At least as far as English is concerned, one never simply "knows nothing". There is always a limiter... "about". "I know nothing about the Urdu language". In common speech, the explicit limitation may be omitted, but inferred through context.
Either way, in this case, "nothing" is actually a something - specifically, the lack of a quality or absence of a "something".
Anyone claiming to know nothing, without context or limitation, is engaging in hyperbole. Such a statement is inherently self-contradictory in any case - one must know of something in order to have a conception of nothing.
Ah, but you assume a lot. What if I were speaking of the state of nothing, what if by 'know' I didn't mean 'has knowledge of', but an intimate connection with? I appreciate the semantics, and I agree, in common speech, nothing is an object. But the entire point is, if even nothing is something, how can we know, or experience, pure nothingness? Well, we can't, is the simple answer, but I like to contemplate it anyway.
No, nothing isn't a negative. It's completely neutral. It simply can't exist in our universe, which is the entire point. You can go around and around in circles, but by experiencing or finding nothing, you're making it a thing, and therefore it's not nothing anymore.
There is always a limiter... "about". "I know nothing about the Urdu language". In common speech, the explicit limitation may be omitted, but inferred through context.
Either way, in this case, "nothing" is actually a something - specifically, the lack of a quality or absence of a "something".
Anyone claiming to know nothing, without context or limitation, is engaging in hyperbole. Such a statement is inherently self-contradictory in any case - one must know of something in order to have a conception of nothing.
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Experiencing it first hand is typically unpleasant :)
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The problem here is that you're using "something" as a positive descriptor, while "nothing" is a negative object.
"Nothing" is an absence or lack of "something". It cannot exist, in reality nor as a concept, except in relation to "something"
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*you answer*
*raspy voice*
"Have you checked the kittens?"
*click*
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