ABSTRACT
People have always been aware of the fact that there exist dozens of contradictory proverb pairs, as for example “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” and “Out of sight, out of mind.” Such oppositions should actually not be so surprising if one realizes that proverbs are not universal truths but rather limited pieces of folk wisdom which are valid only in specific situations. Many scholars have dealt with this supposed contradiction of proverbs from philosophical, linguistic, and logical points of view. Among the more important studies are H.G. Keene, “Conflicts of Experience,” Living Age, 185 (May 24, 1890), 483–486; Kenneth Burke, “Literature [Proverbs] as Equipment for Living,” in K. Burke, The Philosophy of Literary Form: Studies in Symbolic Action (Baton Rouge/Louisiana: Louisiana University Press, 1941), pp. 253–262; and Adrian Furnham, “The Proverbial Truth: Contextually Reconciling and the Truthfulness of Antonymous Proverbs,” Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 6 (1987), 49–55.
