Platitude

The word is a borrowing from the French compound platitude, from plat 'flat' + -(i)tude '-ness', thus 'flatness'. The figurative sense is first attested in French in 1694 in the meaning 'the quality of banality' and in 1740 in the meaning 'a commonplace remark'. It is first attested in English in 1762. == Examples ==

• Thoughts and prayers • It doesn't matter who scores, as long as the team wins. • Good things come to those who wait. • Life is a mystery. • That's just my personal opinion. • I wish I knew then what I know now. • Sometimes bad things lead to good things. • What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. • We all die someday. • Everybody changes. • It really do be like that sometimes. • Take the good with the bad. • Everything isn't always what it seems. • Everything happens for a reason. • Whatever will be, will be. ==In philosophy==

In philosophy, platitudes are beliefs or assertions about a topic which are generally accepted as common sense. In some approaches to conceptual analysis, they are taken as a starting point. Roger Scruton observes that platitudes can for some philosophers play a defining role in addressing questions, where "platitudes - innocuous though they may seem to the untheoretical eye - provide the ultimate test of any philosophical theory". Conjoining the platitudes on a topic may give a Ramsey sentence. Analyzing platitudes forms part of the Canberra Plan of philosophical methodology. ==See also==