To use a tautology or not to use a tautology in your writing, that is the question. Whether you’re a script writer, a casual writer, or just your average everyday email writer, you may find yourself wondering, ‘What is a tautology?’ ‘When is it appropriate to use a tautology in a sentence?’ Or even, ‘Why did my teacher say my essay was tautological?’ Well, have no fear, because this article will provide you with all the information you need to become an expert in all things tautologies.
TAUTOLOGY DEFINITION AND MEANING
First, let’s define tautology
If we want to understand the ins and outs of the big, ‘What is a tautology’ question, it’s important to establish that there are two prominent types of tautologies: rhetorical and logical.
Rhetorical tautologies will arguably be the most important variation to keep in mind because these tautological phrases can manifest as mistakes within your day-to-day spoken or written words. But worry not, we’ll provide some specific examples once we dig even deeper into tautology meaning below, so you can be confident in your ability to spot them.
Logical tautologies on the other hand, tend to be more all-encompassing statements that you likely don’t use very often, as they tend to state the obvious without any truly new or useful information conveyed within the sentence. It’s worth noting that logical tautologies are also utilized in math, often examined in terms of logic symbols and truth tables. But since we’re here to improve our understanding of tautology specifically in terms of writing, we’ll leave that to the mathematicians.
Anyway, let’s start basic and provide a tautology definition...
TAUTOLOGY DEFINITION
What is a tautology?
A Tautology is a saying in which two different words or statements are used to convey the exact same idea. To put it in rhetorical terms, a tautology is a needlessly redundant sentence, like, ‘She is a former alumni.’ The word alumni already communicates that she is a former member of the institution in question, so the use of ‘former’ alongside ‘alumni’ is redundant and unnecessary.
In logical terms, a tautological sentence is one that is absolutely true because its structure factors in all logical possibilities. Logical tautologies are statements designed to be true in every possible scenario, making them undeniably valid, like, ‘It is raining or it is not raining.’ While this sentence does not impart new information, it is a logically true statement because we would not have to check the weather to confirm its truth. It is either raining or it is not raining, no other possibilities exist.
Rhetorical and logical tautology examples:
- “You are the winner of a free gift!” – rhetorical tautology
- “He is accused of illegal trafficking” – rhetorical tautology
- “In my opinion, I think she’s nice.” – rhetorical tautology
- “The wheel is green or it is not green.” – logical tautology
- “You’re joining us or you’re not.” – logical tautology
- “All bachelors are unmarried.” – logical tautology
TAUTOLOGY EXAMPLES
Tautology Examples & Proper Use
Now that we’re on solid ground in terms of tautology meaning, let’s dive even deeper with examples of when you should or should not use a tautology in writing. To kick us off, let’s hear more about tautologies from a certified English teacher on YouTube, iswearenglish.
Tautology definition, meaning & examples
Iswearenglish not only expertly articulates the answer to the question, ‘What is a tautology?’ he also provides wise words to go by if you ever find yourself questioning if it’s appropriate to use that tautology you have swirling around your head – “If you want to be clear and concise, it’s better not to use [tautology].”
Tautology is a tool, and like any tool, there are situations when it’s very useful, and others when it’s very not. When it comes to writing anything academic, where the intent is to communicate information in the clearest way possible for the receiver to take in, it’s most often safe to assume that adding a tautology will only lower the resolution of your overall point.
This is why tautologies are often perceived negatively, because in the realm of basic information communication, their use tends to point to a fundamental misunderstanding of the words being applied. If young Timmy writes in his homework assignment, “Personally, in my opinion, the book was good,” it’s safe to assume Timmy made a mistake and didn’t register that using ‘personally’ and ‘in my opinion’ together is unnecessarily repetitive. In other words, he didn’t realize he was being tautological with his sentence.
However, when it comes to writing with creative intent, like crafting a film script or creating poetry for example, tautology can actually be a useful way to add some extra punch to what you’re saying... as long as it’s applied skillfully.
Consider the oldest joke in the book, “Why did the chicken cross the road?... to get to the other side.” Here, the tautology is the point. The fact that getting to the other side is inherent to the idea of crossing a road automatically makes ‘to get to the other side’ the least expected answer. Yet, in comedy, a punchline is often funny precisely because it’s so unexpected, so it works.
For another example, imagine you’re writing a fictional character that you want to come off as wise. Surely, you would avoid having that character use tautologies while speaking, right? Well, not necessarily. A saying such as, “It is what it is” is both a tautology and a valuable bit of wisdom. While in stringent academic terms, this phrase might be considered unnecessarily vague, if said at just the right moment in a story by a character who’s finally making peace with a difficult situation that is beyond their control, it can ring deeply profound.As you can see by now, context is everything when it comes to tautology.
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TAUTOLOGY HISTORY
The History of Tautology
Define tautology? Check. Understand when and where to use a tautology? Check. Now all that’s left to do is answer that last nagging question, “When did this whole tautology thing start?”
To assist us on this one, we’ll let our friend, ‘Helpful Professor Explains!' chime in.
Tautology Origin, Definition & Examples
As the history section in the above video clarifies, tautology originates from ancient Greek and roughly translates to “the same word or idea.”
As far as how and why tautology was introduced as a concept in logic, rather than just in grammar and rhetoric, well we can thank Ludwig Wittgenstein for that. He was the first to convert tautologies into math formulas on the basis of their inherently true structure. In simpler terms, Wittgenstein used a mathematical chart to test every true/false combination within a sentence as a way of seeing if the sentence can ever be proven false. If it can’t be proven false with the chart, then it's definitely a tautology.
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Now that we’ve covered everything from the definition to the history of tautology, you’re well-equipped to start avoiding, or maybe even applying this concept in your next writing project. Just remember, context is always key when it comes to tautology.
Up Next
Oxymoron: The Opposite of Tautology
We may have just answered the big question, ‘What is a tautology?’ but here’s the even bigger question you won’t want to miss, ‘Who is tautology’s evil doppelganger?’ The answer: Oxymoron. While tautology embodies repetition, oxymoron is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum embodying contradiction. If you found expanding your knowledge on tautologies useful, you’ll definitely want to brush up on oxymorons next.
