The Word is Not the Thing
This is a page from the third version of Technopagan Yearnings. There are some formatting differences. Originally published at www.neowayland.com/C550866538/E1870404080
Sometimes we forget that language isn't reality
It is these overlaps and contextual landmarks that make language work. But language is only an approximation of reality, not reality itself.
Take a word like "faith" for example. To me, it means the acknowledgment of Deity and how one approaches that Deity. To a conservative Christian, "faith" means only their particular flavor of Christianity and nothing else. Which is true? That is where it gets confusing. In each case, there are subtexts and assumptions underlying the word that radically change it's meaning depending on who is talking, who they are talking to, and when they are talking.
Posted: Thu - August 4, 2005 at 07:04 PM