MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > We humans seem to have words and a name ...

We humans seem to have words and a name for EVERYTHING in life.


Hi folks, not saying that its a "good" or a "bad" thing and leaving aside judgments, I kind of wanted to look at this issue from a neutral, objective and exploratory side, whilst also finding a normal balanced view etc, accept it as it is and recognize, however many flaws or whatever there is in "it", that it all, well EXISTS, as a fact of life. But anyways...

Notice how we human beings seem to nearly ALWAYS have words or a word for everything? Or even a DESCRIPTION of certain things and matters, and official stances on them, whether crime, or poverty or social issues and whatnot?

And even if some people do NOT give such things any real meaning or emotional weight, if you get involved in a discussion, people WILL do so, that might not magically say eradicate all evil deeds and uncomfortable situations in life of course, but if you're a sensitive bloke who may have said something inappropriate or even ASKED about it in an inappropriate way, people MAY correct and even embarrass you. I am not saying it is necessarily right or wrong but rather that human beings, unlike animals (non-human of course, as humans are also considered animals), plants, inanimate objects, thoughts etc...

Have WORDS and DESCRIPTIONS for all that stuff, including some rather painful HARSH TRUTHS, some of which may seem NOT too apparent at first sight, but they do exist nonetheless, and people WILL reveal it. Some MAY not, but then, indifference is NOT considered a good thing EITHER?

So why are humans so pre-occupied with language, words, meanings, emotions and stances? Why do we have a word for everything, including good and evil, and animals do not? Cheers.

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I find that whole idea to be zawbdawbulating!

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It's the idea about a thing that counts, not the subject itself, in order to form a thought about it.
With complexity of thought comes nuanced expression.
At the point where language is used to convey such an idea itself, it gets complicated.

= Kant & Wittgenstein, distilled and simplified - not implying they'd agree upon everything

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WTF are you smoking?

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Because intelligence dictates the we can't go around saying idiotic things like "You know? The thing!!". Ca'mon man!!!

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Words have power. It's how we can convey what things are to one another and exchange ideas in communication. However, sometimes even English isn't adequate in describing something. There are a few words in other languages that convey it much better, depending on the subject and the language used.

One of my favorites is "schadenfreude," which can condense several things into one word that cannot be directly translated into English. "Noir" is another good one.

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It only seems that way to you. Some people think that language creates reality. We don't name something until we are aware of it. Does it exist before we are aware of it?

Also, what about your grandfather's uncle? No name for that is there??? He doesn't exist!

Your posts always seem to be tip toeing around some topic you don't want to directly address. Meandering allusions and hints about some thought you refuse to just say. Also, why did you capitalize EITHER? Is joi your sock?

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The term is "Grafuncle". You're welcome.

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That's simply how language works.

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