Comments on: The Use of Words http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/ Revitalizing Riddles, Mythic Story, Family, Village and Land. Sun, 1 Aug 2010 07:15:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Willem http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24454 Willem Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:16:22 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24454 Haha, nice clip Ian! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the implications of this - the dark magic of impermeable categories ("You are THAT!" response: "I am? That's all I am?" "Yes!")...and yes, why WOULD one want to plant a flag if not in the spirit of conquest? This reminds me of how indigenous peoples tend to have the four directions marked with flagged landscape features - a sacred mountain to the north, storm fronts to the west, etc. My whole life (and certainly this blog) seems to revolve around deepening my understanding of intact indigenous flagging. Haha, nice clip Ian!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the implications of this - the dark magic of impermeable categories (”You are THAT!” response: “I am? That’s all I am?” “Yes!”)…and yes, why WOULD one want to plant a flag if not in the spirit of conquest?

This reminds me of how indigenous peoples tend to have the four directions marked with flagged landscape features - a sacred mountain to the north, storm fronts to the west, etc. My whole life (and certainly this blog) seems to revolve around deepening my understanding of intact indigenous flagging.

]]> By: Ian M http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24453 Ian M Tue, 10 Feb 2009 19:53:34 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24453 Great post, Willem. You blew my mind with the 'permeability of borders' bit, and the electron cloud of possibilities will stay with me for a long time, I can tell, for its enlightening power. All this talk of flags makes me wonder if somebody wrote an evolutionary history of our civilised languages, showing how the obsession with naming or 'nounifying' everything came about. It seems to me that this would complement the domesticator's desire to tame all that wild possibility and bring things into the sphere of his control. To name something immediately confers great power on the nam<em<er, almost amounting to a kind of ownership IMO - narrowing down the possibilities to those <em>defined</em> by the one wielding this dark magic. Why would you <em>want</em> to plant a flag (or draw up a map as per Korzybski in your other post) if not in the spirit of conquest? <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEx5G-GOS1k" rel="nofollow">Obligatory Eddie Izzard clip</a>. Glad to see the College back in business! Ian Great post, Willem. You blew my mind with the ‘permeability of borders’ bit, and the electron cloud of possibilities will stay with me for a long time, I can tell, for its enlightening power.

All this talk of flags makes me wonder if somebody wrote an evolutionary history of our civilised languages, showing how the obsession with naming or ‘nounifying’ everything came about. It seems to me that this would complement the domesticator’s desire to tame all that wild possibility and bring things into the sphere of his control. To name something immediately confers great power on the nam<em<er, almost amounting to a kind of ownership IMO - narrowing down the possibilities to those defined by the one wielding this dark magic. Why would you want to plant a flag (or draw up a map as per Korzybski in your other post) if not in the spirit of conquest?

Obligatory Eddie Izzard clip.
Glad to see the College back in business!

Ian

]]> By: Willem http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24451 Willem Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:02:36 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24451 I will check it out - literally. From the library! I will check it out - literally. From the library!

]]> By: Jason Godesky http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24450 Jason Godesky Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:55:23 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24450 You really need to read Calvin Luther Martin's <em>Way of the Human Being</em>. His stuff on plenipotential married to your stuff on rewilding language would ... wow ... I shudder to even think of it. You really need to read Calvin Luther Martin’s Way of the Human Being. His stuff on plenipotential married to your stuff on rewilding language would … wow … I shudder to even think of it.

]]> By: Willem http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24449 Willem Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:47:26 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24449 I checked out that link - what a totally cool way of articulating categories as relationships. Man. Wittgenstein, huh? Viva la revolucion! Down with Nouns! :) I checked out that link - what a totally cool way of articulating categories as relationships. Man. Wittgenstein, huh?

Viva la revolucion! Down with Nouns! :)

]]> By: Jonathan Walton http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24448 Jonathan Walton Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:28:49 +0000 http://www.mythic-cartography.org/2009/02/09/the-use-of-words/#comment-24448 Wittgenstein calls this <i>familienähnlichkeit</i> ("family resemblance"). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_resemblance He hated nouns too. Wittgenstein calls this familienähnlichkeit (”family resemblance”).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_resemblance

He hated nouns too.

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