contain, an argument from silence relies on what the book or document does not contain.<ref name=RHall55 /> This approach thus uses what an author "should have said" rather than what is available in the author's extant writings.<ref name=Henige >''Historical evidence and argument'' by David P. Henige 2005 ISBN 978-0-299-21410-4 page 176.</ref><ref name=RHall55 >''Seven Pillories of Wisdom'' by David R. Hall 1991 ISBN 0-86554-369-0 pages 55-56.</ref> | Thus in ] with an argument from silence, the absence of a reference to an event or a document is used to cast doubt on the event not mentioned.<ref name=RHall55 /> While most historical approaches rely on what an author's works contain, an argument from silence relies on what the book or document does not contain.<ref name=RHall55 /> This approach thus uses what an author "should have said" rather than what is available in the author's extant writings.<ref name=Henige >''Historical evidence and argument'' by David P. Henige 2005 ISBN 978-0-299-21410-4 page 176.</ref><ref name=RHall55 >''Seven Pillories of Wisdom'' by David R. Hall 1991 ISBN 0-86554-369-0 pages 55-56.</ref> | ||
| Some |
Some scholars such as ] state that, although risky, such arguments can at times shed light on historical events.<ref name=Henige /> ] has pointed out the perils of arguments from silence, in that although no references appear to the "Rules of purity" codes of monastic conduct of 1103 in the ], or any of the ] documents, a copy of the code in which the author identifies himself exists.<ref name=Yifa32>''The origins of Buddhist monastic codes in China'' by Yifa, Zongze 2002 ISBN 0-8248-2494-6 page 32.</ref> | ||
| ==Historical analysis== | ==Historical analysis== | ||
Revision as of 15:53, 17 February 2013
An argument from silence (also called argumentum a silentio in Latin) is generally a conclusion drawn based on the absence of mention in a document. In the field of classical studies, it often refers to the deduction from the lack of references to a subject in the available writings of an author to the conclusion that he was ignorant of it.
Thus in historical analysis with an argument from silence, the absence of a reference to an event or a document is used to cast doubt on the event not mentioned. While most historical approaches rely on what an author's works contain, an argument from silence relies on what the book or document does not contain. This approach thus uses what an author "should have said" rather than what is available in the author's extant writings.
Some scholars such as David Henige state that, although risky, such arguments can at times shed light on historical events. Yifa has pointed out the perils of arguments from silence, in that although no references appear to the "Rules of purity" codes of monastic conduct of 1103 in the Transmission of the Lamp, or any of the Pure Land documents, a copy of the code in which the author identifies himself exists.
Historical analysis
An argument from silence can be convincing when mentioning a fact can be seen as so natural that its omission is a good reason to assume ignorance. For example, while the editors of Yerushalmi and Bavli mention the other community, most scholars believe these documents were written independently. Louis Jacobs writes, "If the editors of either had had access to an actual text of the other, it is inconceivable that they would not have mentioned this. Here the argument from silence is very convincing."
Yifa points out that arguments from silence are often less than conclusive, e.g. the lack of references to a compilation of a set of monastic codes by contemporaries or even by disciples does not mean that it never existed. This is well as illustrated by the case of Changlu Zongze's "Rules of purity" which he wrote for the Chan monastery in 1103. One of his contemporaries wrote a preface to a collection of his writings neglected to mention his code. And none of his biographies nor the documents of the Transmission of the Lamp, nor the Pure Land documents (which exalt him) refer to Zongze's collection of a monastic code. However a copy of the code in which the author identifies himself exists.
Frances Wood based her controversial book Did Marco Polo go to China? on arguments from silence. Woods argued that Marco Polo never went to China and fabricated his accounts because he failed to mention elements from the visual landscape such as tea, did not record the Great Wall and neglected to record practices such as foot-binding. She argued that no outsider could spend 15 years in China and not observe and record these elements. Most historians disagree with Wood's reasoning.
Legal aspects
In the context of Morocco's Truth Commission of 1999 regarding torture and secret detentions, Wu and Livescu state that the fact that someone remained silent is no proof of their ignorance about a specific piece of information. They point out that the absence of records about the torture of prisoners under the secret detention program is no proof that such detentions did not involve torture, or that some detentions did not take place.
See also
References
- ^ The origins of Buddhist monastic codes in China by Yifa, Zongze 2002 ISBN 0-8248-2494-6 page 32.
- http://www.umass.edu/wsp/history/outline/silence.html
- "silence, the argument from". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Ed. E. A. Livingstone. Oxford University Press, 2006.
- ^ Seven Pillories of Wisdom by David R. Hall 1991 ISBN 0-86554-369-0 pages 55-56.
- ^ Historical evidence and argument by David P. Henige 2005 ISBN 978-0-299-21410-4 page 176.
- "Talmud". A Concise Companion to the Jewish Religion. Louis Jacobs. Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Human Rights, Suffering, and Aesthetics in Political Prison Literature by Yenna Wu, Simona Livescu 2011 ISBN 0-7391-6741-3 pages 86-90.
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