the verbal similarity between the words “ridiculous” and “ridicule”?
It’s not just verbal similarity—one is derived from the other. It indeed seems merely definitional that the ridiculous ought to be ridiculed, though not necessarily that it is ‘the best’ way of dealing with it.
There’s some equivocation here. “Ridiculous” can mean, as the etymology would suggest, “that which should be ridiculed”, or it can mean “not sensible”. In the latter case, the ridiculous should not necessarily be ridiculed.
It’s not just verbal similarity—one is derived from the other. It indeed seems merely definitional that the ridiculous ought to be ridiculed, though not necessarily that it is ‘the best’ way of dealing with it.
Arguments from etymology are not normative.
There’s some equivocation here. “Ridiculous” can mean, as the etymology would suggest, “that which should be ridiculed”, or it can mean “not sensible”. In the latter case, the ridiculous should not necessarily be ridiculed.