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I'm struggling with a relative 'which' clause right now; I'm hoping to structure it a certain way, but while I feel like I've read it that way before, I'm just not sure if it's correct and I can't find any examples of that construction. Here's the sentence in question (and the clause in bold):

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, the latter which I consider little more than a reductive account of the former.

My goal is to communicate this without constructing an independent clause:

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind; I consider the latter little more than a reductive account of the former.

The real snag is that I would use something like,

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, which I consider little more than a reductive account of the former.

but I'm not fond of using 'the former' without clarifying the subject of the relative clause with 'the latter' (the way I read it, 'which' could, in the above version, refer to 'any supposed distinction').

How, if at all, should I revise the first version of my sentence?

Would something like,

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, the latter of which I consider little more than a reductive account of the former.

be correct?

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  • I agree with the observation about your first example; did you write this? Please do take a moment to tour the site, read the FAQ, and enjoy the research.
    – livresque
    Commented Aug 27, 2020 at 2:16
  • Your third rewriting is fine, you don't need 'former' anywhere because 'of which' makes clear what the former and latter are. It's the same as dealing with a longer list, for example "These yogurts come in strawberry, vanilla, cherry and raspberry flavours of which I prefer the last one"
    – BoldBen
    Commented Aug 27, 2020 at 3:18
  • Aside from style and subjective opinion, it's not clear why you think there's a problem with the original sentence. Based on the final suggestion, are you asking if a preposition is necessary?
    – Jason Bassford
    Commented Aug 27, 2020 at 4:09

3 Answers 3

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You do not need either "which" or "of which".

"The latter" alone is quite sufficient as it is as refers to the second of two.

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind; [semicolon] the latter [of] which I consider little more than a reductive account of the former.

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  • Yes, I already said that.
    – Lambie
    Commented Jun 12 at 15:01
  • +1 to this answer. Where did you say that, @Lambie, whatever "that" is?
    – TimR
    Commented Jul 7 at 23:49
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Subject to others’ opinions, I feel your concluding version to be clear, unambiguous, grammatical and correct. Another way of achieving your aim might be ... and the mind, the latter being little more than a reductive account of the former or ... the mind, it being little more ...

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    "I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, which I consider little more than a reductive account of the soul." would be better than "...the former" because it's clearer what is being referred to, and repeating "soul" emphasises the contrast.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Jan 9 at 10:32
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I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, the latter of which I consider little more than a reductive account of the former.

Rewrite:

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind as I consider the latter little more than a reductive account of the former.

OR

I do not observe any supposed distinction between the soul and the mind, considering the latter as I do little more than a reductive account of the former.

Look, Mama, no which! [joke]

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