So long as we use a certain language, all questions that we can ask will have to be formulated in it and will thereby confirm the theory of the universe which is implied in the vocabulary and structure of the language.
Interpretation
Language shapes our understanding of reality and limits the questions we can ask.
This quote by Michael Polanyi emphasizes the profound influence that language has on our perception of the universe. He suggests that the structure and vocabulary of a language not only frame our inquiries but also inherently endorse the theories of reality that are embedded within that language. This raises important questions about how our unique ways of speaking can restrict or guide our understanding of complex ideas and the world around us.
In practice
During a philosophy lecture discussing the impact of language on thought.
The amount of knowledge which we can justify from evidence directly available to us can never be large. The overwhelming proportion of our factual beliefs continue therefore to be held at second hand through trusting others, and in the great majority of cases our trust is placed in the authority of comparatively few people of widely acknowledged standing.
We cannot ultimately specify the grounds (either metaphysical or logical or empirical) upon which we hold that our knowledge is true. Being committed to such grounds, dwelling in them, we are projecting ourselves to what we believe to be true from or through these grounds. We cannot therefore see what they are. We cannot look at them because we are looking with them.
In prayerful silence you must look into your own heart. No one can tell you better than yourself what comes between you and God. Ask yourself. Then listen!
To expose a 4.2 Trillion dollar ripoff of the American people_x000D_ by the stockholders of the 1000 largest corporations over the last_x000D_ one-hundred years will be a tall order of business.
The control of the production of wealth is the control of human life itself.
Again, a law may be both constitutional and expedient, and yet may be administered in an unjust and unfair way.
Liars share with those they deceive the desire not to be deceived.
I am not a pretty girl. I don't want to be a pretty girl. No, I want to be more than a pretty girl.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.