What the F
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Why do politicians, editors and much of the public care about words so much?
- it’s not the concepts (there are synonyms), nor the sounds
- is profanity corrupting, most of all children? Thing is, to moralists in this matter, this property of this particular type of language is self-evident - there are no justifications other than that
- the answer from progressive writers:
- true moralists should hold that violence and inequality are obscene, not sex and excretion.
- still, in the progressive sphere have been introduced linguistic taboos of their own - such as the N-word
- BUT, these words are part of fights for social equality and rights. They have a political value behind them not just a preoccupation for “decency”
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it seems bad language is a relative conception
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emotional power of swearing
- curses provoke a different response that their synonyms because connotations and denotations are stored in different parts of the brain - related: System 1 and System 2 in Thinking Fast and Slow
- limbic system - ancient network regulating motivation, emotion
- likely suspect is the amygdala - it lights up when a human is shown angry faces and taboo words
- neocortex - region highly developed in humans seat of perception, knowledge, reason, planning
- likely: denotations in neocortex left cortex - connotations in neocortex right hemisphere and limbic system
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Stroop effect - automatic nature of speech perception forces us to consider the unpleasant connotations of words against our wil
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historical root of swearing in English and other languages
- religion - profanity is that which is not sacred
Blasphemy itself could not survive religion; if anyone doubts that, let him try to blaspheme Odin. #cit G.C.Chesterton
- oaths were the way people submitted a contingency to have others believe promises otherwise vain
- religion had this function, now social and legal contracts have it
- is US courts witnesses still have to swear on the Bible
- although the emotional power of religion dimmed the underlying psychology is still there
- fucking and derivatives are words trying to evoke the idea of exploitative sex on someone, so its not simply sex being demonized - its implying a power dynamic
You taught me language, and my profic on’t is, I know how to curse. - Shakespeare’s Caliban #cit