Definitions Matter

The statement “the words we have in our vocabulary are the building blocks of our thought” can seem obvious, but we often don’t realize how much definitions matter.  We all understand that words are tools that help us think.  However, some people suggest that words are more than tools – they are the very content of our thoughts.   Ludwig Wittgenstein, a language philosopher, said that “language is not only the vehicle of thought; it is also the driver.”[1] This doesn’t mean that our real-world experience consists only of words but rather that the meanings we give to the world or how we come to understand it and make sense of it – come from our ability to name something and create a word for it.

The Power of Naming

In the process of our speech, we select particular words on purpose in order to try and control the perceptions and responses of others.  Sometimes we select those words on autopilot like when our words come out seemingly without much thought in our regular daily conversations.  Other times we are more strategic like when we are trying to persuade someone to do or believe something.  Referring to what something means in relation to the words we use, Neil Postman put it like this:

“In the first place, ‘it’ isn’t anything until someone names it.  In the second place, the way in which ‘it’ is named reveals not the way it is, but how the namer wishes to see it or how he/she is capable of seeing it.  And third, how it has been named becomes the reality for the namer and all who accept the name.” [2]

Others, state it like this:

 “Naming selects, discriminates, identifies, locates, orders, arranges, systematizes. Such activities as these are attributed to ‘thought’ by older forms of expression, but they are much more properly attributed to language when language is seen as the living behavior of men.” [3]

You can see why politicians and advertisers try so hard to get us to accept their names and definitions..  When a politician labels his opponent a racist, they are obviously attempting to get us to think in a particular way about that individual.  A commercial informing us about all the benefits of the product is trying to control our perceptions so we will buy it.

Regarding politicians and advertisers, the good news is that we don’t have to accept the names they give us.  Their naming of people and things doesn’t have to be our reality.  The big problem with naming, however, is not necessarily how other people name things, but how we do so ourselves.

The Names We Give

Our understanding of names and meanings come to us through our history and experience.  We know what things are and what words mean as a result of living a life where we observe and deduce and have people tell us what those things mean.  Sometimes we accept those meanings without critical thought and they become part of our vocabulary.  They become part of our reality.  This can be troublesome when we accept destructive names and begin to use those same words ourselves, and when we accept them into our vocabulary, their meaning becomes part of our reality.

This is ever so important with a word like success.  What does the word “success” mean?  Particularly, what does it mean for you?  We have all heard the word defined in different ways.  Success is financial security.  Success is fame or healthy relationships or a good job.  You fill in the blank.  We should remember that our definition of success determines our thoughts about it and our actions to pursue it in our lives.  Because of these potential consequences we should find out what success really means for us so we can understand what is really and truly important to us.  When we can intentionally name success in a way that we can accept and understand, our whole world can change.

Here’s a question:  How many people are chasing after a type of success they have defined in a particular way only to arrive and find it isn’t what they were really looking for?  Maybe we are defining or naming success something that we really don’t believe or intend.  Could it be that success isn’t a destination or an arrival, but an odyssey.  Is it possible that success has something more to do with happiness and fulfillment rather than a job or bank account?  It’s all in the name.  For more on this topic and why definitions matter, check out this podcast.

 

[1] Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, ed. P. M. S. Hacker and Joachim Schulte, 4 edition (Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. ; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009).

[2] Neil Postman, Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk:  How We Defeat Ourselves by the Way We Talk and What to Do About It. (New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, 1976).

[3] Dewey John and Arthur F. Bentley, “Knowing and the Known,” Boston: Beacon, 1949.