Contextualizing Ambrose Bierce

business_kid · 10-05-2022, 06:40 AM

It seems to me that Bierce was satirizing some set of opinions when he wrote this:

Quote:

Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are
the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with
Haeckel, the condensation or precipitation of matter from ether --
whose existence is proved by the condensation or precipitation ... A
fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any
more about the matter than the others.
-- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"

As someone who has not heard of any of his universal theories which have doubtless past their 'best before' date anyhow, what was the guy poking fun at?

boughtonp · 10-05-2022, 08:13 AM

The quote makes more sense when read in full and with context that Ambrose was a writer/comedian not a scientist:

Quote:

Originally Posted by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Dictionary

The Devil's Dictionary is a satirical dictionary written by American journalist Ambrose Bierce, consisting of common words followed by humorous and satirical definitions

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary (1911)

MOLECULE, n. The ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. It is distinguished from the corpuscle, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter, by a closer resemblance to the atom, also the ultimate, indivisible unit of matter. Three great scientific theories of the structure of the universe are the molecular, the corpuscular and the atomic. A fourth affirms, with Haeckel, the condensation of precipitation of matter from ether -- whose existence is proved by the condensation of precipitation. The present trend of scientific thought is toward the theory of ions. The ion differs from the molecule, the corpuscle and the atom in that it is an ion. A fifth theory is held by idiots, but it is doubtful if they know any more about the matter than the others.

For additional context, a few other Devil's Dictionary definitions from Ambrose on Wikiquote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ambrose_Bierce

Cat, n. A soft, indestructible automaton provided by nature to be kicked when things go wrong in the domestic circle.
...
Monday, n. In Christian countries, the day after the baseball game.
...
Year, n. A period of three hundred and sixty-five disappointments.

business_kid · 10-05-2022, 12:10 PM

Ah, he was defining the molecule, was he?

smallpond · 10-05-2022, 12:51 PM

Bierce also wrote:

Code:

MAGNET, n. Something acted upon by magnetism.

MAGNETISM, n. Something acting upon a magnet.

The two definitions immediately foregoing are condensed from the works of one 
thousand eminent scientists, who have illuminated the subject with a great white 
light, to the inexpressible advancement of human knowledge.

I don't think Bierce was a fan of scientists.

boughtonp · 10-05-2022, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by business_kid

Ah, he was defining the molecule, was he?

No; he wasn't writing a real dictionary. His "definitions" appear to all be satirical remarks / cynical commentary.

In this example, he seems to be taking the piss out of those claiming to have found "the" answer (rather than simply an answer).

business_kid · 10-05-2022, 01:13 PM

Oh I got that he was being sarcastic, all right

Code:

CLERGYMAN, n. A man who undertakes the management of our spiritual affairs
as a method of bettering his temporal ones. --Ambrose Bierce

There were a lot of funny notions about then, aether, eugenics, & all that.

frankbell · 10-05-2022, 08:23 PM

Bierce once defined "Presbyterians" as those who believe that the elders of the church should be referred to as "Presbyters."

business_kid · 10-06-2022, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frankbell

Bierce once defined "Presbyterians" as those who believe that the elders of the church should be referred to as "Presbyters."

Some of the variations on the "Christian" faith available in the Excited States would inspire sarcasm all right. But don't start me there.

enorbet · 10-06-2022, 01:14 PM

Interesting subject matter, business_kid, kudos! It is often said that all of us are products of our times and as astute and eloquent as Bierce was, he was nevertheless such a product. When Bierce was born, Sir Isaac Newton had been deceased ~120 years. Newton's discoveries and equations were so successful (still used in 2022 within their limits) not only did then modern Physics begin to carry his name, Newtonian or Classical Physics, but after 120 years of success after success many scientists and even laymen became quite smug and arrogant, assuming we "knew it all". Some countries considered closing their Patent Offices since surely everything important had already been invented

This is the world Bierce grew up in and lived through and he quite rightly poked jabs at such arrogance.

By the time Bierce died, Quantum Mechanics, though the beginnings started just before Bierce was born, had yet to be developed enough to even have earned that moniker. A few decades after Bierce had died as lofty a scientist as Albert Einstein (who changed Newtonian Physics forever) was still so steeped in Classical Physics and so convinced that "God doesn't play dice" that he was extremely negative about QM and largely because of it's assertions and dependence upon probabilities. Einstein preferred to think in certainties. Eventually, even Albert Einstein came around some but he surely found giving up certainty highly distasteful. I think Bierce would have much preferred the Science of the 20th Century - less smug, more real, even if less intuitive.

business_kid · 10-07-2022, 05:15 AM

The world may be founded on physics, but people have more to occupy themselves.

Yes, Bierce saw Bell, Edison, Mesmer, Eugenics, Darwin, Tesla. He saw the pivotal date of 1914 which is hugely significant in Bible Chronology, WW1, the Titanic. The groundbreaking invention of radio also came then. But so much at that time thoroughly deserved the ribbing he provided.