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More than a superlative.

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The Pentacle Queen
 
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 05:05 am
If a superlative describes the 'most' of a particular category of adjective, is there any metalanguage that describes these words: omnipotent, omnibenevolent, omniscient etc.
Thanks, pq
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contrex
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 05:13 am
Omnipotent not a superlative, it is an adjective, meaning having unlimited power, force or authority. For adjectives with three syllables or more, we form the comparative with more and the superlative with most. Thus according to that rule, you could have "more omnipotent" (comparative) and "most omnipotent" (superlative). However omnipotence is an absolute quality like virginity, perfection, etc. Adjectives denoting these are sometimes called "non-gradable adjectives". Is that what you are looking for?



The Pentacle Queen
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 05:19 am
@contrex,
Yeah but surely something being 'more all-powerful' than something else is a contradiction.
contrex
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 05:26 am
@The Pentacle Queen,
See my edited post.

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contrex
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 05:28 am
@The Pentacle Queen,
The Pentacle Queen wrote:

Yeah but surely something being 'more all-powerful' than something else is a contradiction.


Unless you believe in deities, something being "all-powerful" at all is nonsense.
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maxdancona
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 05:32 am
@contrex,
Every superlative is an adjective. Omnipotent is simply a grade of the word potent.

You can be impotent, or potent. You can be more potent.

Omnipotent is the superlative. You can't get more potent then omnipotent.


contrex
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 05:43 am
@maxdancona,
maxdancona wrote:

Every superlative is an adjective. Omnipotent is simply a grade of the word potent.

You can be impotent, or potent. You can be more potent.

Omnipotent is the superlative. You can't get more potent then omnipotent.





The most potent rat poison is not omnipotent, though, is it?
maxdancona
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 06:16 am
@contrex,
What would it be then? Omnipotentest?
contrex
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 06:19 am
@maxdancona,
maxdancona wrote:

What would it be then? Omnipotentest?



No matter how potent the most potent rat poison is, I don't think it could make the world in seven days, or part the Red Sea. (Do you see what I am getting at here?)

maxdancona
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 08:29 pm
@contrex,
Factually, it could make the world in six days.
0 Replies
 
Fil Albuquerque
 
  1  
Reply Wed 3 Aug, 2011 10:27 pm
...The thing on omnipotence is precisely it can do nothing...it is done ! Wink
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JTT
 
  1  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 09:50 am
@The Pentacle Queen,
Quote:
Yeah but surely something being 'more all-powerful' than something else is a contradiction.


You're not allowing for the untold number of variables that life throws out there.
Fil Albuquerque
 
  1  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 10:26 am
@JTT,
To where I stand an "all powerful" is an attribute of a final set not of any of its constituents...there is no anything which can be correlated to "all powerful" but the set of everything itself...
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 04:25 pm
@Fil Albuquerque,
A: God is omnipotent.

B: No, the universe is more omnipotent than God.

A: Nope, God is the most omnipotent there has ever been.

B: Wrong again, the universe is the most omnipotent.
Fil Albuquerque
 
  2  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 04:53 pm
@JTT,
There is no logical justifiable reason to not conclude that creation and creator are necessarilly as a set bigger then any of them alone...that is to say when we use the term, "the world", that term in itself defines everything...call it God if you want or the Multiverse or Windowsplex... Wink

"Creation" it is very much a continuos process,, a metaphor for the aeons and their cyclic long term structural algorithmic patterns...
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 05:01 pm
@Fil Albuquerque,
I think you're speaking philosophically while I'm simply talking about life and language, Fil.
Fil Albuquerque
 
  1  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 05:10 pm
@JTT,
Yes I must admitt I felt myself tempted to derail it a little bit... Wink
(nevertheless you should review what all powerful really means)
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 05:55 pm
@Fil Albuquerque,
I fully grasp what it means, Fil. That doesn't mean there aren't language/life situations that allow it to be superlativized.
Fil Albuquerque
 
  1  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 06:02 pm
@JTT,
...you maybe ought to discuss that with Cantor...
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Thu 4 Aug, 2011 06:21 pm
@Fil Albuquerque,
Quote:
you maybe ought to discuss that with Cantor.


Cantor I would. Smile
0 Replies
 
 

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