I think the denizens of this site are much more adept at language / appreciate it as a tool much more than the average.
That said, the presenter in this vid makes the case that the language itself changes our thinking and therefore behavior. Maybe not so controversial on it’s face but the idea it’s a parasite could take the mind to some interesting (who’s controlling us) directions.
Alchemical spells swimming thru & thru the electromagnetic soup that surrounds us.
Very deep “processes” going on…
Unless… ?
Your “truly” religiously grounded.
First step.
Recognize the “parasite”.
[epistemological warfare]
[remember, this is all highly speculative.
in regards to my writings.]
I didn’t watch the whole video.
About 1/3.
Looked more like the cure, was worse than the disease?
“Entrainment?”
Syntax, sentence structure and word definitions are all parts of communication. Cultures may use different sounding words to describe or name things however that doesn’t change the concrete object or idea. The mind automatically strives to assign a name to an object or idea to establish coherency. What follows and the interpretation is up to the knower. I don’t agree it’s a parasitic relationship.
Baland Jalal, interviewed on Jesse Michels describes how the parts of the brain function. He says the mind interprets what it sees by comparing to stored symbols (for speed of processing / reaction time). That brings to mind Asian languages, written mostly with symbols, and the info we’re told about alien symbols that some describe as ‘self-actualizing software’. Interesting thoughts to me on how our minds / perception works. Does the language create different perspectives or is it the culture or are these the same thing?
An intriguing question is “What IS thought?” What triggers recognition?
…about the questions you have raised towards yourself or towards the community…whatever the case is…life with various animals from a young age,
different countries, circumstances, cultures, human organisms and their brains,thought,way of thinking,socializing,acting speeking their mind…etc
Yes, the human organism is a miracle, its brain too. It can adapt, and does adapt, to life without humans. And it can communicate with almost every land animal in their language…so that is to say that language is not a parasite but a means of communication. On the other hand, the incessant inner speech in the human mind itself…
https://a-z-animals.com/blog/kids-raised-by-animals/
Thanks for the post…these are fascinating stories.
Here’s the link to the interview I mentioned. Very long and only a part of it pertains to this discussion but hugely insightful into how the brain works / perception etc.
P.S. I don’t mean to be rude. But in my opinion the real parasite is the mind in connection, with the constant inner speech which is nothing more than a very effective distraction from the reality of our being.
Be it words, symbols or images.
In other words the way in which the connection brain-mind-inner speech-perception is a combination that is parasitic in nature.
And as can be seen from all the examples that mind-brain does everything possible not to cease to exist.
Be it in pure nature or in society.
The same applies and extends to the entire animal kingdom of all known life forms.
Except perhaps for amoebas.
This is how the transduction of some things from what we call the spiritual world works.
That transduction is not final but, constantly interchangeable in both directions until the brain stops functioning, etc…аnd of course…“they gave us their minds”…highly risky and stupendous manoeuvre but effective stil until today.
And we repeat that everyday one to another,to each other daily…all the time.
Language . . . an interesting, complicated topic. I watched the first-posted video. Parasite is a possible metaphor. Personally, I’d say language is both a useful tool and a possible weapon / potential trap.
As @Divergent suggests, the mind easily gets caught up in our constant inner dialogue, which consists of words. Those words, of course, depend on the particular language we speak. And the inner dialogue is (or at least can be) a distraction from direct experience.
The idea that language conditions and restricts our ability to perceive things has been around, in explicitly that formulation, since at least the 20th century. I’ve never been sure to what degree that’s true, but there’s probably something to it, though less than its strongest proponents might believe. If two people look at something that’s blue, whether or not they have a word for the color, can we really conclude they’re not both actually seeing the same thing? Maybe that’s not the claim; I don’t know.
What’s more interesting, to me, is the fact that two people from entirely different cultures, but who do have a word for blue in their respective languages, will look at the same blue thing and almost invariably agree the thing is blue. To my mind, that proves reality isn’t purely subjective, purely a matter of interpretation, or totally constrained by words.
Also, a lot goes into communication and perception besides language and symbols–such as gut feelings, intuitions, body language, pheromones, and heaven knows what else.
If I understood it correctly, the idea behind the book written by the guy in that first video is a very ancient one. It’s the idea behind certain forms of meditation developed millennia ago. That doesn’t mean his presentation of the idea isn’t useful, especially for the modern mind, and I agree with his basic point even if I wouldn’t use the analogy of a parasite.
@Bill10558 makes a good point too: “‘What IS thought?’ What triggers recognition?" That’s a threshold question that people can’t agree on how to answer. It’s essentially the same question as “What is consciousness?” That question, too, was exhaustively explored millennia ago, although so-called highly educated people in the modern world may ignore the fact.
Percy Walker’s book, Symbol & Existence, A STUDY IN MEANING, describes the incident where Helen Keller catches on to what the word “water”means after Miss Sullivan thrusts her hand under water coming out of a hand pump while signing the word “water” in the other hand. That spark began her understanding of naming objects.
That’s the “spark” we all get when learning to talk. Where does that come from?
Some would say that’s a part of, or from, the Divine or Transcendental (I among them). And what’s that? The human mind can’t fully comprehend or express it. Others would disagree.
“It’s just a mystery.” is the pat answer to myself for a question like that where we are unable to know.