Refraction (Bent Thinking) #56

Fallacy of Quoting Out of Context (contextomy) – refers to the selective excerpting of words from their original context in a way that distorts the source’s intended meaning. Refutation: Words have context – sentences. Sentences have context – paragraphs. It is the paragraph that determines the meaning of the sentence. It is the sentence that determines the meaning of the words. Excerpting or in any way changing or removing words or phrases makes it impossible to know the original meaning. Example: Adam: Betty, yes, the exact words “you brother is a jerk” came out of my mouth yesterday, but the full sentence was, “Yesterday, Mr. Johnson, our next door neighbor said, “your brother is a jerk” and I challenged him and ordered him off our property.  Side Note: ALWAYS quote exactly and give the context. The whole purpose of citing sources is to make is possible for others to check the exact statement.