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non sequitur

 
Dictionary: non se·qui·tur   (nŏn sĕk'wĭ-tər, -tʊr') pronunciation
n.
  1. An inference or conclusion that does not follow from the premises or evidence.
  2. A statement that does not follow logically from what preceded it.

[Latin nōn sequitur, it does not follow : nōn, not + sequitur, third person sing. present tense of sequī, to follow.]


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Philosophy Dictionary: non sequitur
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(Latin, it does not follow) An argument in which the conclusion does not follow from the premises.

Law Dictionary: Non Sequitur
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Lat: it does not follow; it does not come after (in time). "Non seq." is an often-used abbreviated form. When an action or decree is non sequitur it is unrelated to the preceding events. A non sequitur is something that has no logical or temporal purpose for its place in the progression of events; it is logically, temporally and spatially incoherent.

Grammar Dictionary: non sequitur
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(non sek-wuh-tuhr)

A thought that does not logically follow what has just been said: “We had been discussing plumbing, so her remark about astrology was a real non sequitur.” Non sequitur is Latin for “It does not follow.”

Latin Phrase: Non Sequitur
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An inference or conclusion which doesn't follow from its premises (literally It Does Not Follow)

Wikipedia: Non sequitur
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A non sequitur (pronounced /ˌnɒnˈsiːkwɨtər or ˌnɒnˈsɛkwɨtər/) is a conversational and literary device, often used for comical purposes (as opposed to its use in formal logic). It is a comment which, due to its apparent lack of meaning relative to what it follows,[1] seems absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing, as in the following joke:

Q: How many surrealists does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Fish.

The use of non sequitur in humor can be deliberate or unintentional. Literally, the expression is Latin for "it does not follow."[2] In other literature, a non sequitur can denote an abrupt, illogical, unexpected or absurd turn of plot or dialogue not normally associated with or appropriate to that preceding it. It is a type of logical fallacy.

The non sequitur can be understood as the converse of cliché. Traditional comedy and drama can depend on the ritualization and predictability of human emotional experiences, where the Theatre of the Absurd uses disjunction and unpredictability. The New Yorker is popular for their use of non sequitur one-liners in their comics, often alienating people who do not regularly read the publication.

See also

References

  1. ^ The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. Oxford University Press, 2009.
  2. ^ Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary. http://mw1.m-w.com/dictionary/non%20sequitur

 
 
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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Philosophy Dictionary. The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy. Copyright © 1994, 1996, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Law Dictionary. Law Dictionary. Copyright © 2003 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Grammar Dictionary. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
Answers Corporation Latin Phrase. © 1999-2009 by Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Non sequitur" Read more

 

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