DISCRIMINATE, v.i. To note the particulars in which one person or thing is, if possible, more objectionable than another.
Interpretation
The quote highlights the act of distinguishing negative traits among people or things.
Ambrose Bierce's definition of 'discriminate' emphasizes the critical nature of evaluating and identifying the faults or undesirable qualities in individuals or objects. It suggests that the process of discrimination involves a subjective judgment that examines the particulars where one may be deemed less favorable than another, thus pointing to the nuanced considerations inherent in our perceptions of value and morality.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about social justice and the effects of bias in society.
PALM, n. A species of tree . . . of which the familiar "itching palm" ("Palma hominis") is most widely distributed . . . . This noble vegetable exudes a kind of invisible gum, which may be detected by applying to the bark a piece of gold or silver.
Human nature is pretty well balanced; for every lacking virtue there is a rough substitute that will serve at a pinch--as cunning is the wisdom of the unwise, and ferocity the courage of the coward.
Indigestion: A disease which the patient and his friends frequently mistake for deep religious conviction and concern for the salvation of mankind. As the simple Red Man of the Western Wild put it, with, it must be confessed, a certain force: 'Plenty well, no pray; big belly ache, heap God.'
Disobey n:To celebrate with an appropriate ceremony the maturity of a command
NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning - which is a phenomenon.
PARDON, v. To remit a penalty and restore to the life of crime. To add to the lure of crime the temptation of ingratitude.
America, with the same voice which spoke herself into existence as a nation, proclaimed to mankind the inextinguishable rights of human nature, and the only lawful foundations of government.
Satan, really, is the romantic youth of Jesus re-appearing for a moment.
No one ever seems to wonder what happens if it turns out we hate living on a planet? What if the sky’s too big? What if the air stinks? What if we go hungry?’ ‘And what if the air tastes of honey? What if there’s so much food we all get too fat? What if the sky is so beautiful we don’t get any work done because we’re all looking at it too much?
It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without the agency of a Supreme Being.
People do not think in English or Chinese or Apache; they think in a language of thought. This language of thought probably looks a bit like all these languagesBut compared with any given language, mentalese must be richer in some ways and simpler in others.
I think a child should be allowed to take his father's or mother's name at will on coming of age. Paternity is a legal fiction.
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