Strengths and weaknesses of language as a way of knowing?

[gth9]

can someone just give me a rundown of strengths and weaknesses of language as a way of knowing? i guess what im most confused on is how is language a way of knowing?

Im completely lost. can someone just give me a brief run-down and ill work my way from there?

I understand that there are 4 Wok that may permeate an exploration and interpretation of the world. Language is one of them. So do i discuss how language explores and interprets the world; and the strengths and weaknesses of language?

any help would be great, as of right now i have nothing.

[Starz]

[quote name='gth9' post='28241' date='Nov 11 2008, 07:17 PM']can someone just give me a rundown of strengths and weaknesses of language as a way of knowing? i guess what im most confused on is how is language a way of knowing?[/quote]
--------------------------------------------

ummm i advice you to buy the TOK book ' Theory of Knowledge cambridge richard van de lagemaat' pretty good

and well language IS a way of knowing, its something that completley surrounds us, a way of communication thus a way of knowing. Language is acually one of the main ways in which we aquire knowledge about the world.
its quiet fascinating how through the diffrent sounds we make with our mouths, we are able to fathom (understand) the meaning and respond.
so language is a way of knowing
and its pretty important, because its how we communicate
you 'know' how to communicate
its a way of knowing

hope that helped

we had to do an essay on if the world all spoke one language and another one on if a language dies out, im guessing your a first year student as well?

[ezex]

[quote name='Starz' post='28252' date='Nov 11 2008, 04:39 PM']--------------------------------------------

ummm i advice you to buy the TOK book ' Theory of Knowledge cambridge richard van de lagemaat' pretty good

and well language IS a way of knowing, its something that completley surrounds us, a way of communication thus a way of knowing. Language is acually one of the main ways in which we aquire knowledge about the world.
its quiet fascinating how through the diffrent sounds we make with our mouths, we are able to fathom (understand) the meaning and respond.
so language is a way of knowing
and its pretty important, because its how we communicate
you 'know' how to communicate
its a way of knowing

hope that helped

we had to do an essay on if the world all spoke one language and another one on if a language dies out, im guessing your a first year student as well? [/quote]

Right and as you can see from the above post, depending on how you SAY something influences what information we get...which is why running a spell check sometimes help whe posting. Take this for example, super cliche but fits: doctor needs to tell you your mom died, he can either say "we did everything we could but she passed away" or "she died during the surgery" or "we killed her by mistake". You see all three say the same thing, "your mom died" but obviousy you noticed that the three statements are not at all the same. Not only does each invoke a diferent emotion on the person reading it (meaning language is a way of knowing that is particular to each individual, unlike reason and logic which is pretty much the same all around (2+2=4, i dont care what religion you believe in)). You have to understand that language is just a tool which is why it's a WAY of knowing and not the actual knowledge, or else it would imply that everything we say is true that would be interesting..."A priest and a rabii walk into a bar------BOOOM! The universe just collapsed"

[SharkSpider]

You posted a question on forums. When you get an answer, that is using language as a way of knowing. If you misread what we posted, then that would definitely be a weakness in language as a way of knowing.

In philosophical terms, language allows us to communicate thoughts, but can never perfectly represent the thoughts.

[stariixniite]

language is CULTURE.
Its strength is that it is a form of communication and that you are able to interpret things in a similar manner if you and the person with whom you speak have a similar cultural background.
but a weakness is that if cultures are differnt, things may be interpreted differently according to how the culture and language expresses the ideas.

[robertomx]

There are some things that language cannot express completely: take emotions, for example. Say I ask you to ''describe love''. I actually did that (during IB1... oh those times...): nobody was able to do so. When I asked why, they said that words weren't enough. That may give you an idea.