the concept of nuance?

Question

I know the definition, but I can’t comprehend the concept of it. I couldn’t point out an instance of nuance in literature. What are “shades of meaning?”

Edit: Thank you all for the answers but I’m still not understanding. My brain doesn’t grasp certain concepts and it’s so frustrating. Maybe some context will help? I was debating with a friend whether or not humans are inherently selfish, and they said the answer is more nuanced than yes or no. Does that mean more specific? Why can’t I understand this concept 😭

In: 9

Answer 1

Picture in your mind Alice moving very fast towards Bob. Now, how does that mental picture change when I phrase it differents ways?

* Alice charged at Bob
* Alice bounded towards Bob
* Alice fled towards Bob
* Alice dashed towards Bob
* Alice scurried towards Bob
* Alice hurried over to Bob
* Alice scampered to Bob
* Alice rushed to Bob

All those words mean “move fast” in one way or another, but they’re all a little bit different. “Bounded” suggests long decisive strides, while “hurried” is a bit more anxious. “Dashed” is very fast and probably a short distance. “Charged” suggests aggression towards Bob, while “fled” suggests fear of something else and that Alice sees Bob as safety.

“Nuance” captures that idea of similar, but slighly different meanings.

In the context of the discussion with your friend:, his point is that the answer to yes-or-no questions can be “Yes, but…”, “no, but…”, “sort of”, “it depends”, “not always”, “some times”.

If I have a slice of cake and you ask me if you can have some. I can be greedy and say no, or be generous and say yes.

If I’m greedy, I get more joy by having the whole cake for myself, but if I’m generous, I get more joy out of sharing than having all the cake. Either way, I’m doing the thing that brings _me_ most joy, which is, arguably, a selfish behaviour. On the other hand, if I’m greedy I feel good about prioritising my own individual desires, whereas, if I’m generous, I feel good about prioritising the desires of the group as a whole. From that point of view, one is selfish and the other isn’t.

So, are people inherently selfish? Well, the word “selfish” carries a lot of baggage, so you need to be really careful about what you mean by “selfish” before I can give you an answer.