Language and Thought Essay Topics

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Language and Thought Essay Topics

Choose one of the following topics to discuss in an essay of 1600 words pages double-space in 12 point font. Make sure your examples are specific, fresh, unique, dealing with at least two disparate areas of knowledge, well developed, explored, investigated, and germane to your argument(s) about language. I’ve posted a document titled “Language Articles” if you want to peruse your peers’ language articles.

Remember to include your chosen prompt as your title, an introduction, YOUR definitions, knowledge questions, a clear thesis that deals with the ambiguity/complexity/duality, several well-developed body paragraphs focusing on others’ and your perspectives (with specific examples, counter arguments, implications, and internal citations), a pondering and reflective conclusion, a final word count, and a Works Cited.

12 point font, double-spaced--remember internal citations and Works Cited. FINAL DUE to turnitin.com on ______.

A.  “Words are more powerful and treacherous than we think.” Evaluate the extent to which the characteristics Sartre claims for words affect—negatively or positively—different Areas of Knowledge.

B.  “Words form the thread on which we string our experiences.” A. Huxley

C.  To what degree might different languages shape their speakers different concepts of themselves and the world? What are the implications of such differences for knowledge?

D.  What is the role of language in creating and sustaining relationships of authority?

E.  To what extent is it possible to overcome ambiguity and vagueness in language? Does the balance between precision and ambiguity alter from one discipline to another? Does it impede or contribute?

F.  What can be said for and/or against this view: if we cannot say something, then do we know it?

G.  “If we spoke a different language, we would perceive a different world.” Wittgenstein

H.  “The essence of metaphor is understanding and experiencing one kind of thing in terms of another…The metaphor is not merely in the words we use—it is our very concept.” Lakoff and Johnson

I.  “How strangely do we diminish a thing as soon as we try to express it in words.” Maeterlinck

J.  “Error flies from mouth to mouth, from pen to pen, and to destroy it takes ages.”Voltaire

K.  Does language play roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge?

L.  “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 of the relationship between perception, emotion, reason and language?

M.  Discuss the role of language in history and at least one other area of knowledge.

N.  How does language facilitate, direct, extend or limit thinking?

O.  How do the words we use to describe an idea affect our understanding of the world?

P.  ‘The vocabulary we have does more than communicate our knowledge; it shapes what we can know’. Evaluate this claim with reference to different areas of knowledge.

Q.  Does language play roles of equal importance in different areas of knowledge?

Some suggestions for all:

1. Just because it is in quotation marks or stated absolutely does not mean that it should not be questioned. Consider the possible ambiguity, duality, and counterclaim(s).

2. Personal and academic examples are key and necessary. Hypothetical is not acceptable argumentation.

3. You must address two areas of knowledge—ARTS, NATURAL SCIENCES, HUMAN SCIENCES, HISTORY, MATH, INDIGENOUS/CULTURAL or RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS, etc.

4. Fresh examples are needed—from the articles, from current contemporary resources, from classes, etc. There should be a balance of referenced resources. Generate and contemplate significant and specific examples—for example, the language of “genocide” as it functions in the U.N.’s consideration of various tensions, the shift from shell shock to PTSD to…, etc. Again, do not rely on weak hypotheticals.

5. Counter yourself. It’s easy to state something and not question it; this is not the point of this class. I’ve provided the countering questions; now do something with them and apply this practice to all TOK papers.

6. In TOK essays, generalizations are particularly dangerous; there is most likely always an exception, and it is your job to find it or them.

7. Defining language in one sentence is pretty scary, especially considering its being one of our major ways of knowing and its interplay with just about everything. I need greatly pondered definitions of language. What is a letter? What is a word? What is syntax? What is grammar? Again, look at the handouts and notes. Also remember to question and reverse the prompt.

8. WORDS THAT MAY BE HELPFUL…

generative, rule-governed, intended, creative, open-ended, vague, ambiguous, connotative, denotative, euphemistic, metaphorical, translated, contextual, the ways, the areas, I, culture, meaning, subjective/subjectivity, objective, emotive, bias, dying languages, other languages, persuasion, propaganda, distortion, consistency, nuance, idiom, representation, generalization, technology, values, authority, limited, syntax, absolute, shift, neutral, social, instrumental, representational, expressive, creative, fallacies, abstract, concrete, intonation, intention, community, classification, category, cliché, metaphor, variation, ETC. THIS IS NOT ABSOLUTE, only suggestive.

9. You might consider sense perception, emotion, reason, imagination, intuition, and faith of knowing as they function within the definition, the examples, and the areas. Acknowledge their roles/contributions.

10. If you mention one theorist, you need to mention his, her, or their counter theorist.

11. Recognize the serious nature of these questions as they play out in the world.