Sine_qua_non

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Sine qua non or conditio sine qua non (plural sine quibus non) was originally a Latin legal term for "(a condition) without which it could not be" or "but for...". It refers to an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient. As a Latin term, it occurs in the work of Boethius, and originated in Aristotelian expressions."sine qua non". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. 2nd ed. 1989. In recent times it has passed from a merely legal usage to a more general usage in many languages, including English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, etc. In Classical Latin the correct form uses the word condicio, but nowadays the phrase is sometimes found to be used with conditio, which has a different meaning in Latin ("foundation"). The phrase is also used in economics, philosophy and medicine.

An example of the term\'s usage was annotated in H.W. Brand\'s biography of Andrew Jackson. The book included a toast given by Andrew Jackson on the occasion of Jackson receiving an honorary doctorate from Harvard. The President responded to his listeners, "E pluribus unum, my friends. Sine qua non."

Other uses

• It is referenced in Chapter 5 of Gardner\'s Grendel. The dragon quotes the phrase while discussing the absurdity of man.

• It is used in Barbara Tuchman\'s "The Patricians" to denote the importance of land to society in early 1900\'s British society.

• SQN Electronics is a United Kingdom company primarily producing audio mixers.

• It is referenced in Chapter 5, Book IV of Fyodor Dostoevsky\'s "The Brothers Karamazov". Kolya Krassotkin comments "I believe in the people and am always glad to give them their due, but I am not for spoiling them, that is a sine qua non..."

• Sinequanon is the name of a song by electronica act Hybrid, on their album Wide Angle.

• It appears in the commentary on Article 59 of the Forth Geneva Convention (Geneva Conventions) on the protection of civilians during a time of war. In this case the sine qua non refers to the assurance that relief aid will go to the civilian population and not be diverted towards fueling the war.

• It is referenced by the US Supreme Court under:

Mark David OLIPHANT and Daniel B. Belgarde, Petitioners,
v.
The SUQUAMISH INDIAN TRIBE et al.
No. 76-5729.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued Jan. 9, 1978.
Decided March 6, 1978
Oliphant v. Suquamish, 435 U.S. 191, at University of Tulsa, Law Library

References

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