There is something interesting in saying "I don't know" in the course of an argument. Not necessarily in naive way, but more or like in the occasion of saying "yes."
'i don't know' is i think far from naive. poetry is predicated in the phrase? certainly for me, if i can get all stupidly romantic and quote an over-quoted poet, is not 'i don't know' on par with keats' negative capability. to discover in poetry is to be open, to maintain equipose in the tumult? i recall polish nobel laureate wislawa symorska's lecture was titled 'i don't know'. knowledge, and maybe even wisdom, who knows, begins with the words 'i don't know'.
today I got a ride into Amsterdam from a woman out of The Hague. She asked me something about New York. . . was it too busy for me? I said "I don't know". It was not a yes, but rather a polite "no". A way of saying "fuck you and what you consider to be busy; fuck you're idea of new york; fuck business, but no, that's not what's wrong with it. It's actually too dull."
@richard: claude royet-journoud, in his new book, mentions what he sees as a 'métier d'ignorance' (craft of ignorance) when it comes to poetry.
@alex: hum ... that was rude and really not what i had in mind for 'i don't know.' i saw it in an argument as a way to avoid absolute answers, a way out of the situation where bertrand russell described as 'logic is hell.'
no offense to you, francois, but what i felt towards her at the time was very angry (perhaps rude). I have been quite busy in New York, and have found that, whether I am preoccupied or not, the city is dull, flat and gray, culturally it manifests vapid commercialism, and what people refer to as 'busy' is actually just occupational laziness and irresponsibility.
you are not wrong to say that one can concede by admitting that one is uncertain of the other side's validity, but it can also be a device, when one does not wish to argue, to avoid proffering a counter opinion.
Again, sorry, I didn't mean to offend. sometimes venting on my own blog isn't enough :-+
'metier d'ignorance'! yes, that is what i was mumbling about. but how does the poet define ignorance. not willful and crude, but the expression of finding and seeking without searching for the ready-made?
certianly yr post, francois, touches upon what i've been working toward myself.
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@alex: hum ... that was rude and really not what i had in mind for 'i don't know.' i saw it in an argument as a way to avoid absolute answers, a way out of the situation where bertrand russell described as 'logic is hell.'
you are not wrong to say that one can concede by admitting that one is uncertain of the other side's validity, but it can also be a device, when one does not wish to argue, to avoid proffering a counter opinion.
Again, sorry, I didn't mean to offend. sometimes venting on my own blog isn't enough :-+
certianly yr post, francois, touches upon what i've been working toward myself.