اندیشهفلسفهخردگفتگوحکمتمعناپرسشفرهنگ
Psychology
The Sorcerer's Tongue
Enchanting language is a tool that society uses, through praise and blame, to make a person's worth dependent on the approval of others, thereby enslaving them. This illusion turns life into a futile war over value and robs human beings of their peace.
Adapted from the novel “The Tightrope Walker, a Journey into the World” by the same author
Tell the merchants of the realm of illusion
Reduce your capital, for profit and loss are one
Introduction
In self-knowledge, as read and defined by this author, one of the key terms is “false language.” “False language” (which in this discourse we shall call the sorcerer’s tongue) has two important characteristics: first, it is a language, meaning it is a tool for exchanging various concepts with one another and thinking about them among a group of people. Its second characteristic is that it is false, meaning the message created, exchanged, or thought through it is hollow and a lie! Nevertheless, this language rules over our thought and feeling in a mysterious and silent way, and many sufferings are imposed upon our mind and life by its deceptive nature. The false language, which is a construct of the human mind, tyrannically rules over the psyche and life of its own creator. In this writing, I intend, within the scope and patience of a discourse, to draw back the curtain from the sinister face of this mendacious language. May we pull our mind and psyche from the merciless clutches of this demonic illusion.
Foreword
Why are we so sensitive to people’s judgment? Why do we dedicate our lives to pleasing others? Why does a single word from others send us to the heavens, and another word dash us to the ground? Why has the terror of not being approved robbed us of our peace and quiet, and like a slave, the authority over our self-confidence and happiness lies in the hands of this or that person? The answer is that what has bound us in chains is the “sorcerer’s tongue.”
In self-knowledge, we have said that one of society’s great ploys in the course of war and competition is the valuation of one another. The story begins where society, through praise and blame, inculcates in the child that: “You must always behave in such a way that others approve of you, or else you will fall into the pit of ignominy and contempt!” It is clear that this inculcation is nothing but a lie, for through the valuation of others, a person becomes neither more valuable nor less valuable than what they are. However, society’s inculcations are so powerful that, like a sleight-of-hand sorcerer, it deludes the individual into thinking that through another’s disregard, they have become small, or through people’s praise, they have become great. The aim of this is the psychological control of the human being, and its tool is language, a language that must be called the “sorcerer’s tongue.” People who have believed this deception quickly fall into its trap and themselves also use this same ploy to gain value or inflict psychological blows on others. In this way, a war over the valuation of one another breaks out among humans, a war in which everyone says to each other in a deceptive language: “Your worth is in my hands! It is I who, with a word, can lift you to the heavens, and with a word, dash you to the ground!”
Looking around us, we see what wars are waged, what hatreds are inflamed, and what lives are ruined over this hollow ploy. Most people caught in the trap of this sorcerer’s tongue struggle to pull themselves out of the pit of worthlessness and reach the peak of value and honor. Wealth, fame, and power—for which humans easily trample one another—are ladders for ascending in this very competition of value. Yet the more they struggle, the more they become entangled in this labyrinthine spider’s web. They are oblivious that in a war over nothing, the winner and the loser are both losers! In this war, people try in various ways either to boast to one another or to humiliate each other. But the intelligent person soon realizes that the only way to win this fruitless battle is to exit it. Instead of wearing themselves out in this childish war, they withdraw their foot from this hollow game and live happily and at ease.
1. Self-Preservation
In the nineteenth century, the English biologist Darwin (1809–1882) introduced the issue of the natural evolution of organisms, the law of the “struggle for existence,” and the principle of the “survival of the fittest.” With the introduction of this theory to the world of science and thought, great transformations occurred in the field of knowledge and in the direction of understanding man and his characteristics. Among other things, it became clear that man (at least from a biological dimension) is, in fact, a species of animal. With the important difference that, thanks to a more advanced nervous system, especially his large and complex brain, he possesses higher intelligence. Therefore, the majority of man’s vital activities are, in content, like those of other animals, but in form, they are more complex and advanced. For example, animals attract the opposite sex with specific movements, mate, have offspring, and manage their lives by hunting or searching for food. In the same way, a man adorns himself with perfume and fine clothes and proposes to a woman. Man also marries, has children, and engages in economic activities to meet his vital needs, which is, in fact, an advanced form of hunting and searching for food.
The activities of the struggle for existence or “fight for life” are also like this: animals fight with claws and teeth, and humans with guns, bombs, rockets, etc. Animals frighten one another to deter them from attacking. The lion roars, the dog barks, and the cat bares its claws. The mouse takes refuge in a hole, the snake stings, and the chameleon changes color. All these are various tactics of deception, escape, combat, and intimidation, and the goal of all is either to repel danger or to ensure the preservation of survival. Man, with his advanced intelligence, fights his opponent by building weapons, spending money, and so on, and tries to bring him down.
In the social dimension, man, thanks to his abundant intelligence and power of thought, has created a phenomenon called civilization and has organized his vital activities within its framework. For example, it can be said that salesmanship and advertising are an advanced form of an animal setting a trap for prey. Animals try to deceive and hunt one another; humans also try, with more advanced methods like advertising, marketing, and even by making films, shows, etc., to attract their fellow humans and draw them toward purchasing their goods or services (let us note that here, the discussion is not about the spiritual or moral dimension of man; the talk is of the biological and natural aspect of the human being). All these are natural and vital behaviors for preserving one’s survival and life. In this context, the first secret of survival, which forms the basis of every living creature’s life, is the principle known as “self-preservation,” by which is meant the deep desire of living beings to preserve themselves and their lives. A living being loves itself and its possessions, defends them against danger, and strives to preserve them. The principle of self-preservation is, in fact, the guarantor of every living creature’s life and the secret of the permanence of every plant and animal species. In the same way, the desire for the continuation of life compels humanity to strive to dominate vital resources, expand its power, and gain dominance and superiority over other beings, including its fellow humans.
