38. Forgetting the meaning of a
word. Different cases. The man feels, as he looks at blue objects, that the
connection between the word “blue” and the colour has been broken off. We might
restore the connection in various ways. The connection is not made by a single
phenomenon, but can manifest itself in various processes. Do I mean then that
there is no such thing as understanding but only manifestations of
understanding? A senseless question.
it is not clear here whether the
man in question can apply the word ‘blue’ at all –
in the example given – he doesn’t
associate the word with the colour –
but does it have any significance
for him?
his position is no different
really to anyone learning the accepted use of the word ‘blue’ – for the first
time
we are told accepted use by
others – and we move on from there –
or we see how the word is used
use of any word – or any
proposition – is open to question – open to doubt
even when we have as it were
mastered accepted use – at every turn we face uncertainty
but here nothing is ‘broken off”
– the traffic of language is uncertainty
logically speaking understanding
is engagement with language
and any understanding is open to
question – open to doubt – is uncertain
© greg t. charlton. 2014.
