On Choosing Your Words

Cornelius Van Til once said, "There can be no intelligable reasoning unless those who reason together understand what they mean by their words." ("Christian Apologetics" P&R Publishing. Phillipsburg, 2003 p98) I cannot think of a better way to say that. Some people become exasperated when you choose your words carefully- and they sometimes become even more frustrated when you take their own words seriously. The thing is, if you want to actually have some sort of exchange with another person- you have to know what they are saying- and they need to know what you are saying. It just does not do to be fast and loose with any language. At some point, you will really have to be patient if you actually desire to communicate with someone. As an aside, I might remind you that after you take the time to be careful with particular words in a particular exchange, you are free to return to using particular words however you wish, but anyways...

In western analytic philosophy discussions are often begun by defining terms. This is important for philosophers because without it confusion may arise that prevents meaningful discourse. No one wants to be accused of equivocation- least of all a good western analytic philosopher. Equivocation, however, is hard to avoid if you are not careful with your words. English is especially vulnerable to this type of confusion as many of our words have multiple meanings. What bothers me is the attitude I encounter about discussions of all kinds. Being careful with your words is not something that is only important for philosophers. Let them teach you something for goodness sakes. Take a lesson from all their hard work- even if that is all you take (not that I am advocating that of course).

It seems that people want to be heard, but don't want to think before they speak. It seems that people want you to understand them, but they do not want to take the time to understand you. People write book reviews without having finished a book. People spend their time in conversation thinking about what they are going to say next rather than listening to what you are saying now. People are honestly offended when you point out something inconsistent that they have said- all too often they do not even stop to consider your motivation for pointing it out- and act as if they are more concerned with being seen as right than actually being right. You may even find your friends getting upset if you try and coax a little care in language out of them- somehow they can forget that you love them, care about them, and can generally be trusted.

I have known for a long time that love is more important than knowledge. The thing is (and this particularly for Americans), that is a proposition that is either true or false. If you come down one way or another on that proposition, you will act one way or another in life. To say then, that you think love is more important- this does not at all mean that knowledge and reasoning are unimportant. The very idea that helping your brother is more important than understanding something is a piece of understanding!

So please, everyone, remember who you are talking to and ask yourself if you really want to communicate with them. If you do, you will likely have to choose your words. It won't hurt too bad once you get used to it.