From: everything-list@googlegroups.com
[mailto:everything-list@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John Clark
Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2014 8:01 AM
To: everything-list@googlegroups.com
Subject: Suicide Words God and Ideas
The invention of language was obviously of great benefit to the species
called Homo sapiens, but like all tools it is not perfect and sometimes the
brain can waste a great deal of processing power spinning its wheels over
questions of words rather than ideas. For example, a recent poll showed that
70% of people in the USA thought that if a dying patient agreed then doctors
should be allowed to "end the patient's life by some painless means";
however only 51% thought that doctors should be allowed to help a dying
patient who wanted to die "commit suicide". Another example would be those
who DON'T believe in a omnipotent omniscient intelligent conscious being who
created the universe and is responsible for morality but DO believe in
"God".
Well said John - and in this (if not on all things) we agree - language is
an imprecise and sometimes tragically misleading tool, albeit one most
powerful in helping our species build out the vast assemblage of the various
human cultures.
The importance of clearly communicating cardinal terms cannot be overstated.
Words are symbolic vehicles, conveying meaning across the discontinuous gulf
between minds. Not only must the minds in the communication chain, share an
agreement of their symbolic meaning - in order for them to work as intended,
but as you pointed out the choice of words used to convey a thought can have
a profound effect on the outcome.
One exercise I engage in is to parse what I read for words whose purpose is
to color meaning rather than describe some fact. "News" reports are an
excellent place to discover this treasure trove of the use of adjectives and
coded phrases meant to trigger emotional responses and to generate firm
opinions.
Chris
John K Clark
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