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Thread: first assumption

  1. #1
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    first assumption

    a common misunderstanding is the assumption that language is neutral,
    a medium of exchange between the world and man that in no way affects man's behavior.
    this assumption presents language as a natural process, like breathing,
    something not to be examined very carefully
    and certainly not to be altered in any but the most superficial ways,
    like increasing one's vocabulary, or improving delivery.
    When use of language is taken for granted
    then the logical conclusion tends to be that everybody else in the world thinks along much the same lines
    and that words are used in the same way, with the same meanings.
    or, if they do not, then these others must then be confused, uneducated, peculiar, simply wrong, or some other colorful adjective.

    A more sophisticated approach can afford to assume very little.
    But one could begin tentatively with a more constructive assumption that
    whatever words might be considered, they are definitely something very different from the things they represent.
    And so we start with that assumption of duality: the word is not the thing....or, the map is not the territory.

    More thoughtful folk often have been puzzled by a discipline that emphasizes what appears to be so obvious.
    Who, after all, would assume that "a word" was "the thing" it symbolizes?
    However, the answer is throughout history and in much of our daily lives,
    in which we seek after, purchase, love, fight and sometimes die for 'words".
    As our culture becomes more symbol laden, even symbol bound,
    the recognition of that distinction becomes still more important.

    Our ability to symbolize, to call up internal experiences, using only symbols is a fundamental skill set,
    but not one that is often thought about.
    The point of real interest is not just in the distinction of words being different from things,
    but rather in the pervasive responses to symbols
    as opposed to possible reactions to something in the nonverbal world.

    consider the position from above in a plane looking down on the world
    or on google maps which is a much different perspective from the typical perspective one occupies daily....
    this isn't a position of illusion vs. reality, but one of familiarity.
    If we look deeper using microscopes we get even more perspective which has forced scientists to abandon previous positions and assumptions
    thought to be absolute and permanent: elements, then atoms, later electrons and protons,
    once believed to be the indestructible basis of the world,
    successively failed the tests of permanence.

    Bertrand Russell describes this aptly:
    "Energy had to replace matter as what is permanent.
    But energy, unlike matter, is not a refinement of the common-sense notion of a "thing";
    it is merely a characteristic of physical processes.

    What characterizes "reality" at all levels then, is not the presence of some "thing"
    but rather of a process.
    Rather than speak of the things of the world,
    we should speak of the events.
    Heroclitus explored this and summed it up with his phrase panta rhei
    everything flows and so he concluded, only process is real.

    Our language is a product of centuries, and most of our vocabulary reflects an older, prescientific view of the world.
    We retain a vocabulary suggestive of permanence
    when we know today that the only permanence is change.
    Metaphorically we speak of the things of the world as if they were like rocks, when we know they are more like flames.
    What we once thought were like nouns now seem more like verbs.
    Things are dynamic and words are static.
    In the light of the discoveries of the past century, our vocabulary is peculiarly anachronistic.
    of course, we need not and certainly cannot change our language,
    But being aware that a nonverbal world of process is merely being represented in words that indicate a static quality is important
    and may in fact be the key fulcrum we can rest our lever upon
    which will shift our world.


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  3. #2
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    As a linguist and former language teacher, I must agree and disagree. Words themselves change to reflect the dynamic process we humans ARE. BEING and AWARENESS are the basics; awareness being an aspect of mind; being, an aspect of our divine nature. BEING and AWARENESS are fundamental. Since there are so many languages, symbols can transliterate meanings to those who don't know the language where they are. Try having or doing (anything) without BEING. (ALL IS ONE).

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    When I browse the worldwideweb I often see words that pack a punch, in terms of gaining my attention for a closer look and intellectual engagement. Spelling: Is a word based on magic. Look at it closely: SPELL - ing. As I have stated many times black or white it is all the same to me and I am not interested in magic but I can read and learn about it.

