Aporia expresses doubt about an idea or conclusion. Among its several uses are the suggesting of alternatives without making a commitment to either or any:
- I am not sure whether to side with those who say that higher taxes reduce inflation or with those who say that higher taxes increase inflation.
- I have never been able to decide whether I really approve of dress codes, because extremism seems to reign both with them and without them.
Such a statement of uncertainty can tie off a piece of discussion you do not have time to pursue, or it could begin an examination of the issue, and lead you into a conclusion resolving your doubt.
Aporia can also dismiss assertions irrelevant to your discussion without either conceding or denying them:
- I do not know whether this legislation will work all the miracles promised by its backers, but it does seem clear that . . . .
- I am not sure about the other reasons offered in favor of the new freeway, but I do believe . . . .
- Yes, I know the assay report shows twenty pounds of gold per ton of ore, and I do not know what to say about that. What I do know is that the richest South African mines yield only about three ounces of gold per ton.
You can use aporia to cast doubt in a modest way, as a kind of understatement:
- I am not so sure I can accept Tom's reasons for wanting another new jet.
- I have not yet been fully convinced that dorm living surpasses living at home. For one thing, there is no refrigerator nearby . . . .
Ironic doubt--doubt about which of several closely judgable things exceeds the others, for example--can be another possibility:
- . . . Whether he took them from his fellows more impudently, gave them to a harlot more lasciviously, removed them from the Roman people more wickedly, or altered them more presumptuously, I cannot well declare. --Cicero
- And who was genuinely most content--whether old Mr. Jennings dozing in the sun, or Bill and Molly holding hands and toying under the palm tree, or old Mrs. Jennings watching them agape through the binoculars-I cannot really say.
And you can display ignorance about something while still showing your attitude toward it or toward something else:
- It is hard to know which ice cream is better, banana or coffee.
- I have often wondered whether they realize that those same clothes are available for half the price under a different label.
