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Words and Meaning Words Are Not Things Many a problem in getting to the root of things is solved by this simple idea. Words themselves are not things, but only point to things. A "thing" is the real thing devoid of languaging. A table is just a table no matter what you call it. A "thing" could be an idea that is not formulated into words. This may sound strange, but when you have an idea, you might say "wow", and then try to explain it to someone else.. This might sound too simple, but we eat food--not the menu. If an apple is on the menu, it is of course not mistaken for a real apple. The word "apple" is just a sound we hear in our head. On paper it is a series of marks. In the air, it is a sound spoken by someone. It is just a series of marks or a sound we associate with physical apples. The meaning of our word "apple" would be represented by "manzana" in Spanish, "mela" in Italian, and "epl" in Yiddish. Now all this seem simple, but where this becomes a powerful tool is in understanding religion. Religion's Use of Words I used to be a Catholic, and if I meet another Catholic would probably say that "Once a Catholic always a Catholic". Here the word "Catholic" tries to define me and I cannot change it. But this is silly when we look at the meaning of the words "being Catholic". A Catholic believes in a certain ways, feels guilty about sin, and behaves in a certain way (goes to Mass). I don't do believe this way, feel this way. I don't go to Mass. So why call me a Catholic. Oh I do believe in God, but so do people of many religions. A Specific Example Take the word "God" for example. There are many different names for God. As we move from language to language. God is "Dios" in Spanish, "Gott" in German, and "Allah" in Arabic. It is the meaning that is important. If someone swears using the word "God", the meaning is an interjection and probably the person is not wanting to damn someone to hell, but just express a feeling of frustration. Used in the more proper sense, some people might question if "God", "Gott" and "Allah" have the same meaning. It is up to the speaker to explain. Thus we must define words. If the definitions are the same, then the words point to the same meaning. Religious Use of Words Words can create a whole different reality. A ritual becomes a Mass. A wafer of bread represents God. There is punishment in purgatory, and you can pay the church to reduce your sentence. It is a matter of brain washing, of hypnosis, and propaganda. But materialism, and being skeptic of everything does not work either. There is goodness out there. We need a reference beyond ourselves. Feelings and Words What we believe, we believe because we have feelings. If the beliefs are locked down, then there is no progress. So being a skeptical scientist, devoids one of feeling or caring. Thus feelings give life meaning. They are a tag on our ideas. They allow us to know what is important and what is not. The word "Jesus" for a Christian produces good feelings and reverence. One might say it resonants in the heart.
This resonance itself is something we can give words to. We can say I feel holy when I think of God. This does not violate the principle here. We can point words to feelings. Feelings Can Point to Words If we see a table, we know it is a table, because our mind associates the image of a table with the word "table". Within our mind, things point to words. Feelings are things. Thus feelings can point to words. We can feel holy when we enter a church. Simulation of the World Words are used by the mind to help construct a model of the physical world. Within our minds, we have a world simulator. The world simulator adds colors and 3D effects. The eye has an image of what we see that is reversed and up-side-down. The eye generates a series of electro-chemical signals to the rest of brain. These signals can be thought of as being arrays of numbers. If we saw the world exactly as it is, we would see an up-side-down array of numbers. Not withstanding people who are vision impaired, we can assume we all see the world in much the way. We also do not see the same things such as radio waves, ultraviolet and infrared rays. So what is real, is really our what we agree to (our mutual consensus). Groups of Meanings In order to function we have to connect meanings together. We make a story of how things work. Stories create realities. Roger C. Schank in his book "Tell Me a Story" explains that we remember and learn through the use of stories. This is in contrast to the way computer equipment remembers in ones and zeros. Stories and Computers A story made up of sentences. A story is a group of meanings put together in a logical order. Computers put together meanings too. Most programs today are "Object Orientated Programs. Functions within the program give the program meaning. Each function operates on objects. Each object is assigned a meaning. For example, an icon on the computer screen is an object. To start a program, one can just double click on the icon. The icon is an object. Behind the icon is meaning. It is a thing that has a description (like adjectives in English) and has methods (like verbs in English). The description might be how big the icon might be. The methods might include start a certain program. The human brain probably uses objects too to construct meaning and stories. But we are not computers. We are like the operator of a computer that sits in front of the computer making decisions and observing the results. Thus instead of making an analogy of computers are like brains, we might say the operator and the computer is like the spirit (human consciousness). and the brain. Like a computer, the brain needs an operator, an observer and a decision maker. Stories that are Semantic Islands Stories that are isolated have words that point to other words and not to anything else. They are islands of meaning. They are not tied down to reality, but just float. For example, if a child was taught something that was over their head, and they could relate the information to anything else they have learned, then what they were taught would be isolated. Semantic Islands are often formed by religious teachings. They are taught as mysteries and matters of faith. The Catholic idea of the Trinity, where God has three parts (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) is a semantic island. You have the words, but the meaning does not connect to broader reality. Another example, is the belief that saying words can produce magic. Fuzzy Words Words should point to meaning. When the pointer is not clear, then the meaning becomes cloudy, and the word becomes blurred. A word like "liberal" that is not defined in context, is a blurred word. In politics, blurred words are employed so to increase their appeal. Everyone hears their own truth. A preacher once wrote: "Scripture is a certification of orthodoxy." The words "certification" and orthodoxy" are blurred words. They seem to be full of meaning and importance. But using a dictionary we find that
So we could translate this statement "Scripture is certified (based on authority) and is marked with conformity. In other words scripture is certified conformity. The word "authority" derives from the Latin word "actoritas" meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence or command. It is imposed by a superior hierarchy by force or force of argument. It is supposed to have sapiential force, or command wisdom. General Semantics I studied General Semantics and learned a great deal. General Semantics teaches that words are maps. General Semantics was first formulated by Alfred Korzybski in his major cumulative work, Science and Sanity, published in 1933. According to the general semantic people the word "is" is a troublemaker. The word "is" implies that nothing changes. In the real world everything is in flux. Moreover, the word "is" throws a blanket noun over what we are talking about. "This IS a chair", masks all the stuff beyond chair-ness. There are straight chairs, high chairs, and beanbag chairs. Is a sack of beans really a sack or a chair? (Maybe if we set in it, it's a chair; if we put the beans in a pot its a sack.) Through language we can throw a "word blanket" over a person reducing the person to a few words or even a number. For example, the words on a tombstone, reduces 100,000 or more moments in ones life-time to a few words. An IQ reading reduces the intelligence formed by trillions of brain cells to just one number. Are there not better ways to remember someone, and are there not many types of IQ? Verb can also do their damage. For example the word "is" can take a person and reduce them to a simple description. "She is good" or "He is bad" measures everything about the person as it they were a rock instead of a complex, changing body and spirit. The verb "is" or its infinitive "to be" has so many meanings. Here are some of the meanings of these words:
The International Society for General Semantics has gone so far as to invent a new dialect of English called GS7 which avoids the various forms of "to be." Double Meanings Words generate two meanings at once. Take this example: "All words in this sentence are false." One meaning is the sentence is false and the other meaning is the sentence is true. Here the sentence conflicts with itself. Context Words are written or spoken in context. Thus words are part of larger matrix of meaning. Japanese does not have plurals or define articles. In Japanese context is very important. In any language, if one were to quote just a few words out of context (e.g., a sound bite), the meaning can be totally reversed. Words as Tools In summary, language is a shorthand for the meaning being expressed. Without meaning the words are only marks and sounds. Meaning itself is just what it is.. 1. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs 5. Words (this page) Copyright © 2005 -2010 George Norwood April 16, 2010
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