2. Language and Man, Makers of One Another
اما یک امتیاز بزرگ انسان، مجهز بودن به ابزاری است بنام زبان. بش به لطف مغز پیچیده و هوش برترش، پدیده ای به نام زبان را اختراع کرده که مهم ترین وسیلۀ ارتباط اوست. البته گفتۀ صحیح تر آنست که زبان نه تنها محصول تکامل است بلکه خود، عامل مهم رشد و تکامل انسان بوده و هست. در حقیقت بر خلاف آنچه بسیاری می پندارند، زبان در بشر، صرفا وسیله ای برای ارتباط نیست بلکه از جایگاهی بسیار مهم و حساس برخوردار است. زبانشناسان معتقدند که نقش زبان در رشد و تکامل انسان به حدی است که می توان گفت بشریت، کل فرهنگ و تمدن خود را مدیون پدیدۀ زبان است. به این معنا، شاید بتوان گفت همان قدر که انسان زبان را ساخته، زبان هم انسان را ساخته است. علت این امر یکی آن است که اساساً اندیشیدن به شکل پیشرفته ای که در خود سراغ داریم، بدون زبان ممکن نیست. دیگر اینکه زبان است که به انسان قدرت تفکر و تخیل و بدنبال آن نوشتن و حفظ اندیشه ها و دستاوردهای فکری، فرهنگی و ابزاری خود را داده است. حتی باید گفت آمیختگی زبان و اندیشه به حدی است که تعیین مرزی بین زبان و تفکر، تقریباً ناممکن است. انسان ها بوسیلۀ زبان انواع مفاهیم مادّی و حسی را با هم تبادل می کنند: از سرما یا گرما به هم خبر می دهند، محبت یا خشم خود را بیان می کنند، از گرسنگی یا سیری خود حرف می زنند، هشدار می دهند، آموزش می دهند و غیره. اما سایر شکل های برقراری ارتباط چطور؟ آیا مثلا علامت هایی مثل تابلوی خیابان ها، یا استفاده راننده ها از راهنما برای اعلام تغییر جهت به رانندگان دیگر، یک جور گفتگو نیست؟ جواب این است که چرا، اینها هم اشکال مختلفی از زبان ورزی و گفتگوست. باید دانست که منظور از زبان، فقط کلمات و اصطلاحات نیست. زبان بطور کلی به همۀ روش هایی گفته می شود که برای انتقال منظور و تبادل مفاهیم به کار می روند. بنابر این حرکات دست و صورت (که به آن "زبان بدن" می گویند) و نیز لحن سخن و انواع ژست ها و هر نوع علایمی که معنایی را برساند یا به پیامِ گوینده شکل خاصی بدهند، جزو زبان به شمار می روند- همانطور که زبان اشاره ناشنوایان، به معنای کامل خود، یک زبان است.
۳. زبان و تنازع بقا
اما یک مطلبی مهم این است که انسان برای مبارزه هم از ابزار زبان استفاده می کند. یعنی انسان ها زبان را بعنوان وسیله ای برای حمله، تهدید، فرار و تضعیف یکدیگر بکار می برند. بخصوص به خاطر قدرت خاص زبان در تظاهر و فریب است که در روابط انسان ها پدیده ای وارد شده که باید به آن "زبان کاذب" یا به عبارتی گویاتر، ''زبان ساحرانه'' گفت. دیدیم که طبق اصل "تنازع بقا" هر جانداری سعی می کند سهم بیشتری از منابع حیاتی را بدست بیاورد و با این کار، حیات و امنیت خود را هر چه بیشتر تضمین کند. طبیعی است که در این بین، میان موجودات زنده رقابت و درگیری روی می دهد. این رقابت و جنگ در جانداران دیگر در حد ابتدایی و غریزی است اما در انسان به پدیدۀ خاص دیگری هم گسترش پیدا کرده است و آن پدیده، زبان است. معنی این گفته آن است که آدم ها بجز اسلحه که در جنگ فیزیکی بکار می رود، از ابزار زبان هم (گذشته از کاربرد آن در همکاری و دوستی) در رقابت با یکدیگر استفاده می کنند. می توان گفت توپ و بمب و تفنگ، ابزار سخت جنگ هستند و زبان ابزار نرم آن. به همین ترتیب، جنگ با ابزارهای سخت را می توان جنگ سخت نامید و جنگ با ابزار زبان را جنگ نرم، یا چنانکه نشان خواهیم داد، جنگ روانی.
