AN EYE FOR FALLACIES
Sir,-After reading G.H.D.’s letter in your August 13 issue I am forced to conclude that he is a competent philosophist rather than a competent philosopher. That I used "fallacy" in the sense of "a flaw that vitiates syllogism" was abundantly clear from the text of my letter. G.H.D. seeing the scholastic sheepskin of distinction interprets it to suit his own purpose, and uses "fallacy" in the vague sense of "error," thus wasting limited space contradicting statements I did not make. In hinting that my verse is based on an erroneous philosophy of love, G.H.D. does me an injustice. I do not believe that in love the biological element is prior to the personal relationships in-' volved. In fact, I agree that such an opinion is "poor philosophy"; but when G.H.D. goes further and intimates that its adherents ipso facto produce poor art
there is little need to examine further his credentials as a critic of poetry. In conclusion, still "standing proudly on my dogskin mat" (Peke?) I wish to point out that if G.H.D. had examined the "domestic animals" more carefully he would have seen, wolves beneath their mild exteriors. As a "ranger" he is obviously in need of spectacles.
VICTOR
O'LEARY
(Whatatutu).
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 789, 3 September 1954, Page 5
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207AN EYE FOR FALLACIES New Zealand Listener, Volume 31, Issue 789, 3 September 1954, Page 5
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