Reductio ad absurdum

“You, gentlemen, as representatives of that institution which recognizes only truths that are deduced from reductio ad absurdums will probably have no difficulty in perceiving the truth of this absurdity and hence be ready to excuse the outcome of it—my absence.”

Constructing representations out of atoms that are already themselves representations cannot address the origins of the atoms per se. Careful pursuit of such approaches has yielded bizarre reductio ad absurdums such as the implication that virtually all concepts that human beings are capable of having are already in the genes.

One way to argue against a position is to demonstrate that it proves too much. Proponents of an HWR analysis of negligence may insist that the conceptual and normative arguments that have been directed against their project ultimately generate reductio ad absurdums suggesting that I have proved too much.