اما همانطور که گفتیم زبان پیچیده بشر برای او فقط امکان گفتگو از مفاهیم واقعی را فراهم نکرده بلکه به وی این قدرت را داده است تا به چیزهای انتزاعی و ذهنی فکر کند یا پدیده هایی خیالی اختراع کند و حتی تصوراتی تهی از حقیقت را به ذهن دیگران القاء نماید. به لطف همین قابلیت زبان است که ما انسان ها می توانیم برای کودکان داستان های تخیلی بگوییم، از موجوداتی مثل اسب شاخدار یا اژدها حرف بزنیم، آثار هنری انتزاعی بسازیم، از اخلاقیات سخن بگوییم و فلسفه بورزیم. ما حتی قادریم از گذشته ای که دیگر وجود ندارد یا آینده ای که هنوز نیامده، گفتگو کنیم. به همین شکل، زبان به انسان این امکان را داده است تا همنوعان خود را حتی از چیزهایی که وجود ندارند بترساند یا آن ها را تهدید کند، یا اینکه پیش دیگران تظاهر به قدرت کند، یا سخن غیر واقعی بگوید و دیگران را فریب بدهد. انواع دروغ، کلاهبرداری و مردم فریبی، از نمونه های همین سوء استفاده از خاصیت انتزاعی زبان است. به این ترتیب، زبان در کاربرد مبارزاتی خود، یک سلاح است، سلاحی بسیار کاری و مهلک. چنانکه مولوی می گوید:
این سخن سنگ است و فم* آهن وش است وانچه بجهد از زبان چون آتش است
سنگ و آهن را مزن بر هم گزاف گه ز روی نقل و گه از روی لاف
ظالم آن قومی که چشمان دوختند وز سخن ها عالمی را سوختند
عالمی را یک سخن ویران کند روبهان مرده را شیران کند (* فم یعنی دهان)
روشن است که این شکل از قابلیت، در هیچ موجود دیگری نیست و خاص انسان است. البته بیشتر جانوران، صاحب نوعی از زبان هستند و ممکن است شکل های ابتدایی از فریب را هم در مورد یکدیگر بکار گیرند، اما هیچ موجودی از تفکر و زبان پیشرفته ای که در اختیار بشر است، برخوردار نیست. انسان قادر است با قدرت خیال یا تعبیر، انواع ارزش های خوب و بد را به دروغ به پدیده ها نسبت بدهد و یا از روی خطا یا از سر فریبکاری، از چیزهای مختلف با ارزش هایی مثل بزرگی، حقارت، نحوست، شگون، زیبایی و زشتی یاد کند. نمونه های این امر، فراوان است. می دانیم که انسان های اولیه، غرش صاعقه را به خشم خدا تعبیر می کردند، خورشید را مقدس می دانستند، یا برای ترساندن حریف، مجسمه هایی از سنگ و چوب می ساختند و وانمود می کردند که آن اجسام، قدرت شوم دارند و آن را به طرف دشمن پرتاب می کردند. همه ما داستان کسانی را خوانده یا شنیده ایم که خود را غیبگو یا جادوگر می خواندند، عبارات بی معنا یا بی ربطی را زمزمه می کردند و آنها را وردهایی شفا بخش نام می دادند. این اشخاص به این وسیله از مردم اخاذی می کردند و بسا که در جامعه خود به نفوذ و مقام می رسیدند.
۴. زبان و دو گونه فریب
الف. کاربرد کاذب زبان
The deceptive use of language can be divided into two general forms, one of which is less known. And it is this second type that is the subject of discussion and analysis in this discourse. The first type of verbal deception is what is called lying. Lying, in all its varieties and forms, is a form of linguistic deception that is more or less known to all people in a society. For example, if a fraudulent goldsmith presents a piece of copper to a buyer as gold, his statements are generally interpreted as a lie. Or when someone who is not a government official, by wearing an official's uniform, takes money from others, this act is considered deception. Likewise, when someone tells you that by reciting a few lines of poetry, you will come into a great deal of money tomorrow morning, you will most likely call his words a lie and a deception. All of these are considered different forms of lying and falsehood. But what are the characteristics of lying as we know it? Generally, in lying in the sense we have enumerated, there are two important features. First, the deceived person will suffer a financial, material, or in any case, real harm and will lose a more or less valuable asset or possession. Second, in these cases, no one has any doubt that such behavior and speech are tainted with deception and lies. That is, everyone is aware that the words and expressions used are empty and devoid of content. In other words, the expressions used have no referent (the word "gold" actually refers to no gold, the uniform does not indicate a real official, and the recited poems possess no power). Of course, someone may fall into the trap of this kind of deception, but in any case, the nature of this type of behavior is not hidden from them. In all these cases, both the deceiver is aware of the reality of their action and society recognizes the nature of such behavior. In such contexts, everyone is well aware of the meaning of lies, trickery, and abuse, and therefore their reaction is also more or less conscious and proportionate to the deceptive behavior. This behavior can be called the "false use of language" because in all these cases, the deceiver has made a false use of language, that is, has used ordinary language as a means to convey a false message.
B. The Use of "False Language"
Now imagine that almost all people in a society have become accustomed to one type of linguistic deception and daily exchange this form of contentless speech with one another. In that case, it must be said that in such a society, a language of lies and deception is prevalent, a language in which most people deceive each other and exchange "nothing" with one another! Of course, one can imagine that in this situation, almost no one will notice the falseness of this type of speech or behavior, and everyone will be caught in the trap of such deception—and perhaps will live in such a trap! This is another form of the deceptive use of language that often escapes the realm of people's awareness. In fact, due to its pervasiveness, this use has more or less become a universal language in human society, meaning it has transcended the level of the false use of language in the first sense and has become a kind of social understanding and common language, an understanding over nothing!
