Points from the Videos about Language Behaviors
- Although we often hear that "words have power," words in and of themselves are nothing more than abstract ideas or symbols. What we think of as "power" resides in the individuals who speak, write, hear and read the words, then act.
- Words do not contain meaning. The "meanings" of words are specific to each individual who engages in a communicative exchange.
- A common source for misunderstanding is when a listener interprets the words of a speaker as if the listener were doing the speaking. If the listener cannot interpret what is said within that specific context, he risks not understanding what the speaker intends.
- There is a difference between knowing a word, vs. knowing something about what the word refers to.
- We often mistake inferences for facts, and then act upon these inferences as if they were facts. This invariably leads to confusion, misunderstanding, and in some cases, tragedy. We should apply a high standard to what we consider as a fact.
- We are much more prone to see similarities than differences. This often results in our thinking in terms of categories, labels, and classifications rather than the specific or individual item we're concerned with. This tendency to generalize, and difficulty in recognizing differences, leads to stereotyping, biases, and prejudices.
With language we can ...
- speak, write, read, and listen
- think and express our feelings
- analyze and solve problems
- establish rules, regulations, laws, policies, procedures, ordinances, and standards
- reach compromises, agreements, settlements, resolutions and contracts
- understand, to be understood, and to pass on our understandings to others
- dream, imagine, contemplate, cogitate, deliberate, create, innovate and ponder
and, language also enables us to ...
- mislead, misinform, and misunderstand
- deny, suppress, inhibit, prohibit and limit what others do and say
- rule, dictate, terrorize, intimidate, indoctrinate and alienate
- generalize, categorize, stereotype, pigeonhole and profile
- lie, cheat, steal, quibble, libel, slander, sue and defraud
- perpetuate myths, superstitions, prejudices, feuds, and atavistic traditions
- create and exacerbate fear, anxiety, regret, guilt, jealousy, paranoia, suspicion, and hate.
We should remember what Francis Crick observed in Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul
Clips from "F**k: A Documentary" Clips from "The N Word: Divided We Stand"
The 3-hour, six-part "Talking Sense" video recordings by Irving J. Lee are available for purchase from the Institute of General Semantics.
