“The way a question is asked limits and disposes the ways in which any answer to it—right or wrong—may be given.”

Source: Philosophy in a New Key (1942), Ch. 1, p. 1

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Susanne K. Langer 16
American philosopher 1895–1985

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“The right way to ask the question is: How does the concept of a point fit into the logical structure of Euclid's geometry? …It cannot be answered by a definition.”

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Context: Euclid... gave his famous definition of a point: "A point is that which has no parts, or which has no magnitude." …A point has no existence by itself. It exists only as a part of the pattern of relationships which constitute the geometry of Euclid. This is what one means when one says that a point is a mathematical abstraction. The question, What is a point? has no satisfactory answer. Euclid's definition certainly does not answer it. The right way to ask the question is: How does the concept of a point fit into the logical structure of Euclid's geometry?... It cannot be answered by a definition.

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“If the answer is more politicians, you are asking the wrong question.”

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