Londinium

I'm presently in London, trying my best not to start work on the thesis again. The next stage is to read through the second and third of three lectures by William Alston. Though a different aspect of my work has been occupying my thoughts for most of today. It will have to be taken slowly and with Stoicism.

Speaking of that ancient school of philosophy, I'm very much of the opinion that philosophy is, or ought to be, improving [Edit: I'm using this as a transitive verb.]. It should not address its questions in abstraction from lived experience but should be intimately related to life, transforming. This approach to philosophy can be discerned throughout its long history but it has received little in the way of explicit articulation, especially recently. Of course there are exceptions: this book being a notable example, with its focus on a very specific period in the history of philosophy. All of us need to start doing more philosophy of this kind.

I think a similar argument could be made with respect to language. Language does far more than simply denote objects and relationships in the 'real world', rather it constitutes and cements our engagement with that world, without which the very concept of 'world' would be meaningless. I think this is roughly what Heidegger meant when he famously claimed that language 'speaks' man. Some of the best playwrights have intuited this idea. Harold Pinter, whose superb No Man's Land I was fortunate enough to see recently, makes language world-transforming in his plays and, by extension, an instrument of power. David Mamet's style is not dissimilar and I'm very much looking forward to his lecture to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 tonight.

For a more light-hearted take on the topic of language Stephen Fry's blog post, and the following clip, should entertain: