liveonearth (liveonearth) wrote,
liveonearth
liveonearth

The Power of the Word

"The struggle for definition is veritably the struggle for life itself. In the typical Western two men fight desperately for the possession of a gun that has been thrown to the ground: whoever reaches the weapon first shoots and lives; his adversary is shot and dies. In ordinary life, the struggle is not for guns but for words; whoever first defines the situation is the victor; his adversary, the victim. For example, in the family, husband and wife, mother and child do not get along; who defines whom as troublesome or mentally sick?...[the one] who first seizes the word imposes reality on the other; [the one] who defines thus dominates and lives; and [the one] who is defined is subjugated and may be killed." - Thomas Szasz
Tags: culture, family, language, meaning, mental illness, power, quotes, words
Subscribe

  • QotD: Do Unto Others

    Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you. -Wendell Berry

  • Interesting Times Indeed

    Being a doc and a dork too, I've been studying on COVID-19 since it first appeared. Still the magnitude of the crisis is shocking. This will be…

  • QotD: What Atheists Teach the Religious

    The Master teaches the student that God created everything in the world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson. One…

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Comments allowed for friends only

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    switch
    default userpic

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    Help
  • 3 comments