Words/ philosophy connection

[paigetheoracle]

My study of the subjects of both language and philosophy has disclosed (to me at least) that as some philosopher recently said (sorry can't remember who) "Philosophy is the attempt to define reality". To me this has come to mean which side of the dividing line certain words or concepts fall on - in other words what are they synonymous or analogous for and what are their antonym versions?

 

I believe analysis is the severing of connections and that in the mechanical world map, you have male and female parts as with engineering or beginnings and ends, and that when we put the different components together, they make a whole, working model - with illness being failed connections or blocked parts (Insanity is deciphered through failures of communication or erratic (disconnected - apparently motiveless) behaviour. Consensus reality(shared), under these terms, is sanity and unshareable reality (communication breakdown), madness. Cacophony versus concordant actions and sounds (meaningful versus unmeaningful noises/concepts/words: See my post on Saussure thread for 'connection' to this). Hope this second paragraph doesn't lose you as it almost lost me, in its complication!

 

Another thought with regards to The Saussure thread - insights are like signs too and from my experience, once you pass them, their beauty is lost (elegance, to you scientists). Like a signpost on a barren landscape, insights give you indications of where you are in relation to the rest of existence at a particular time and what the truth of your situation is (No longer lost in a sea of seeming contradiction but once again, gained awareness of the direction you're going in). Words used precisely to describe things are like scientific equations - they give you parts of a puzzle (reality) and tell you how they relate, just like the mechanical model of the universe. To me this is the science, just like quantam mechanics is more in the field of art or spirituality as it transcends matter and the material world (The husk of reality - appearance as opposed to energy, the building blocks of existence).

[fresco]

Have you any views on Maturana's approach to language ?

[paigetheoracle]

Have you any views on Maturana's approach to language ?

 

No, sorry - I've never heard of him would you believe (European based, maybe that's the problem?).

 

Skimmed over some entries on the net but wasn't really able to get to grips with his theories - perhaps you could encapsulate them here, where relevant?:)

[Queso]

"...that the real secret of magic is that

the world is made of words

and that if you know the words that the world is made of

you can make of it whatever you wish."

 

-Terrence McKenna

[paigetheoracle]

"...that the real secret of magic is that

the world is made of words

and that if you know the words that the world is made of

you can make of it whatever you wish."

 

-Terrence McKenna

 

Personally I doubt that Orb. It might be more accurate, in my opinion, to say that naming something stops it seeming a mystery to you "What's that strange thing in front of me? Oh it's a house/ animal/ etc." (Label and dismiss as they do in meditation). I remember a poem at school called 'The Naming of Parts', which was aimed at teaching new army recruits how pieces of a gun fitted together and this I think explains the process and necessity of it. The world is a big, overwhelming mess of objects, perceptions and movement (nouns, adjectives and verbs). Separating out all this stuff makes sense of it - hence scientific analysis but to recreate mystery we need to loosen our hold of it all again and drift off into a more holistic state of just experiencing our emotions and this is the artistic side of life as I perceive it or putting things back together again to make them work (synthesis: Turning life into an essay (test of your theories)).

 

Anthony Peake in his Cheating the Ferryman blog, talks of raising the Daemon of creativity. Like all magic summoning it depends on words and implies that the spirit is external to you, in my opinion, for the same reason that if you want to speak to a friend, you have to get their attention, if close, and need to phone them if distant. What is here, is visible (beyond words) - what is distant, is invisible (Known past - hence describable or unknown future, therefore unperceived).

 

I hope this last part makes some kind of sense in light of the argument and doesn't go off in too much of a tangent or it may need further discussion (defence) on my part.

[Queso]

Yes a word is a belief that is why you can use any word you want !

[paigetheoracle]

Yes a word is a belief that is why you can use any word you want !

 

Your word for the day is 'dismissed!' (Part of the inclusive/ exclusive set of words to be found in any society). Vision's equivalent is open/ shut your eyes;):lol: - smell, breathe/ don't breathe:D:eek2: - taste, eat/ don't eat (vomit is I changed my 'mind')):) - tactile sensation or emotion, feel(accept) / don't feel (shrug off/reject):hihi::)

[TZK]

Philosophy attempts to model reality in our minds. But instead of modeling physical processes it models the consequences and attributes of how our minds work.

 

Reality already exists outside of our mind, but it is language that allows us to think so therefore we must be able to put reality in terms of language in order to contemplate reality. And in order to communicate such contemplations we must be able to translate from one language or group of ideas to another.