The first type of deception is a situational and interpersonal deception, meaning it belongs to a more or less limited individual or group, and even if it is very common in a society, it is still not believed and is recognized as deceit and lies. But the second type of deception is a universal and social deception. The second type is a pervasive lie that everyone believes and through which they exchange a false and illusory message with one another! I call this language the “false language” (or “sorcerer’s tongue”). In other words, at the societal level, we are faced with two different phenomena: the “false use of language” and the “use of false language.” As we said, the “false use of language” means the individual (not public) misuse of society’s conventional language to instill false concepts. Here, a useful language exists that someone or some people use harmfully. But the “use of false language” is the public’s use of a language that is itself abuse and harmful, because it entirely instills a false message. In other words, in the first form, the discussion is of a real and reasonable language that an individual or individuals use deceitfully, and in the second form, the discussion is of an unreal language or a “pseudo-language” that is itself entirely deceitful and is used by the general public. A more expressive term for the false language is the “sorcerer’s tongue,” because through it, a person is falsely induced to believe that others hold the thread of his worth, and whenever they wish, like a master sorcerer, they can hurl him from the peak of worth into the valley of worthlessness with a word, or lift him from the depths of worthlessness and raise him to the summit of worth.
But what exactly is the “false language” or the “sorcerer’s tongue” with these characteristics? And what is it that it falsely pretends to take or damage? The answer is that the “sorcerer’s tongue” is an evaluative language, a language with which humans judge each other’s worth and, more precisely, assign value to one another—that is, they verbally attribute values to each other or deprive each other of them. To properly understand and gain a more complete picture of the phenomenon of the sorcerer’s tongue, it is necessary to look at the emergence of the human being in society and review the process of his intellectual and emotional development from childhood.
5. The Child and the Environment’s Evaluation of Worth
The child, upon stepping into the world, simultaneously becomes a member of a large collective called society. It is natural that he must learn the rules of living in this collective and act according to them. The first thing society expects from this new member is conformity and obedience. Parents expect the child to obey their wishes and refrain from self-willedness and going his own way. No father or mother tolerates a disobedient or, so to speak, “ill-mannered” child, and if this new member does not comply, there are various tools used to compel him to obey. Generally, these tools consist of encouragement for “good” behavior and punishment for “bad” behavior. And of course, the criterion for the goodness or badness of anything is the judgment of the father, mother, and society. In this manner, the child gradually learns that he must obey his parents and other social “authorities,” or else he will be punished. One of the important tools of encouragement and punishment is the verbal tool, or language. Parents usually show a verbal reaction to every “good” or “bad” action of the child. For example, a father yells at a child who has broken a glass: “You inept child!” or a mother, frowning at her daughter because of her low grades, tells her: “You are an embarrassment!” In contrast, if the child succeeds in a certain area, they tell him: “Bravo! You are a source of pride!” Such reactions, which are always accompanied by a negative or positive tone, remind the child that whatever he does, regardless of the rightness or wrongness of the behavior itself, a judgment about his “personality” will follow. The criteria for these judgments are also often “values,” values such as “ineptitude,” “cleverness,” “greatness,” or “wretchedness,” and the like. It is clear that the duty of care, feeding, and security for the child rests with the adults. Moreover, the adults’ words are the main source of awareness and knowledge for the child’s clear and receptive mind, so naturally, their judgment is very important and vital to the child. The child knows well that if he wants to live in peace and security, he has no choice but to gain the adults’ approval; otherwise, he must expect their unkindness or punishment.
Adults, who are well aware of this, often use humiliation or reproach—both forms of value judgment—to control a child's behavior. By leveraging valuation, they attempt to maintain their dominance over the child and keep them within the bounds of desired behaviors. When parents, who are the child's source of security, react to a mistake by saying, "You coward!" or "What a useless child!", the child naturally feels endangered by their anger and displeasure and tries henceforth to avoid doing anything that might damage their worth in the parents' eyes or cause the adults to hold a negative opinion of them. Or when, because of a good grade, they are told with a smile, "Well done! I'm proud of you!", the child feels pleased and secure. They learn that by getting good grades, they can gain worth and popularity with parents or teachers. At the same time, this newly arrived guest registers any phenomenon or behavior to which the "host" shows a positive or negative reaction as something "good" or "bad" in their psyche. As a result of this process, the frowns and smiles of those around them, or their reproach and praise, compel the child to refrain from "undesirable" behavior and receiving negative judgment, and instead try to win the approval and affirmation of adults.
An important point here is that in all the aforementioned interactions, adults, as the authority or source of judgment, have not only pronounced on the child's behavior but have also affixed a label to their personality and identity—a label of a valuative nature. For instance, upon seeing his son's poor report card, a father labels him "stupid," or a mother, reacting to her daughter's fear of a mouse, labels her a "coward." In these interactions, a valuative label is added to the child's personality, which is, of course, accompanied by a good or bad feeling not just toward their own behavior, but toward their own personality and identity. In this way, the child witnesses that with every right or wrong behavior, their personality is adorned with various epithets and labels, and they are sometimes a good child, sometimes bad, sometimes a coward, sometimes kind, sometimes stupid, and sometimes clever. Even with a little scrutiny, it is clear that in most of these interactions, what is more important is the worth or worthlessness resulting from the behavior, rather than the rightness or wrongness of the behavior itself.
An important point to bear in mind throughout this discussion is that what we say in this article is not meant to deny the existence of moral values or their importance. Moral values form the basis of human collective life and play a vital role in the behavioral growth and health of the individual and society. Our subject here is the instrumental use of values to control the individual—or, more precisely, the use of "valuation" to dominate the individual. In fact, in the behavior under discussion, values are not the goal but a means for the psychological control of the child—which, if we look closely, is itself a form of mocking values.