    Pondering the above can be intellectually stimulating for a person who likes to think critically and deeply. I thought about the word 'Spelling' and immediately thought about the implications. Could it be that spelling is actually a form of magic?? Without the black or white application of magic as most people know it - think for a moment about the act of spelling. Words can relay emotion. Words can cause a reaction in another person. Words of Love and Kindness can invoke a good feeling while the opposite is also available. Does the reaction then constitute a type of science?

    Will return to this thread. What an insightful and thought provoking topic. Thank You ZShawn.

    Much Respect - Amanda

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    I've come across several people recently who believe that words are spells. It's part of why Aianawa uses the alternate spellings he does. I think Maggie posted about it, I can't recall where at the moment. It was related to oral v. written history.

    The Chinese language works like music and this leads to different ways of thinking.

    Language is so fascinating.

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    Thanks Amanda, been thinking a lot about this topic recently...it seems like a key area of focus which often gets ignored, because it is so fundamental and thus so subtle, people take it for granted.....like....i know how to talk and think and form cohesive sentences so why do i need to think about the how i do it part?
    kind of like doing any physical task, like walking or using a tool, but kinesiologists and other body coachs will soon shatter our cherished idea that we really know what we are doing....which is a good reminder in humility and openness.

    Of equal importance to the idea of words being static and things are dynamic is the awareness of the process by which we apprehend the events of reality.
    For just as there is much we are incapable of perceiving, there is much that we can perceive, but characteristically, do not.

    Our perceptual apparatus is really impressive, even if it cannot notice the continuous process in the world.
    But we seem to be visually dominant creatures....and I read in some text by a past contemplative soul, that the eyes are the source of man's greatest delusion.....so, much trickery abounds which urges us to cultivate discernment.
    We are often fooled by our eyes, inversions in the cold weather which make objects on the horizon look to be much closer is one.....the flicker rate of still pictures which need only be raised to 16 frames per second to create the illusion of continuous movement as another....
    It has been said that everything we see is an "optical illusion" that is the result of our training, values and goals.
    What we see seems dependent on how one looks at it and who is doing the looking.

    What we "see/perceive" depends on what we think we want and need to see.
    And this, in turn, depends on who and where we have been and who we think we will become.
    Perception is an active process, certainly n0ot identical for all people of comparable eyesight.
    We seem to need to be selective of all the possible stimuli,
    to disregard the apparently irrelevant (and sometimes threatening),
    and to "make sense" out of the barrage of stimuli we are bombarded with each and every second...and separate it from the "non-sense".

    For those who have regained an opening of the reducing valve of perception, enabling raw data to flood the boards (so to speak) it has the effect for the most part of rendering one pretty much incapable of doing anything else apart from gazing wide-eyed at the unfoldment of the wonderment and gasp in awe....
    certainly not the only reaction or choice, but typically the most common.

    So there is this process of selectivity going on, all the time, which is typically never thought of or even observed,
    as it rests behind the point of the primary internal witness.

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    Quote Originally posted by Dreamtimer View Post
    I've come across several people recently who believe that words are spells. It's part of why Aianawa uses the alternate spellings he does. I think Maggie posted about it, I can't recall where at the moment. It was related to oral v. written history.

    The Chinese language works like music and this leads to different ways of thinking.

    Language is so fascinating.
    The Oral language relates to memory and the written language made us loose the memory as we could always "look it up". But it is also interesting to find out what words mean with Etymology Dictionaries. Have look here

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    The example of a flickering film ....

    Science has taught us that the speed with which our molecular structure vibrates, is the reason objects appear solid and can be touched. This gives rise to the theory that what we truly need - is to slow down. Isn't this what happens when people turn off the television and radio and stop reading the tabloids? Isn't this what happens when we meditate or engage in quiet prayer and self reflection?

    We are bombarded everyday by a variety of sensory stimuli and it becomes quite a skill in itself to be able to rise above the 'clamour and chatter' to be able to engage in proper thinking and feeling.

    Much Respect - Amanda

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