"any more than" and "more"

Open Forum in English
1

  1. "We don’t hold all Muslims responsible for what happened [at the WTC in New York] any more than all Christians should be held responsible for what Pastor Jones has been saying. "

  2. “Religious fanatics are more antagonistic than atheists to religious freedom, and by extension, to intellectual freedom.”

In the first case, the writer(Kathleen Parker) rejects the following two statements before and after the phrase “any more than.”
a) all Muslims responsible for what happened [at the WTC in New York]
b) all Christians should be held responsible for what Pastor Jones has been saying

In the second case, I know that the writer whose name escapes me at the moment thinks that religious “fanatics” are antagonistic to intellectual freedom. I have a question. Can you notice if he thinks atheists are really antagonistic to intellectual freedom or not?

2

  1. “not any more than” really means “the same as”

  2. The writer says that religious fanatics are more antagonistic intellectual freedom than atheists, but does not offer any opinion on the degree of antagonism to intellectual freedom of atheists.

3

Thank you for your reply, Steve.

4
  1. A whale is no more a fish than a horse is.
  2. A whale is not any more a fish than a horse is.

Does the second sentence have the same meaning as the first one?

5

“Housing in San Francisco is not more expensive than housing in Palo Alto.”
Am I right in thinking that housing is expensive in both places?

6

I would only use sentence 1) if I ever had to convey that information…

Yes, the implication is that housing is expensive in both places.

7

Thank you, SanneT

8

It is not easy for me to understand the differences between the following three phrases.

  1. not more
  2. not any more
  3. no more
9

  1. This house costs less than hers, not more. (The stress is on more.) It is not more expensive. (For me, the stress is on ‘not’)

  2. Do you still live in that noisy street? Not any more! (ie. no longer)

  3. You are no more an opera singer than I am! There is no more bread on the table. (ie. not any)

I’m sure others will have other examples.

10

“I don’t hold A responsible for B any more than C should be held responsible for D.”

In the above sentence, am I saying that C is responsible for D or not?

11

My interpretation is that “I” see A’ + C’s respective responsibility for B + D as being equal. “I” think A is not responsible, so C should not be held responsible. (It may well be that C caused D, but the degree of culpability is not evident.)

My logic is never the strongest, so there may be other views on the subject.

12

I feel I have almost reached the understanding of the logic underlining the phrase.
If a horse were a fish, a whale could be a fish. ???
If C is responsible for D, A is responsible for B; but if C is not responsible for D, A is not responsible for B.

Thank you, SanneT.

13

I think that the word “but” after the semicolon in the last post should be deleted. Sorry.

14

My head is spinning, I have to have a lie down!

15

Have you figured this out YTK or did you need more help?

16

@commasplice
Thank you for your message.
“I don’t hold A responsible for B any more than C should be held responsible for D.”
Did you happen to read this expression or logic in books or journals related to criminal law?

17

" Muslims also died when the World Trade Center towers collapsed. To say that an Islamic center can’t be built near Ground Zero is to say that all Muslims are to blame." ( Kathleen Parker )

I wonder how law-abinding people in the U.S. respond to this issue.

18

Bin Laden’s, CIA roots. How We Created Our Own Terror http://bit.ly/cyVvVJ

19

“This article, republished from 1998 sheds light on how Bin Laden became a “reliable” partners of the CIA in its war against Moscow. The story reflects how public perceptions have been manipulated in the 4 fears since its original publication.”
Bin Laden’s, CIA roots. How We Created Our Own Terror http://bit.ly/cyVvVJ

20

4 years?