6. The Consequences of Valuation
Overall, three main conclusions are drawn by the child from the process of valuation:
A: The Identity of Worth and Popularity: Through the environment's valuations, the child concludes that being valuable is synonymous with being liked by others. Or, in other words, they imagine that worth is simply the positive opinion of others about a person. In short, the child concludes that being valuable means being pleasing to others, and worthlessness means the frown or reproach of others.
B: The Authority of Society: Valuations imply that the determinant of a person's worth is those around them. The child concludes that it is others who must assess the rightness or wrongness of their actions or the worth or worthlessness of their being and pass judgment on it. In other words, a worthless person is one whom people consider worthless, and a valuable person is one whom others consider valuable. This matter deprives the individual of the opportunity for independent thought and prevents them from contemplating the essential nature of behaviors. In this process, instead of thinking and discovering the meaning of good and bad, the individual becomes a follower of others' judgments.
C: The capacity to strip and bestow value: A child, upon receiving the phrase “Well done, clever boy!”, feels a sense of worth, and upon hearing the expression “You clumsy oaf!”, a sense of inferiority and low worth overtakes him, and all of this occurs through verbal and linguistic judgments. The varied value judgments of the environment instill in the individual that value, whether positive or negative, is a feature that can be stripped and bestowed, meaning it can be given and taken back, in the sense that the existential values of a human being, whatever they may be, can be taken from them or added to them through verbal judgment and assessment.
In this way, as the child grows up, they discover that others can be influenced through valuation. Just as in school, this same value-judging behavior is more or less prevalent among peers. Often, the method of valuation is also used by teachers for the purpose of controlling or influencing the child, or to vent anger or express their own satisfaction. Thus, the child gradually comes to recognize valuation as a tool in verbal and psychological warfare, and upon stepping into adulthood, learns its application in social conflicts and confrontations. In truth, the child gradually learns a value language which, like any other language, possesses specific signs, concepts, and methods, and incidentally, the ability to use it is one of the important capabilities in war and struggle; for example, certain facial gestures signify approval and the bestowal of value upon the addressee, while other gestures indicate rejection and the stripping of value from them, or the giving of negative value to them. The same applies to tone of speech, gaze, behavior, manner of interaction, and so on, all of which, beyond their outward form, convey a value-laden meaning.
7. Forms of Valuation
Linguistic valuation is carried out in various forms and methods, but all these types can be categorized into two forms: positive and negative: belittlement or negative valuation, and praise or positive valuation. As we know, the intent hidden in belittlement is to create a sense of smallness and low worth in the addressee, and the purpose of praise is to create a sense of worthiness. First, we will analyze the phenomenon of belittlement.
A. Belittlement
In truth, the belittlement of human beings has various forms, some of which are simple and obvious, and others complex and hidden. For example, we all recognize slavery as one of the ugliest forms of human belittlement. Likewise, depriving people of the right to choose and think, or injecting specific thoughts into their minds and psyches, are all forms of belittling and degrading human beings; whether this belittlement takes the form of exploiting the individual or preventing their growth and flourishing. Nevertheless, as we have said, the focus of this discussion is linguistic belittlement.
We must see what linguistic belittlement is. First, let us state that from now on, throughout this writing, we will use the word “belittlement” for short instead of “linguistic belittlement,” which encompasses all its synonyms, including “degradation,” “diminishing,” and the like. In general, belittlement can be defined as: “the use of language for the purpose of creating a feeling of low worth in the addressee.” Since an important use of language is the exchange of concepts, it must be said that linguistic belittlement occurs when we convey concepts to a person’s mind solely for the purpose of inflicting the suffering of low worth upon them. In this sense, any word, phrase, gesture, sign, movement, and even behavior whose aim is to convey the message that “you are a low-worth being” is considered belittlement. According to this definition, all types of insults or profanity, mockery, disregard, and even behaviors such as refusing to talk to someone or not inviting them to a party, or any behavior whose aim is to instill smallness or low worth in the person in question, are all considered belittlement. Another point is that belittlement may occur directly, meaning addressed to the individual themselves (“You are low-worth”), or indirectly, meaning “about” them (“So-and-so is low-worth”), and in this discourse of ours, wherever we refer to the direct state, we also mean the indirect state.
B. Language and Belittlement
As we said, the aim of contempt, by whatever method, is to convey this message: “A is a person of little worth.” So in truth, contempt is a kind of combative use of language that we spoke of earlier, because in it, the speaker’s goal is to inflict a psychological and emotional blow on the individual. That is, the contemner intends, by inducing a sense of smallness or worthlessness, to cause the person in question to experience an undesirable feeling and thereby discharge their own anger and hatred. For example, when Ahmad quarrels with Pezhman and says to him: “You are an idiot,” regardless of the sentence used, the intended meaning is “You are a worthless person,” but in principle, Ahmad’s goal is not this meaning itself; his goal is to create a feeling of inferiority and worthlessness in Pezhman, just as in war, the goal of striking a blow is not the blow itself, but the pain or injury the victim must suffer. But the important point is that in Ahmad’s behavior, there are two implicit messages or two assumptions that are induced in the addressee’s mind: 1. It is I who determine your worth. 2. Your worth can be taken away or stripped by this behavior or these words. And as we will discuss, both of these assumptions contain falsehood and deception.
