Collection: Ironic

“Questioning while pretending not to know” — in Socratic practice it’s a debating tactic used to unsettle an opponent. Valued to varying degrees by thinkers and sometimes exposing those who use it to charges of cynicism, it also creates in art a critical shift of perspective and a striking contrast between signified and signifier.

Seen in its humorous guise as the “politeness of despair,” it becomes a way of defending oneself against melancholy.