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mancandy
Female,
30-39
Western US
Joined: 7 yrs, 7 mos ago
17 Posts
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Wednesday 4/24/02 - 3:57:12 AM
Absolutely...in an abstract way >=c) |
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Wednesday 4/24/02 - 4:02:36 AM
That would mean that reality is confined to what language can define.
I don't believe it is. |
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SugarSpun
Female,
18-29
Europe
Joined: 7 yrs, 9 mos ago
2,335 Posts
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Wednesday 4/24/02 - 4:14:39 AM
No. Babies, while being pre-lingual, have their own reality. Language is limiting. |
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Sunday 6/23/02 - 12:37:58 PM
Language can shape our perceptions of reality. |
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Wednesday 7/3/02 - 2:29:50 PM
Well, it can express it |
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CaineChild
Female,
18-29
Southern US
Joined: 7 yrs, 4 mos ago
2 Posts
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Wednesday 7/3/02 - 8:34:32 PM
I don't think that it is possible. Yes, we can say that a ball is a ball. But... when you are in pain, how can I know that you are actually in pain. What maybe a mere scratch to me, may be a serious cut to you. Language is limiting, but as humans we must deal with what we have. ^_^ |
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hustlaboi201
Male,
13-17
Western US
Joined: 7 yrs, 6 mos ago
234 Posts
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Wednesday 7/3/02 - 8:54:27 PM
harsh |
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Wednesday 7/3/02 - 8:57:24 PM
No. |
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Wednesday 7/3/02 - 9:02:12 PM
J-Lo thinks so |
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Wednesday 7/3/02 - 9:06:42 PM
I don't think that most people don't understand that a word like, say, "black", and what we perceive as blackness are two different things. "Black" is just a word. It was created by a person, or group of persons and has evolved, perhaps politically, over time. It has a birthplace--a national origin most likely, and can evolve over time like something living. It only describes something--it itself is not "black". Furthermore, when people hear the word black, they immediately conjure up polar images such as whiteness, or light, or even associative terms like "black cat" or "black hole". The word can be further complicated by its racial implications, becoming then both descriptive AND political. Folks, A WORD IS NOT JUST A WORD. It has meaning--it can define communication. If there is no word for something, or if that word is inadequate, like calling a woman a chairman, it defines how you see both the concept and your relation to |
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Wednesday 7/3/02 - 9:17:53 PM
it. |
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Thursday 7/4/02 - 12:06:19 AM
Ok, I don't like this question anymore. Language is not dead. It can never die, as long as there are sentient beings capable of understanding it. It is forever changing and evolving. The point of this question is that language does not equal reality. You can use language to describe it fairly accurately - but you cannot use it to create. It's like paiting a picture - you can paint from a landscape, but you can't create a new landscape by painting it. |
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Thursday 7/4/02 - 9:45:04 AM
No, it can't - language is too restrictive |
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Thursday 7/4/02 - 6:34:34 PM
But that's why it can have such an effect on people--precisely because of its restricions. At least that's what I'm saying. |
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Thursday 7/4/02 - 9:49:54 PM
See, you people overestimate language. It doesn't actually have the power you give it, either out of strength or out of weakness. It's a tool of description, not a tool of creation, so its relative weakness or strength can't give it the power to create, no matter what. Calling someone a n*gger does not physically harm them. It also does not make them repulsive in some way. Saying something bad about a person or a place does not make it so. It is not restrictive, unless the user restricts it for himself. Language can describe anything you can understand with your mind. The weakness, strength or myopia of the language you use only mirrors the capabilities of your mind. |
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Friday 7/5/02 - 3:14:06 AM
Maybe not so much language as context, syntax, and various other words that denote usage. |
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Friday 7/5/02 - 7:37:40 AM
blah blah blah
I think that's just about the sum of it. |
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aries
Female,
18-29
S. America
Joined: 7 yrs, 9 mos ago
1,637 Posts
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Friday 7/5/02 - 8:55:27 AM
how? |
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Budlite
Male,
18-29
Canada
Joined: 7 yrs, 9 mos ago
284 Posts
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Friday 7/5/02 - 12:08:07 PM
nooooo only you can define reality, and it only matters to you what you think; so does it even matter what defines reality?? i think i'm a confused puppy |
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Friday 7/5/02 - 12:43:42 PM
Neitzche described how the phrase "lightning flashes" makes us think that "lightning" and "flashes" are two separate things, that there is a difference between what something IS and what something DOES. In reality, he argues, there is no difference. Therefore, we are merely the sum of our actions. |
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Saturday 7/6/02 - 4:40:43 PM
Reality- what is real?
who is to say what is real and what isnt?
I may think that mermaids exsist and that they are real...but you may not. same goes for pretty much anything |
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Saturday 7/6/02 - 4:54:33 PM
I think by reality Rufio meant all of the dimensions in one's life, which would include their social, sexual, racial and class status in life. Put it this way: say you only speak latin. Now say you need to build a nuclear reactor, and must do it in competition with English-speaking scientists. Say everyone involved has equal intelligence. Even if you have the potential ability to conceptualize nuclear physics, without the words to materialize thoughts, you can't do it. If there is no word for electron, what do you do? Now this is a very simple analogy, and it gets much more complicated when it comes to gender studies and Lacanian feminism, but you can see the problem. |
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Saturday 7/6/02 - 6:05:45 PM
You can use words as placeholders for meanings that haven't been given words yet. It's like an x in an equation. Anyone with even basic intelligence can do that. |
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