Who cares about words?
December 14, 2007 – 9:20 am by CalusaCustomConceptsDo words have any meaning? Are the words we use important? What are words anyway? Aren’t words the translation of the concepts we imagine?
If words are concepts translated into sounds with assigned meanings, then words are expressed ideas.
Ideas have consequences whether or not we believe them to be true. Bad ideas yield negative consequences. If you think you can fly, and you jump off of a tall building, you will experience your last bad idea. So how do you know a bad idea from a good one?
The answer is truth. Truth is unavoidable. It exists; therefore, right and wrong exist. What is true is right. What is false is wrong. It’s possible to be wrong when you think something.
What is truth? It is that which conforms to what actually is. In case you think that the truth is not important, consider this. When you ask someone a question, are you interested in getting a truthful answer?
So, the truth matters. And since it does, words are important. Don’t you want to protect yourself from untruthful ideas?
Here are four logic tests that can typically find a fallacy in a system of thought. If a thought can pass these logic tests, then it is probably correct.
1. The Law of Identity- [A = A] or [If A, then not non-A]
This is how speech takes place. You understand words because they have specific meanings. If I say, “I drove in my car”, then you know I didn’t mean, “I flew in a plane.” You see, truth is exclusive. When you make an assertion, you exclude the opposite. If you affirm A, then you are excluding non-A.
2. The Law of Rational Inference- If A=B and B=C then A=C.
This is to draw a conclusion from a conditional base. When something is said, you can rationally infer something else. If someone tells you that they will pick you up at 5:00, then you can infer that they will do so.
3. The Law of Non-Contradiction- A cannot be non-A.
Two opposite answers cannot be made about the same question at the same time. You cannot defend an absolute negative. It is logically incorrect. Take this sentence for example; “Truth does not exist.” Is this statement true? You see, this law defines the line between what is true and what is false.
4. The Law of the Excluded Middle- Either A or non-A.
A proposition is either true or false. It cannot be both. The briefcase is either black or it is not black. Just because two things have one thing in common does not mean that they have everything in common. Fish have eyes. I have eyes. Therefore I am a fish. Surely this is not true.
Logic is undeniable and self-evident. You would need to use logic to deny its existence. Therefore it is self-explanatory. Without logic there can be no true or false statements. Truth gives a person’s words meaning. A lack of truth makes their words meaningless. Whose words do you accept as true? Choose your own words wisely.
Tags: concepts, epistomology, existentialism, ideas, materialism, philosophy, theology, thought
3 Responses to “Who cares about words?”
What excellent thoughts you have generated! It is truly courageous to question the perception that has been lived for so long. Even if it is about the most basic things such as words, birth and death, time, etc. It is always the simplest ideas that create the most dramatic shift!
I will ask you to investigate further, on your idea of right and wrong. What exactly do those ideas mean to you? Do they really exist or were they created by a society that suggest its existence to be real since birth?
If a man steals from another man, it is considered “bad,” but if the thief stole the item(s) to support his family, is it “good?” If good is humane and bad is inhumane, it can be bad that the man committed theft, yet it is humane he did it support his family. What do these terms mean, anyway?
It appears as though both ideas are arbitrary because it doesn’t change the fact that the event has already occurred, and the multitude of variables that contribute to making said event could be either “good” or “bad,” which are defined based from personal experience; perception! There are too many possibilities, and they are contradictory!
So is truth then more than a concept or idea? Is it an actual “fact?” What is truth? Please share with me your thoughts!
By katone on Dec 15, 2007
Does it matter to you if my answer is truthful?
By CalusaCustomConcepts on Dec 17, 2007
It does not matter to me; you should be concerned about yourself because that is to whom everything leads back to. There is no escaping yourself, so why not explore?
By katone on Dec 20, 2007