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The Burden of the Word: Examining the Limits of Speech in Science and Fiction

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Introduction The question of whether our organs of speech are truly meant for language has intrigued linguists, philosophers, and artists alike. Anatomical and evolutionary studies reveal that the parts of our vocal apparatus—the lungs, vocal cords, tongue, teeth, and lips—serve primary functions that have little to do with language. The lungs are built for breathing, the vocal cords for protecting the airway, the teeth for chewing, and the tongue for manipulating food. Speech, it seems, is a clever secondary use of these organs rather than their original purpose. This understanding has sparked debate among linguists. Some argue that speech is a natural evolutionary adaptation, suggesting that our vocal apparatus has been shaped, at least in part, by the demands of communication. Noam Chomsky notes that while humans could have adopted other systems like sign language, we have overwhelmingly chosen speech as our primary mode of communication. However, others, notably Ferdinand d

Beyond Gulliver’s Travels: Lessons from the Grand Academy of Lagado

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"We next went to the school of languages, where three professors sat in consultation upon improving that of their own country." Introduction Sigmund Freud once observed, "The poets and philosophers before me discovered the unconscious. What I discovered was the scientific method by which the unconscious can be studied." This quote, highlighted in a 1940 journal article by Philip R. Lehrman, underscores Freud's acknowledgment of the profound insights poets and philosophers had already gleaned long before the rise of modern scientific inquiry. Freud's other sentiment, "Everywhere I go I find a poet has been there before me," further illustrates the deep interplay between creative imagination and philosophical thought (Freud Museum London https://www.freud.org.uk/) In this article, we will explore the intricate relationship between poets and philosophers, especially focusing on their shared investigations into the nature of language. We will