The Power of Words.

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The Power of Words

Language has an irreplaceable role in our lives as mankind has grown to depend on it as an important way of acquiring Knowledge. But how valid is language as a way of knowing? French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre answered this question with the quote: "Words are more treacherous and powerful than we think." Words do indeed lie. It is precisely because of its role as an indispensable tool of communication and thoughts that words have the power to mold our values, emotions and perception. We encounter large amounts of hidden implications and deceptions embedded in words on a daily basis, from the books we read to the news we hear. Language can be a powerful instrument of expression when effectively applied or that of deceits when abused. Thus, the objective of this essay is to evaluate the impact of language on our perception and illustrate its "treacherous and powerful" nature using examples from Areas of Knowledge including human science, ethics, history and mathematics.

Linguist Edward Sapir's theory holds the view that language has the power to shape people's views. Peggy Rosenthal in her book Words and Values concurs with Sapir's philosophy that words have the power to lead people's behaviour and thoughts. Words can have both a positive and treacherous influence on our way of intellectual pursuits and personal life. The word "development" acquired its significance from the Darwin's Theory of Evolution, highly regarded by men as a positive concept because of the Evolution Theory's success (Rosenthal 51). Once "development" earned its validity in science, it becomes a dominant and powerful term that motivates the desire in men to move forward in other areas such as the bloom of multitudes of art movements. Thus the word "develop" reinforces society's goal to move in a positive direction. However its ubiquity can also create an illusion that "development" is a must (Rosenthal 77). Let's illustrate this with a personal example from the human sciences. A man began an affair and put his marriage at risk. After all the pain and tears, the couple reconciled and only remembered the good. While they tore each other apart during the affair, saying that they've "developed so much" from the affair suddenly put the experience into a positive light. Such positive terms are frequently employed in our society to justify our actions. Thus we should be careful where words lead us.
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Furthermore, because our understanding of the world is, as Sapir puts it, "to a large extent unconsciously built up on the language habits of the group", it's easy to commit the misconception that we are interacting directly with reality as opposed to a world of words describing reality. In human sciences, this excessive trust in the validity of language and the direct linkage between thoughts and words result in possible "brainwashing" if certain words occur at an extremely high frequency in a person's daily interaction (Rosenthal 168). Failure to reflect upon the origins and implications of these words ...

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