One makes inferences for various reasons. As a matter of fact, few people are very well- read, especially in philosophy. Some people are, of course. It is generally safe, however, when citing ideas from Kant, say, to take some trouble to explain, because most people reading will not be terribly familiar with Kant, and it would be rude to make an obscure reference. Even if the person one is talking to directly is familiar, there are usually other people following the thread, and one does it for their sake.
Now, there are various ways that we infer things about other people. These ways are not infallible. However, if someone does not know that Times Square is above Greenwich Village, I would infer that he was not acquainted with Manhattan; if someone did not know that native Washingtonians tend to call it "DC", and got confused by the reference, I would infer that he had not spent much time there; and so on. Perhaps I made an erroneous inference about you. I do not think it was intentionally insulting.
I rarely have made lists of books, by the way, and generally it was when a comparison was invited, like "here are a few of my favorite novels". Out of curiosity, can you remember any of the books I listed that you had read? |