C. Language and Praise
What we said about contempt also holds true for its opposite, namely praise or commendation. Praise is a positive value judgment about an individual’s character, which takes various linguistic forms, and the message of all of them is: “You are a valuable human being.” It is clear that in commendation and praise, the same assumptions related to contempt and reproach are implicit; that “your worth can be given and taken, or increased and decreased,” and that “I am the one who determines your worth.” Just as parents in childhood resort to admiration and praise to encourage the child toward desired behavior (such as the sentence: “Look what a tidy boy Ahmad is!”), many times, people’s purpose in praising one another is to compel the addressee to perform the behavior they desire, regardless of whether that behavior is in the addressee’s interest or not. For instance, they might praise someone in order to extort or exploit them, or compliment their generosity and magnanimity. But whatever the purpose of praise, the offense of valuation lies hidden within it. Of course, it might be said that sometimes no ill intent lies hidden in commending and praising a person, and the speaker may simply be expressing their own feeling and perception. The answer is that if this is the case, such a state falls outside our discussion, and what we have in mind is the instrumental use of commendation and praise. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that even disinterested commendation and praise has the potential to corrupt people within itself, and one must not neglect its potential effects, as Rumi says:
Whomever people praise and laud, They cast poison into that one’s soul
The point is that if a person becomes accustomed to the pleasure of receiving commendation and praise from this person and that, it may happen that in their view, gaining society’s approval becomes more important and critical than attending to their own well-being and growth, and they expend their energy on pleasing this person and that. Of course, this itself is a hidden and less recognized form of living slavishly and in a state of being belittled.
8. The Deceptions of “Sorcerer’s Tongue”
Let us see once again why value-laden behavior should be called “sorcerer’s tongue”? The reason for naming it “sorcerer’s tongue” is, firstly, that this behavior intends to convey a message that is nothing but a lie. Secondly, this language cunningly presents phrases devoid of reality as real, so that it can be used as a weapon in psychological warfare against another. In this act, a particular tone and gesture are usually added as seasoning to the contemptuous phrase to guarantee its effect. Of course, due to its long-term induction, the sorcerer’s tongue often truly affects the “bewitched” individual, causing them anger and anxiety, because they have naively believed that a part of their being has been severed by the utterance of words and a blow has been dealt to their worth! In reality, verbal valuation of people is a kind of common deception that, by dint of being so common, is imagined to be real. But this false nature will become perfectly clear by scrutinizing the content of the “sorcerer’s tongue.” There are at least two reasons for this claim.
The first point is that a person's values, whatever they may be—knowledge, wisdom, purity, talent, skill, ability, and so on—can neither be increased nor diminished by words and phrases. Just as no one can turn a tall person into a short one by saying, “You are short!” or transform a young person into a feeble old man or woman by saying, “You are old and decrepit,” so too, by saying “You are insignificant” or “You are worthless,” one cannot reduce or increase an iota of a person's existential values—whatever they may be. It is clear that inducing someone to believe that they will become contemptible through one's disparaging remark and should worry about this contemptibility is nothing but a cunning trick.
The second implicit message, namely “It is I who determines your worth,” also contains a manifest lie. No one is in a position to issue an absolute judgment about another's worth. Whatever the measure of your ability, knowledge, purity, strength, and capabilities, I am neither able to fully recognize them nor do I have the competence to assign them a value. Whoever you are, and whatever your capability, worth, and standing, I am incapable of passing judgment on you and your values. The most anyone can do is express their opinion, whether positive or negative, favorable or unfavorable, in relation to you. In that case, their words are merely a declaration of their opinion, not a change in your essence or a diminution or increase of your values. The deception of contemptuous behavior lies in the fact that, in it, the actor seems to say to their addressee: “You are worthless because I say so!”
An objection might be raised here: perhaps someone engaging in contemptuous speech or behavior does not intend to inculcate worthlessness in the addressee, but is neutrally presenting their viewpoint, albeit with a mixture of anger or even hatred. That is, essentially, there is no contempt involved; rather, what the speaker intends is merely to express their own feeling and viewpoint. The answer to this question is that, with the tone, intention, and purpose we have in mind, such a thing is highly improbable. That is, it is difficult to imagine that someone would utter a sentence with anger, hatred, and malice, and their intention be solely and exclusively to express their own viewpoint, and this is fundamentally incompatible with the definition of contempt we have provided.
At the beginning of the discussion, we said that one of the differences between the “false use of language” and “the use of false language” is that in the former, a valuable possession is taken from the deceived person or is damaged, whereas in the latter, no damage occurs. This meaning is now better understood. In the use of “the sorcerer's tongue,” what is pretended to be struck or taken away is a person's worth, whereas a person's worth can neither be taken, nor diminished, nor increased by uttering a few words or a particular behavior. Obviously, this does not mean that a person's values are absolutely fixed and unchangeable in any way; rather, the point is that words, gestures, and various linguistic methods are incapable of changing, diminishing, or increasing a person's values.
Another point is the effect of inculcation and repetition on a person's psyche and thought. It might be asked what the role of suggestion and inculcation is in this context. What if someone, by repeating contemptuous sentences, gradually instills a feeling of inferiority and worthlessness in their addressee? What then? We know that, especially if such behavior occurs in childhood, its effect will be much stronger and more lasting. The answer is that we all know well that such behavior, by definition, is the inculcation of inferiority or weakness in a person, not the alteration of their essence or the deprivation of their values. Causing someone, through deception and inculcation, to imagine they are small is different from actually extracting their abilities and values from their being, and fundamentally, calling this behavior “false language” is meant to refer to this very concept.
