Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Sep 19, 2002 10:28
21 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term
Bonding thru Words
Native in: Spanish 
Works in: English to Spanish, French to Spanish, Danish to Spanish, and 2 more.
to be enforced by an outsider
English
Social Sciences
Psychology
This descriptive psychology he distinguished from the explanatory one. The latter, according to Dilthey, has an impossible task—that of causal interpretation of psychological phenomenae. But if we take into account the ambivalent polyphonic character of human spiritual life, any cause explaining a psychological phenomenon has to be chosen arbitrarily, ***to be enforced by an outsider***. Thus any hypothesis about the causes of psychological phenomenae will remain a speculative one, unable to stand the test of experience.
Text has been written by non natives and it gets tricky sometimes. I understand that sentence in two ways:
1)any cause explaining a psychological phenomenon has to be chosen arbitrarily, ***in order to be enforced by an outsider***
2) any cause explaining a psychological phenomenon has to be chosen arbitrarily, ***and has to be enforced by an outsider***
Which one would you go for?
Text has been written by non natives and it gets tricky sometimes. I understand that sentence in two ways:
1)any cause explaining a psychological phenomenon has to be chosen arbitrarily, ***in order to be enforced by an outsider***
2) any cause explaining a psychological phenomenon has to be chosen arbitrarily, ***and has to be enforced by an outsider***
Which one would you go for?
Change log
Jan 1, 2006 11:36: Fuad Yahya changed "Field" from "Other" to "Social Sciences" , "Field (specific)" from "(none)" to "Psychology"
Responses
+2
20 mins
Selected
has to be forced by an outsider
I thinke the author meant "forced," not "enforced."
Both terms mean imposed by force, but "enforced" typically means imposed by the threat of force, while "forced" simply means lacking spontaneity, not really called for. A forced explanation is one that is ultimately unsupported by the available data.
Fuad
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Note added at 2002-09-19 10:49:35 (GMT)
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Please forgive the typos.
Both terms mean imposed by force, but "enforced" typically means imposed by the threat of force, while "forced" simply means lacking spontaneity, not really called for. A forced explanation is one that is ultimately unsupported by the available data.
Fuad
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Note added at 2002-09-19 10:49:35 (GMT)
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Please forgive the typos.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks one more time "
+2
7 mins
Attila Piróth
France
France
France
PhD, ATA-certified En-Hu, sci-tech-IT
Native in: Hungarian 
Works in: English to Hungarian, French to Hungarian, Hungarian to English, and 2 more.
Your second option.
The first option
has to be chosen arbitrarily, ***in order to be enforced by an outsider***
does not make sense. It has to be arbitraty and has to come from an outsider. Therrefore option 2 is correct.
Even grammatically this is the option that needs a smaller touch-up. Just an AND is missing, which the writer may have (incorrectly) found unnecessary because of the comma.
has to be chosen arbitrarily, ***in order to be enforced by an outsider***
does not make sense. It has to be arbitraty and has to come from an outsider. Therrefore option 2 is correct.
Even grammatically this is the option that needs a smaller touch-up. Just an AND is missing, which the writer may have (incorrectly) found unnecessary because of the comma.
+3
8 mins
AND has to be...
Given the comma after 'arbitrarily', I would go for your second option. Having said that though, the poor punctuation and grammar of the text means that this is a hunch rather than a certainty.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Catherine Bolton
: Since it's chosen arbitrarily, the only confirmation can come from an outside party (or two, or three...).
26 mins
|
| agree |
John Kinory (X)
: 'poor' is being kind: phenomenae ... :-(
1 hr
|
| agree |
Tatiana Neroni (X)
4 hrs
|
9 mins
as it were imposed by an outsider
I would view this as an apposition, further explaining "has to be chosen arbitrarily"; in this sence, imposed may be clearer than enforced.
Just a suggestion,
greetings,
Nikolaus
Just a suggestion,
greetings,
Nikolaus
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