A critic’s flawed work can still catalyze clarifying one’s own thinking.
Evidence
Thus, I am prepared to entertain a great many arguments I do not endorse as legitimate; and indeed, I am able to criticize such arguments precisely because the various modalities of argument give me standards by — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 452 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: A critic can oppose his own discipline and still leave a lasting legacy; Criticism must be judged by objective validity, not the critic’s identity. — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 460; Failed or refuted works often stay canonized through sustained critique (+4 more)
Broader Connections
- A critic can oppose his own discipline and still leave a lasting legacy
#corroborates(0.80) - Failed or refuted works often stay canonized through sustained critique
#corroborates(0.80) - One can entertain arguments as legitimate while rejecting their conclusions as unjustified.
#corroborates(0.78) — Philip Chase Bobbitt, Reflections Inspired by My Critics, 452 - Criticism must be judged by objective validity, not the critic’s identity.
#contradicts(0.75) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 460 - Scholarly criticism can refine a field without changing its structural function.
#qualifies(0.72) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 341