9. The Contagion of “the Sorcerer's Tongue”
Here two further questions arise: first, if the "sorcerer's tongue" contains nothing but a lie, why do people so rarely perceive the falsity of its message? It must be said that the main reason for this unrecognizability is twofold: one is the prevalence and pervasiveness of this language, and the other is the intensity of its penetration into people's thinking and feeling. As we have said, evaluative language is transmitted to a person's thought and psyche from early childhood, when the human mind is deeply pure and receptive. Value-laden indoctrinations bombard a person's thinking from a time when they are not yet capable of critiquing and recognizing the teachings of their environment. The result is that the individual finds less opportunity to review and critique this type of encounter. Moreover, since the human being is an innately affection-seeking and social creature, for whom being loved and valued are important and significant matters, this form of language has penetrated people's psyches and shaped their thinking, such that doubt about its reality rarely crosses the minds of individuals in society. It must be understood that language, by definition, is a vehicle for the exchange of meanings and concepts by a group of people. The words, terms, and expressions of every language are tied to the emotions, memories, and affective states of its speakers. It is understandable that a language which serves as a tool for exchanging a sense of worth and being loved acquires a particular importance and sensitivity, and even the notion of the emptiness of its signs and signifiers rarely crosses people's minds, especially when we consider that the incessant evaluations of the environment hastily compel a person to seek approval and flee from rejection and blame, consequently robbing them of the opportunity to think about the true and deep meaning of this phenomenon.
10. The Consequences of the Sorcerer's Tongue
The other question is: what consequences does falling into the deceptive trap of such a language bring upon human beings? The answer is clear: believing a lie means living with illusion and deception. It is obvious that the infiltration of such a deception into a person's mind and feeling will contaminate their entire life with fantasy and illusion, and will waste their efforts in the pursuit of gaining value from this or that person. Let us look around us to see, everywhere, the effects of living with this painful illusion. The deceived person wanders in this fantasy that by acquiring wealth, status, and the like, they will be able to gain approval from their value-masters and finally attain a sense of worth and peace. They are oblivious to the fact that others, contrary to what has been sorcerously instilled in them, are incapable of taking or giving value to them. Worth is an inner reality, and the only one who can cultivate true values within their own being is the person themselves. Of course, a wise person always pays attention to various critiques and viewpoints and uses them for their own moral and value-based growth and development, but in the final analysis, it is the individual's own conscience and discernment that must be the anchor of their sense of worth and self-esteem. Neglect of this principle will be the cause of a futile struggle to gain value from people who are themselves subject to error and mistake at every moment, and who, at best, are themselves in search of perfection and the acquisition of value. For a person not to know what the criteria of true values are and where they should be sought results in lostness, fruitless erosion, and disillusionment. Furthermore, as we have said, since people very often use evaluative language as a weapon to harm and exploit one another, sensitivity to the evaluations of others will become a source of suffering and enmity among human beings, and will ignite a futile war among them over the acquisition or deprivation of linguistic values; as we see has been ignited. It is from such insight that Rumi sings:
The war of the people is like the war of children / All meaningless, and without substance, and base...
If we too look with the eye of insight, we will see that from the illusion of hollow evaluations, humanity suffers many exorbitant pains, a blind struggle and a fruitless suffering that has transformed the brief opportunity of human presence in this world into a current of haste and anxiety. The description of this emptiness and its sufferings is more extensive than can be contained in a hundred articles. Nevertheless, let us take a cursory glance at some of the greatest sufferings and afflictions arising from the "sorcerer's tongue."
a. False Need
A human being comes into the world with a set of instinctual and natural needs and, naturally, undertakes individual and social efforts to satisfy them. These needs, from eating, clothing, and maintaining security to social relations, artistic activities, acquiring knowledge, and cultivating one’s capabilities, each play a part in the process of human growth and development. The authentic needs of the human being are such that satisfying each one adds a piece to the puzzle of human life and growth. In the midst of this, linguistic valuations impose a false need upon this set, one that is neither necessary nor beneficial, and it is this very false need that becomes a source of human suffering and degeneration. This need is the excessive requirement for positive valuation by society, that is, the need for praise and admiration. Of course, the need for worthiness in a human being is an authentic and blessed need. The human being is inherently a seeker of perfection, value, and beauty, and this is a great motivation for their growth and flourishing. Likewise, the instinct to be loved and accepted is among the natural states of the human being, which plays a useful role in their social life. Nevertheless, it must be noted that being valuable is different from being loved, and these two sometimes stand in opposition and contradiction. It often happens that a free-spirited person in a degenerate society is forced to choose between popularity and public approval on the one hand, and preserving their true human values on the other.
But even in relation to the principle of popularity itself, in the “sorcerer’s tongue,” there are at least two factors that distort this dimension of human need in terms of form and intensity, and consequently reduce it to a superficial and agonizing requirement. The first predicament is that, as we have said, linguistic valuations turn the instinct for popularity, from childhood, into a lever for controlling the human being. For this purpose, the environment takes the individual’s sense of being loved hostage to such an extent that their mind and psyche become caught in a constant preoccupation with gaining the approval of others. The result is that the individual is always floundering in the turmoil of anxiety over rejection and, to ensure the satisfaction of their need, is compelled to curry favor with this person and that. In this way, the human being’s quest for popularity is transformed from a natural need into an insatiable thirst that overshadows and even disrupts their other needs and activities.
