Language Barriers

I learned something today, that when it finally sunk in, it hit me like a ton of bricks. You ever have one of those epiphanies that cause you to think wow, that is so simple and obvious, it is brilliant, it all makes sense now!? Many of you have probably heard of this concept already, it's known as the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. The idea was initially put forth by linguistic anthropologists Edward Sapir and Benjamin Whorf.


Essentially, their theory asserts that our ability to think, is limited by our language, and our vocabulary, and is therefore a finite product of our individual existence within a specific culture, environment or society. One way to look at this in practice is to imagine two people. One speaks a language that has over a dozen different ways to define, describe, and express a word, like, "snow." Person number two, lives within a culture, and speaks a language that has no words for "snow" because it simply is not a physical phenomena that occurs in their area of the world. Of these two people, who is better equipped to explain what "snow" is?

Furthermore, the hypothesis goes on to claim that the nature of a given language, influences the thoughts of those who use it. This idea challenges the notion that we can represent our world adequately through the use of language, stating rather that this is an impossible task. Whorf also arrived at a point of understanding which he referred to as the Principle of Linguistic Relativity, in which he took a hard line approach to it all, taking the stance that thinking and behavior are completely shaped by one's language, and this is an unavoidable condition. Another related theory is that of Linguistic Determinism.

So many times I find myself unable to express my thoughts. When I do, I look at them on the page, and they seem completely and wholly cliche. I believe this is due, in part, to trying to communicate within a singular language, with a limited vocabulary. The very ways in which I structure sentences, the words I use, my expressions, they have all been said and done, if not by me, by others. It all builds on top of that which came before.

I suppose it is because of this I find so much entertainment in conversations with people who try to claim such & such author is a copycat, or so & so has no original ideas of their own. Seriously, show me one piece of writing, one author, that hasn't borrowed something from the pool of human experience. An artist with no influences, no inspirations. Our very nature is to plagiarize. This is how we learn everything we know, education, emulation, evaluation, simulation. Why do we want so badly to be different? Not in the way that we are completely unique, but more in regards to how we like to pretend we reached said quality of uniqueness with no help along the way. If we were not alike, how would we communicate? I wonder if someday the world will have one language that we all speak, and through this our comprehension and expression, this life of ours will be exponentially enriched.

Tags: Benjamin Whorf, Edward Sapir, Linguistic Determinism, Principle of Linguistic Relativity, Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

Naked Reasoning

Lately, I have realized that the most ordinary activities bring about mental associations within me, that quite frankly, scare me! I understand that we are all products of our conditioning, and we all have our childhood experiences, our parents, peers, and environment to thank for this. But as we grow older, many of us (hopefully) begin to sift through the data dump, sorting out what we believe, and what we don't. We supplement this process with new concepts, ideas, and lessons learned, and we eventually become unique individuals capable of sorting out for ourselves what is true, and what is not.

But I am starting to question whether or not we can ever actually be completely free of our conditioning. As a child, I was full on indoctrinated into the world of Anglo-protestantism. My parents wanted so badly for me to believe in god. They could never understand why I rebelled so strongly against being forced to attend church, and pray, and study a belief system that, from a very young age, I had decided was skewed and artificial. In response to my expressing my distaste for all things Christian, they decided that they would turn up the heat. Forcing me to attend youth groups, and camps, where they basically coerce you into memorizing and regurgitating bible verses ad nausea, and ostracize you if you refuse. Ok, enough about all that, because just remembering it is stirring up old animosities.

Fast forward to the now. I find that, while nearly twenty years removed from all that, I still have odd thoughts that pop up in my everyday thinking that I know for a fact come from the "Christian" programming. It's as if this is hard coded into my brain, because they started in on me at such a young age, and now, no matter what I do, I can't shake it! I really do not understand what is wrong with me. I have tried to supersede this knowledge, by learning about other religions, hoping that they would give me some much needed perspective, and hopefully allow me to overwrite the old data. No luck. In fact, almost every new school of thought I encounter, works only towards further convincing me how completely backwards and wrong Christianity is.

Mostly, I don't even think about it, but once in a very great while, it consumes me. For example, I will be laying on my weight bench, with my arms fully extended out at the sides, and I think 'argh, this burns, this really hurts'... and an image pops into my head of Christ being crucified. I cannot explain how alarmingly frustrating this is. It makes me want to pull my brain out and go wash it. When this sort of archetypal imagery manifests itself out of the clear blue, it really causes me to question my mental stability. Much the same as when I am frustrated, and slip and say something under my breath like; 'god damnit,' or 'Jesus Christ.' Every time I say something like this, I am reminded of my programming. I don't even want any of this terminology in my existence, but yet it persists.

A good friend of mine once suggested that in order to resolve this type of internal conflict, it is best to confront the source of the anxiety, the root of the problem, and in so doing, hopefully gain some answers that can serve as closure, resolution. When last I tried this, I got into a three hour debate with my father, (a devout Christian, and one of those who forced it on me) regarding how flawed and utterly wrong the Christian faith was. I basically attacked the issue with irrefutable logic and proof, such that, my father asked that we please 'never' talk about the subject again. This of course did not make me feel any better, it made me feel worse! Here is a man that clings to his faith as if he would sooner die than live without it, and I go and try to invalidate his entire belief system. What is wrong with me?

This is but one of many "demons," that I, for some reason, continue to cling to as part of myself. I realize it is different for all of us, as we all carry around our own personal baggage. What I am starting to question, is whether or not any of us can ever truly be free of mental impediment, such that we can be enlightened beings. Can we ever achieve a state of naked reasoning? Is it possible within the course of a single lifetime, to clear the slate of all unwanted negativity, at a subconscious level?

Tags: Naked Reasoning

Badass Blogger Award

Have you ever looked at my blog, sitting there in your feed aggregator, indicating an update... but hesitated to click? If this is you, the question I would ask you is: what are you doing subscribing to such an obviously atheist, liberal, philosophically progressive blog, if you are squeamish about getting your hands dirty? If your answer to my question is: "well, because you tell it like it is, and even when you are totally wrong, and I can't stand what you say, you make me think..." then it is time for you to get over your hang-ups, release your fears, and set aside your close-mindedness. If I were to give you a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, then I would not be a:
Christina over at Paris Romance, has decided to award me the Badass Blogger Award, and in so doing, has got me thinking, what is it that is "badass" about Wandering the Ether? Being the dictionary worshiping freak that I am, of course I had to go look up badass to see how close the standard definition of it was to ours, re: people that actually use words, not just put them in six inch thick compilations. What I found was '2.distinctively tough or powerful; so exceptional as to be intimidating.' Oh ho, well now, a guy could get used to a moniker like badass fairly quick in my estimation!

But in all seriousness, if this is how I am, or rather, who I am, I believe that I have adopted this approach for a reason. Somethings you just have to say. What is the point of dancing around issues? If what I say hurts your feelings, makes you uneasy, angry, happy sad mad glad drunk, anything whatsoever, mission accomplished. I want to make you think & feel. Not in the sense of" hey listen to this, I want you to agree with me," no. Rather; when I write, it is to make you ask yourself, what do you think about a thing. Anybody can giv