Why is language no guide to reality? | Nolen Gertz, Betty Sue Flowers, Joscha Bach

Philosophy For Our Times

Does our rhetoric shape reality?

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Hugely powerful, we assume language enables us to represent reality. But some argue language, from the greatest narratives to the finest theories, not only fails to describe reality it actually distorts and misleads us. Language, the critics argue, formulates a world in its own image. The structure of language, nouns, adjectives, verbs, encourages us to imagine reality consists of their equivalent, things, qualities and actions. But there is no reason to suppose this is the case. And reason instead to conclude that reality is entirely different from the way it is represented in language.

Nolen Gertz is an Assistant Professor of applied philosophy at the University of Twente. He is the author of a number of books including Nihilism and Technology.

Betty Sue Flowers is Emerita Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin. She pioneered the modern, psychological appreciation of ancient myths alongside Joseph Campbell.

Joscha Bach is an AI researcher for MIT Media Lab and the Harvard Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, where he explores new frontiers in cognitive architectures and mental representation.

Katie Robertson hosts.

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