The firm assertion, as found in these philosophers' works, that there is no knowledge can be turned against itself: does the proponent of "nothing is known" claim to know that nothing can be known (and if not, why assert it)?
Theirs was a culture to which she could not adapt; it is easy to see why O'Brien asserts that she was happy to be adrift and without responsibilities or identity for 40 days.
Similarly, it is hard to see why he asserts "the importance of Christianity in our country" when "the Christian values of responsibility, hard work, charity, compassion, humility, and love are shared by people of every faith and none".
The new numbers, which confirm that China has become a low-fertility society, may explain why Hu asserted at a meeting of top government leaders that China will "uphold and improve" its current birth policies while working to ensure a "reasonable and stable low birth rate".
This explains why Harrison asserts that human societies are essentially necrocratic: "We inherit [the dead's] obsessions; assume their burdens; carry on their causes; promote their mentalities, ideologies, and very often their superstitions; and often we die trying to vindicate their humiliations".
"At first," Mr. Cole said, "the university couldn't really understand why students were asserting themselves in this way.
It is not, as so often seems the case today, a set of ideological rules for asserting why we cannot face the challenges of stagnation, job loss and widening inequality.
So you might wonder why we're asserting ourselves today.
The BBC's John Simpson considers why Russia is asserting its power in the region.
Here's a question I haven't seen asked: If fear of future regulations and taxes is holding business back, as everyone on the right asserts, why didn't the Republican victory in the midterms set off a surge in employment?
