Philosophy of Language
Precise linguistic expression produces clarity of focus and facilitates understanding. It is the formula for effective reasoning, communication, and education!
Language allows the expression of abstract, complex, and distinct thought. It is the enabler of reason; a super tool way beyond compare!
Scientists rely on precise technical terminology and precise numerical expressions.
Norman Cousins:
There exists a... “very real connection between clear thinking and clear expression... Understanding is tied to communication.”
Aldous Huxley:
“Inappropriate and badly chosen words vitiate thought and lead to wrong or foolish conduct... Language is, among other things, a device which men use for suppressing and distorting the truth.”
Antony Flew:
“In general, any argument [or new idea] which is either difficult or contentious should be examined closely in writing. It is altogether too easy --even when, which is not always the case, the intentions of all concerned are impeccable-- for the swiftness and the fleetingness of the spoken word to deceive the mind. And, just because what is not recorded is not recorded, everyone's ground may shift without anyone's noticing... So let us write down into our copy books two of the maxims of that great French aphorist, the Marquis de Vauvenargues: 'Obscurity is the kingdom of error'; and, 'For the philosopher clarity is a matter of good faith.'” More: Do You Sincerely Want to be Right?
Visit two plateaus of precisification:
G.E. Moore knew when he had two, and Bertrand Russell knew when he had one!
Bertrand Russell:
“To understand the actual world as it is, not as we should wish it to be, is the beginning of wisdom.”
John Locke: More
“To love truth for truth's sake is the principal part of human perfection in this world, and the seed-plot of all other virtues.” All significant self improvement starts with acceptance of a fact that tells you that you have got to change.
It is certainly true that everyone is a hypocrite about a lot of things. But bad people deny their prevarications -- good people respect the truth and sometimes try to do better. In absolute contrast, unctuousness with the truth is strongly associated with the criminal mind.
Stanford researchers, David M. Markowitz and Jeffrey T. Hancock evaluated 253 publications retracted for fraudulent data and found that fraudulent papers were written with significantly higher levels of linguistic obfuscation, including lower readability and higher rates of jargon than unretracted and nonfraudulent papers.
Bertrand Russell:
“In the welter of conflicting fanaticisms, one of the few unifying forces is scientific truthfulness, by which I mean the habit of basing our beliefs upon observations and inferences as impersonal, and as much divested of local and temperamental bias, as is possible for human beings.”
The religious believe that faith--the willful suspension of critical thinking--produces morality, but the opposite is true. For adults morality requires a concern for careful reasoning, accurate understanding, learning the complete truth and having the courage to not ignore evidence. Blindly following commandments produces Nazis. The appeal of religious dogma is that you don't ever have to think or worry.
George Eliot:
“Falsehood is so easy, truth so difficult... Examine your words well, and you will find that even when you have no motive to be false, it is a very hard thing to say the exact truth, even about your own immediate feelings.”
Tom Paine:
“It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky:
“Above all, do not lie to yourself.”
Ludwig Wittgenstein:
“Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself.”
Benjamin Franklin:
“There are three things extremely hard: steel, a diamond, and to know one's self...”
Charles Darwin:
“To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth...”
“The highest stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.”
Thomas Henry Huxley:
“Agnosticism, in fact, is not a creed, but a method, the essence of which lies in the rigorous application of a single principle ... Positively the principle may be expressed: In matters of the intellect, follow your reason as far as it will take you, without regard to any other consideration. And negatively: In matters of the intellect do not pretend that conclusions are certain which are not demonstrated or demonstrable.”
Bertrand Russell:
“[S]o long as men are not trained to withhold judgment in the absence of evidence, they will be led astray by cocksure prophets, and it is likely that their leaders will be either ignorant fanatics or dishonest charlatans.”
Thomas Jefferson:
“Ideas must be distinct before reason can act upon them.”
John Locke:
“He that uses his words loosely and unsteadily will either not be minded or not understood.”
The fallacy called equivocation commonly occurs when someone doesn't fully understand their own terminology. Wittgenstein developed the method of precisification for the clarification of terminology and the cure of equivocation. The up-side of an all purpose method for the clarification of anything linguistic is that it is also a method for the clarification of our own reasoning! More
Wittgenstein:
“Anything that can be said, can be said clearly... Anything that can be thought, can be thought clearly.” More
Bertrand Russell: More
“I do like clarity and exact thinking and I believe that very important to mankind because when you allow yourself to think inexactly your prejudices, your bias, your self interest comes in in ways you don't notice and you do bad things without knowing that you are doing them: self-deception is very easy. So that I do think clear thinking immensely important.”
Hear this quote.
Self-deception undermines virtue.
Responsible behavior shows love; therefore, it is the key to morality. But, responsibility requires reacting to reality; so responsible reasoning requires the courage to face disturbing facts, the concern and the patience to learn about important issues, and the humility and discipline to avoid pleasing presumptions. Concern, patience, courage, humility, and discipline are virtues. In absolute contrast, immorality is produced by thoughtlessness and presumption; and every selfish prejudice is sustained by the lack of regard for responsible reasoning caused by the mental conditioning of religion. Consequently, even the greatest moral principles are often meaningless when they are not implemented with responsible reasoning. For example, religions that proclaimed the golden rule still actively supported monarchy, feudalism, colonialism, slavery, and chauvinism; and religions that condemn killing still show little concern over unnecessary war. The religious disregard for responsible reasoning explains crusades, jihads, and inquisitions. In addition, it explains how the Christian-conditioned Nazis assumed their supremacist and aggressive beliefs without concern for objective justification. And, it even explains how the Christian-conditioned Bolsheviks embraced communism, atheism, and totalitarianism without sound reason or evidence. Tyrants like Bin Laden, Hitler, and Stalin will continue to attract extremist mobs so long as religions condition their adherents to embrace beliefs, like greedy children, with no concern for responsible reasoning.
The concern for responsible reasoning is so important that a halfway decent god could not have failed to emphasize it. ...more ...less
Selfish people refuse to interact reasonably--they often won't even acknowledge established facts.
We share only one reality--settling on the gross basics of our situation has to be the first step for us to live together rationally.
Benjamin Franklin:
“We must, indeed, all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
Abraham Lincoln:
“A house divided against itself, cannot stand.”
Nothing destroys understanding and obfuscates reality quicker than a lie.
Thomas Jefferson: More
“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”
“He who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors.”
Tom Paine: More
“I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense.”
George Orwell:
online PDF:
“Politics and the English Language”
free download
George Carlin:
“Children have to be told there's bullshit coming down the road. They have to be warned that life is about detecting the bullshit and fending it off as best you can.”
George Carlin on soft language
Peggy Noonan:
“Candor is a compliment; it implies equality. It's how true friends talk.”
George Washington:
“I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to private affairs, that honesty is always the best policy.”
Of course we are more sophisticated today; so adults know that it is occasionally more moral to mislead Nazis or to tell children white lies. But I believe with Locke that having the courage to honestly face reality [this means every fact] is still the “seed-plot of all other virtues!” Living well means coping with reality; so, effective political leadership requires honesty.
How do you know what you think you are thinking?
For me, I think in English, and I can usually understand English.
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