Abstract
AbstractThe fact that Bernard Williams' writing is at times compressed, intense, almost epigrammatic, is acknowledged by many different reviewers of his work. Are these just incidental features? Or do they have any philosophical significance? The aim of this article is to study those features of Williams' style as part of a stylistic method that I (and Williams) refer to as compression. In the course of my paper, I will reflect on the idea of compression as a stylistic method for doing more with less in philosophical (and musical) writing; then I will take an excursus on some properties of Nietzsche's aphoristic writing (properties that can be found in Williams' writing as well); finally, I will locate some stylistic affinities between Williams and Nietzsche: from the image they both use to describe their philosophical style to the use of different devices (rhetorical questions, the use of em‐dashes, humor…) they both employ—devices that embody a free spirit they revealed in their own writing and towards their own environment.
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