Alex Reiner
Entry 2 - 2/7
Humans are constantly trying to learn more in order to
better understand the world around them.
I believe that this ongoing challenge to understand the world around us
is in fact our attempt to define the world into terms and definitions that we
can grasp. This defining of the world is
reflected in our language. Heidegger
states, "language is the house of being" which reflects this human
need to reflect the world in which we exist, our "being," in language
we speak to each other.
Ever since my sophomore I have loved thinking and discussing
the power of language, especially language's ability to shape perceptions and
realities. I have a great discussion
with a mentor about the language used in college and how the specific words we
use, while often used innocently, often carry with them offensive root meanings
that shape how we perceive the world.
Since this conversation I carefully choose my words (most of the time) and
am more aware of how language as a whole shapes our realities. It raises the question of whether our reality
could even be conceptualized by humans if it weren't for language and that as
language advances, is our society? Or
has the art of language now become lost to the point where it is actually degrading
our society.
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