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Why Do You Think What You Think?
You probably think of yourself as a reasonable person. You’re smart. You think things through. You get your information from sources that you trust. But not so fast. As tempting as it is to think that this is enough to ensure you’re covering your blind spots, we’re still hopelessly vulnerable to the subtleties of language and context.
Emotive conjugation is the mind-killer.
In 1948, the philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell popularised a little known linguistic quirk called emotive conjugation. Russell used the following examples to illustrate its effect:
- I am firm, you are obstinate, he is a pig-headed fool.
- I am righteously indignant, you are annoyed, he is making a fuss over nothing.
- I have reconsidered the matter, you have changed your mind, he has gone back on his word.
In each case, “I” sounds reasonable, even admirable. “You” sounds neutral or slightly negative, depending on your disposition. And “He” sounds like an asshole. In each case what they are saying is factually identical, but we empathise with them in very different ways. Russell’s point was that beyond their dictionary definitions, words and…
