How is relativism relevant in our words?
I am a firm believer in the fact that truth is not relative (1). However, there is a great deal of things in life that are relative. I was pondering this the other day when thinking about the words we choose and why we then use them to form thoughts, examples, and conversations.
Denotations are the literal meanings of words. Connotations are the felt meanings of words. For example, the word “mother” literally means “a woman in relation to a child to whom she has given birth” (2). Yet when one person hears the term “mother,” they have the potential to feel a warmth in their heart, remembering their mom’s freshly baked cookies after school and her loving care for them as a child. Even so, another person could hear “mother” and feel disappointment, sadness, and despair because of abandonment by their mother at a young age. Either way, neither one of those definitions are actually what “mother” truly means. Denotations are important, but connotations of words are really what matter because these are where people choose their words when they form thoughts.
When I speak, I oft weigh heavily the words I use (as well as my syntax — everyone enjoys a well-put-together sentence). There are a great deal of reasons for this, but my primary purpose of my word choice is for fear of my thoughts being taken out of context or being misunderstood. Therefore when I write, I am incredibly more careful with my diction; it is much easier for misunderstandings to arise in written word rather than spoken word (3). Nevertheless, I realized recently that even if I took the utmost care with every single solitary word that came out of my mouth or flowed from my pen, and took incredible consideration of each connotation that could potentially arise in my mind from my word choice, disputes would still surface. Someone somewhere will take what I mean out of its original context. Why? Simply because they do not themselves have the same connotations that I think of or possess.
This is relativism in speech.
Relativism is not my favorite concept. In fact, the philosophy in itself drives me to desire to analyze every aspect of life to develop what I truly think is relative and what I believe could never be relative (4). Despite this, relativism when not applied to truth is prevalent in our society and particularly in speech. My main thoughts on relativism and connotations are as follows: Misunderstandings would never occur if everyone spoke in denotations. Things would be as they are for what they are, always. Black and white, straightforward and concise. One way, always; never changing; consistent.
But if the world functioned like this, it would lose all of its creative colour.
Yes, relativism is not to be embraced when truth or reality is at stake. This is detrimental. There is a strong line between absolute truth and relative truth. Even so, when it comes down to words, without the connotations behind each phrase one puts forth, life in descriptions would forfeit its beauty. We need connotations for attractiveness to be discovered in words, speech, writings, and thoughts.
I challenge you, reader, to muse upon the words you choose. Broaden your vocabulary. Play with your diction. But never forget that at the end of the day, it is not about what you say, but in what manner you say it, and with what meaning you put behind your words.
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(1) More on this to come another time, in another post.
(2) New Oxford American Dictionary
(3) A great deal of reasons are the cause of this. Mainly because in written word, body language and tone fluctuations are not evident — the reader thus chooses how they wish to take the words. This is why I contemplate what I write before I write it, for consideration of potential readers.
(4) I feel that relativism is potentially one of the most dangerous aspects of humanity. (Refer to (1))
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Musings of a Believer 