Obscurity can disguise banality as depth

Evidence

This process of abstraction is also related to the style of presentation, especially the penchant for writing dense prose sprinkled with obscure but poetic or scientific images after the laconic manner of the master (sic). Sibony, for example, has not been translated into English for the very good reason that he is virtually untranslatable. Even more than Lacan, his style is full of allusive word play that hints at plumbing Unconscious depths but does little to clarify the argument and in fact seems primarily designed to impress the reader with the author’s verbal dexterity and encyclopedic knowledge. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1403 (#expands, via linked claim)

The function of reflective thought is to face a situation where there is obscurity, doubt and conflict, and to transform that situation to one that is clear, coherent and harmonious with what has gone before and what may occur again. — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1307 (#responds-to, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Obscurantist prose in theory often substitutes for argumentative clarity — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1403; Reflective thought transforms obscurity and conflict into clarity and coherence — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1307; Deep stories exert power precisely because they go unnoticed — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 143

Broader Connections

• Obscurantist prose in theory often substitutes for argumentative clarity #expands (0.85) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1403
• Reflective thought transforms obscurity and conflict into clarity and coherence #responds-to (0.75) — Ruggero J. Aldisert, Agatha D. Aldisert, Logic for Lawyers- A Guide to Clear…, 1307