Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Words can't describe it

I love when people say things like, "words can't describe my feelings," or "it goes without saying," because they are doing the exact opposite of what they're trying not to do. They are making a claim that words are inadequate to describe the situation, but then fall into the trap of describing this inadequacy with words. 

It reminds me of Nietzsche's claim that "There is no truth." 

Do you see the problem with that statement? Making a universal claim that there is no truth, is a universal claim of truth. The only difference is, his claim to truth is that it doesn't exist. However, it does exist in by saying it doesn't. 

I am not saying I am a follower of Nietzsche, nor am I saying that I believe all things can be described by language, but I think our attempts at showing our limitations funny, even ironic.


1 comment:

Ben Arkell said...

Words can't describe how much I agree with you.