Think about “money” for a moment – a $1 dollar note cost about the same amount of money to make as a $100 dollar note. Yet we think one is worth $1 and the other $100, even though they cost the same to make. Today governments, businesses, society and culture has pushed us to think in terms of money and not allow for a possibility of any other kind of value system.
This kind of “artificial” measurement has somehow warped our values replacing them with a dollar sign, where even our children or our wives can be priced. Not surprizing really when innocent words like “priceless” can be enlisted by literally anyone to (mis)represent values and be made to lose any real meaning.
But language has been used to deceive us for a long time. They used to call it rhetoric. Politicians, in general, speak this way, as do business. One reason is because speech is not seen as deceitful like action. But it should be, because speech is in itself an action.
I am sure you have your own list of speech/acts which you have seen though as being designed to be deceitful. I am particularly cautious about discourses by politicians and entrepreneurs, because they are really looking out for themselves and not for us.
But it is possible to have other values, values other than those that others want you to have. And it is easier to hold these values once you see through the discourse for what it is.
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Thank you.
I had a quick read of Latour’s entry at wikipedia. I have a lot of questions which I will ask after I read your entry. Thank you again.
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I got around to looking at your site in IE and found the feed (I use ‘old’ tech for daily browsing – NS7.1). I’m adding it to the YDN ‘science, technology, ecology’ collaborative content page.
I made an entry on my blog about Latour. Be interested in your comments.
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maleephd,
Yes, it would good to talk theory.
No, I am not familiar with Bruno Latour but I’d interested to have a look. I’ll do my own research on the net soon. Thank you.
And I will look through the Yogacara Discussion Network when I have a free moment. And also the organic group.
The feed is the orange thing that says ‘full’ in the side column.
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The use of money as a ‘measurement’ of the success of many human edeavours is an issue that lies at the very root of many of our ‘social problems’. I see it as a ‘misapplication’ of science (the science of measurement) and reasoning.
Thank you for your kind comments left on my blog. I hope we have a chance to ‘talk theory’. Are you familiar with the work of Bruno Latour? Drawing from Latour’s work, I have suggested elsewhere that what we need is not ‘postmodern’ theory, but ‘non-modern’ theory. There’s a bit more substance there than just word play. Let me know if you’d like some references.
Did you have a chance to visit the Yogacara Discussion Network site listed (several times) in my blog? If you would be willing, we would enjoy having you as a member and contributor. I’ve started the ‘organic group’ on Buddhist ethics, science, technology, and ecology that I mention in my blog. But I would be very pleased if someone were to take the topic ‘ecology and sustainability’ on its own, since it is worth more time than I can devote to it just now.
Have enjoyed reading your work here, and am adding to my ‘blogroll’.
I don’t see a ‘feed’ link – am I missing it?
Thank you again for visiting my (very new) blog.
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Thanks, but I cannot take all the credit for it. People like you and David Suzuki are out there to make a difference. I am glad to know that I am not alone and that the internet has a use for other than mindless entertainment. Thank you.
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This could not be more true…. I don’t know how many times I have begged those close to me to ‘say what they mean’. Words are themselves priceless – who can place a value on knowing that someone always speaks the truth? I don’t know anymore… because we have de-valued our words to the point of loss of meaning. You couldn’t have made a better point that to change the value we place on words would dramatically shift the value we place on ‘currency’ and whatever it can buy.
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