formal philosophers get so lost in the weeds
Well, I'm certainly lost!
Written as a Stream of Consciousness, or you could say “Warts an’ All”
If I understand this correctly, and, there's a very good possibility that I don't. What I understand is that language isn't anything in particular, it is just “description”. It is a philosophy of all science, all math, there's no real meaning, there's no real truth in language.
It just depends on how you look at it. He describes math, physics, “science” as a kin to religion with different scientists taking different views on how things should be, scientists having different “religions”, looking at reality from their own particular philosophical bent.
In one place in the article, the author says that philosophy is like an illness, and if you study philosophy, you are suffering, or at least leading yourself into an illness.
Words have always been an interest of mine, and recently, I made an astounding discovery!
I have taken to meditating and I discovered that you can actually think without words. Instead of “Words” (Thoughts) you are just aware of things. “Words” “Speech” and “Thinking” with words were added on to us, an evolutionary development, over and above our animalistic roots, and it's not necessarily an improvement, many problems are caused in the use of words..
Which is why I was very interested in the ideas in this piece. The idea that words are only a description of things; just that; just a description. Using “Words” is like playing a game, a game of interpretation, it really depends on the language, on your culture, on your peers, on everything, but it does not actually mean anything about the things you see. One example given is of a signpost to a village. It is obvious what a signpost is, it stands there and points, it doesn't need an explanation. It's self evident. The simplest form of the “Sign Post” would be a worn path on the ground.
A signpost telling you, where something is, where you may go, you just follow. There's no need for an explanation, you just follow the path.
I understand that some people with a particular brain deficit will walk through doorways. Such a person walking down a corridor would see an open door and would step through the door. If they were sitting at a table and you put a cup in front of them, they would pick it up.
The thing itself tells you what it is and what you do with it. When I heard that there is a condition where a person would see an open door and walk into a room, it amused me because I've had similar experience, I've walked in an office where I was not chaperoned, and just walked through a door for no apparent reason, without invite, permission or need. I just did it. It's an odd sensation, the first time you do it.
You realize it's something to watch out for in the future, the possibility you might accidentally trespass. I don't know if that's ever happened to anybody else reading this? Would be interesting to know.
It's interesting to me, particularly this philosophical bit. The idea behind meditation is to switch off the words and sit “vacantly”, meaning that you don't have words, but you are thinking, there is “understanding” and you understand things.
For example, if I were to stand in front of you now and throw a ball towards you, you would instinctively catch it. There would be no thought. You might well “Think” in terms of suppressing the instinct to catch. But to catch involves No Thought…
Why has this person thrown me a ball? I'm not playing. You don’t catch. You add a level above the instinct and you suppress the “Catch”. That's basically all our minds do, our thoughts, our words, they are nearly always suppressing things. Once you start understanding how your mind really works “without the words” then some really strange and exciting things can happen, so I'm told, I haven't got that far yet.
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