Words Do Not Have Fixed Meanings

Words do not have fixed meanings:

We have been explaining the thesis that the work of the little known mid-century philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein has had seismic effect on Western Civilization, as well as significant affect on the rest of the world.

Here you can read what we wrote in PART ONE

(Scroll down to the photo of Wittgenstein) and

   PART TWO

THE WITTGENSTEIN CONSPIRACY PART THREE:

A few years ago (1991) a big book (12″ X 15,”  445 pgs) came to our attention extolling the glories of “Whole Language.”  W/L was the rage about then.  Ed Professors had convinced themselves children would learn to read if you simply put a book in front of them.

What does that have to do with Wittgenstein?  Proponents of W/L believed correctness in meanings and spelling is not important to learn.  (Remember: Words do not have fixed meanings?)  So you learn to read any way you can.  And, if you really do not learn to read, it is not important.  Just trying is ok. (Remember Pee Wee baseball where no scores are kept; just playing is all that is important)  Words are simply play-dough, aren’t they?

Another example is in basic arithmetic.  Around the same time the latest “new” math trend  was that correctness was not the ultimate coal. Coming close was ok.  Just trying was satisfactory.

Other results are that grades are demeaning; class attendance is not even necessary  in college.  Some colleges are now even allowing students to grade themselves, or, better yet, have eliminated grades altogether.

We submit this all results from Wittgensteinian thinking.  One disciple, Professor, Meguido Zola of Simon Fraser University in Canada, paraphrasing Wittgenstein, wrote in 1989:

     “Words are a ladder, that must be abandoned once we have used [the ladder] in order to   ascend  to the metaphysical heights. Labels will serve their purpose for a while, but none is absolute.”

Our dear readers will immediately conclude this is utter nonsense, but the truth is that academia buys it hook line and sinker. From academia it seeps into every phase of life in western civilization.

We will go into more depth in future posts.  For now ask yourself: Why does the world seem crazy.  Nothing is sacred anymore.  Nobody needs to “go by the rules.” Nothing is absolute anymore. Review things in your own life like why does one person see something as black another see the same topic as white? (This is not about ethnicity)  Why are people more rude in the world than the used to seem? Why is it that doing almost anything seems to be ok?  Think about it.  More later.

Since 1976

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