Immigrants are often ashamed of their accents or feel uncomfortable because of how they sound. Why? Because language is not just a tool, it contains a world of implied social and cultural norms, values, beliefs, and presuppositions. In many languages, there is one way of speaking it that is considered 'proper'. I have read and … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Being Ashamed Of Your Accent
To Speak A Language Is To Participate In A World
In his book, "Black Skin, White Masks", Frantz Fanon argues that language, far from just a tool for conveying information, expresses a world implied by it. In other words, words matter in shaping who I am in your eyes, as does my tone of voice, accent, dialect, and so on. If I am a foreigner speaking your … Continue reading To Speak A Language Is To Participate In A World
Can We Understand Meaning Without Language?
Is language fundamental to our understanding and interpretation of experiences? Can something be experienced as meaningful without our participation in a language-world and its structures of meaning? Would we even consider something an experience if we couldn't make sense (i.e., create a meaningful unity relying on meaning structures we inhabit) of that "something" we encountered? … Continue reading Can We Understand Meaning Without Language?
Socrates and Phaedrus: Art of Thinking and Practice of Persuasion (Part 3 of 3)
This is the final part of the 3-part series on the art of thinking and pratice of persuasion as gathered from Plato's dialogue Phaedrus (a version of its translation available here). So far I have concluded that Socrates had the following goal in this dialogue: to demonstrate that no practice deserves to be called art if its practitioner does … Continue reading Socrates and Phaedrus: Art of Thinking and Practice of Persuasion (Part 3 of 3)
Spreading the Word: Language Obsession
This Friday I share with you a sheer pleasure of a podcast - in it, Stephen Fry tells about his lifelong obsession with language. Dive right in and enjoy! Link to the podcast: Obsession with Language Keeping up the "Spreading the Word" tradition, every Friday, I hope to share with you an article I've read … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Language Obsession
Socrates and Phaedrus: Art of Thinking and Practice of Persuasion (Part 2 of 3)
Last week I published the first part of this 3-part series. This is the second part of the article where I continue by exploring in more detail the ideas that can be gathered from Plato's dialogue Phaedrus (a version of its translation available here). Of course, there are many insights that can be gleaned. The one I … Continue reading Socrates and Phaedrus: Art of Thinking and Practice of Persuasion (Part 2 of 3)
Spreading the Word: Power of Storytelling
This Friday I share with you another great podcast - about the power of storytelling. What more need I say? Relax and enjoy! Link to the podcast: The power of telling stories Photo by Sunsetoned from Pexels Keeping up the "Spreading the Word" tradition, every Friday, I hope to share with you an article I've read or a … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Power of Storytelling
Socrates and Phaedrus: Art of Thinking and Practice of Persuasion (Part 1 of 3)
In Plato's dialogue Phaedrus (a version of its translation available here), Socrates discusses the merits of rhetoric as the art of speaking. He wants to establish whether rhetoric, as practised and taught in Athens by the orators at the time and understood as "a way of directing the soul by means of speech" (we could say - … Continue reading Socrates and Phaedrus: Art of Thinking and Practice of Persuasion (Part 1 of 3)
Spreading the Word: Emoji Communication
This Friday I share with you a fascinating podcast on the role of emojis in our modern-day communication. I absolutely enjoyed listening to it, not just because of the illuminating content but also because of all the times it made me laugh. Hopefully it will do the same for you. Also, in case you find … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Emoji Communication
Spreading the Word: Philosophy of Language and Communication
This Friday I share with you a video on the relationship between language and communication. In it, Assistant Professor of Philosophy Karen Lewis explores what is considered to be the most philosophically influential theory on the question of how what we mean is related to what we say - H.P. Grice’s theory of pragmatics. I … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Philosophy of Language and Communication
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