"All of the other Ways of Knowing are controlled by language." What does this statement mean and do you think it is a fair representation between perception, emotion, reason and language?

Essay by eviiil October 2005

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Language is the foundation of our modern day society, it is used in our everyday lives in order to communicate with one another but language can also be used to manipulate (through propaganda), express feelings (art, poems), etc.. I will assume that language is defined as "use of words in agreed way as means of human communication, communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols", it is used at such a frequent rate that only few think about the restrictions we would have without language.

On one hand language controls the "knowing" of the other ways of knowing, yet on the other hand without the other ways of knowing there wouldn't be any language to communicate with, since no one would have the knowledge to use language.

If we talk about knowing something then knowing means to have (acquire) knowledge either through observations, learning or information.

Knowledge is the awareness and understanding of facts, truths or information gained in the form of experience or learning. In Maths for example, you learn the basic rules of geometry, algebra and calculus. With the knowledge of those basic rules you can deduct more specific and complex rules and formulas to suit the given problem. This is only possible if you "know" the basic rules and the "language" of math. Therefore the main statement above could be proven as correct.

"Language is a process of free creation; its laws and principles are fixed, but the manner in which the principles of generation are used is free and infinitely varied. Even the interpretation and use of words involves a process of free creation." - Noam Chomsky

This quote means that any language has a basic structure (grammar) on which the entire act of communication...