The second factor is a disruption in the natural growth and evolution of this need. Popularity, like other instinctual human needs, has a raw and primitive form in early infancy, but with the emotional and intellectual growth of the human being, it gradually becomes more perfected and advanced in form and content. The toddler, due to their total dependence, relies on the attention of their father and mother and is dependent on their affectionate gaze and smile. Speaking affectionate phrases to the child, embracing, and kissing them are part of satisfying their natural spiritual and emotional needs. All of these provide the child with a sense of security and calm and show them that they are accepted and attended to. However, when the individual steps into the stage of capability and adulthood, it is natural that their need for others is not of the intensity and urgency of childhood. The adult individual is not only capable of meeting their own primary needs and maintaining their own security but, under healthy and natural conditions, is also capable of helping society meet its needs, and this is precisely what takes place in the form of performing various social roles. What exists in childhood is one-sided reliance and neediness toward adults, and what emerges in adulthood is two-sided interaction and cooperation with others. For this reason, although popularity is always a pleasant state for the human being, dependence on the admiration of those around them and reliance on their approval is not proportionate to the mental and physical capabilities of the adult individual. It can be said that in adulthood, the instinctual need for the visual or verbal attention of “elders” should give way to the need for social interaction and playing a useful and dynamic role in society. Although the need for popularity may always accompany the human being, an addictive reliance on the approval and admiration of others and suffering from mental and behavioral disorder in its absence is not a natural matter. In summary, being pleased by attention and admiration is one thing, and reliance and addiction to it is another. And this excessive neediness is a predicament with which social valuations leave the human being grappling.
B. Dependence
It must be noted that human worth is firmly linked to one's sense of dignity and self-esteem. Naturally, when the determination of a person's value and worth is left to others, they become dependent on their approval and favor. The first result that emerges from the need for the value judgments of others is mental and emotional dependence. In general, authentic human needs have two important characteristics. First, under normal conditions, a healthy person relies on their own effort and diligence to meet their natural desires and is not dependent on others. Second, satisfying each of these needs enriches a dimension of their intellectual and practical existence. But environmental valuation is not like this. Firstly, valuation is a status and position belonging to another, and gaining approval from another requires satisfying their opinion. Thus, the individual seeking approval is inevitably dependent on a factor outside their own control, which makes them, like a slave, needy for the endorsement of their master and keeps their mind perpetually worried and anxious. Secondly, unlike authentic needs, the effort to acquire verbal values is of no benefit to human growth and flourishing; rather, it is to its detriment. The more a person strives to gain the favor of others, the more they will be held back from attending to their intellectual, moral, and spiritual development, and the further they proceed on this path, the more their life will have a more adorned exterior and a more empty and hollow interior. The anxious striving for verbal values can reduce a person to a hollow and meager plaything in the hands of environmental value judgments. Value dependence, of course, also contains intellectual and rational dependence within itself. The "bewitched" person is compelled, instead of reflecting on good and bad and judging them independently, to submit to the favor of others and abandon themselves to the lap of people's approval and disapproval. This will rob them of the opportunity to think about the meaning of life and right and wrong, and will cast them into the abyss of dependence on the thought and discernment of the environment. Such a person has no clear criterion for their behavior other than the affirmation and denial of others. From their perspective, "good" is what others approve of, and "bad" is what others dislike. The dangerous and painful result of such a process is intellectual, moral, and emotional rootlessness, and the inevitable consequence of rootlessness is suspension and anxiety.
C. Anxiety
Value dependence on external factors constantly directs the individual's gaze from their interior to the outside, that is, to the place from which value and the security accompanying it are supposed to come. The natural consequence of such a mentality is anxiety. Anxiety is the result of a sense of danger from a harm whose cause or nature is not precisely clear, and this is the very suffering that engulfs human existence as a result of "bewitchment." Worry about being denied and falling into the pit of contempt and worthlessness are among the understandable consequences of dependence on environmental valuations. We clearly see what toxic and numbing activities and relationships people cling to in order to escape the suffering of this anxiety, including exhausting competition to gain approval from the environment, hostility and malice toward those who have surpassed the person in acquiring values, and spending one's existential capital in the pursuit of praise and the avoidance of denial. These and a thousand other compensatory methods not only do not remedy the anxiety arising from dependence, but also fuel the fire of this anxiety, thus drowning the person deeper each day in the whirlpool of fear and a sense of being lost. In general, with a deeper look, we see that many emotional sufferings and mental disorders stem from the failure to acquire the values that others were supposed to give to the person and, for whatever reason, have withheld.
E. Superficial Life
The excessive need to acquire verbal values causes a person, instead of attending to the reality of phenomena, to focus on their linguistic and “sign” value. And this process transforms the “essence-oriented human” into a “value-oriented human.” A person for whom the valuation of this and that has become a priority seeks, in everything, a borrowed value that is supposed to be granted to them. This means, instead of seeing the reality of phenomena, seeing a value-semblance in them and living with the illusion of that semblance. But since the granter of value, contrary to what it pretends, is incapable of granting it, seeking value from it is exactly like buying a counterfeit coin from a fake jeweler and being pleased with the transaction! In such a process, the human being’s connection with the world of reality becomes distorted, and they move, more or less, in a world of their own mental imaginings. The more a person turns to pretense and attention-seeking, the poorer their existence becomes from within, and the shallower and more theatrical their life becomes. The “bewitched” human suffers from a hurried and superficial life in which they seek, from everything, to gain environmental validations. How many people there are who, instead of a meaningful and fruitful life, settle for a pretentious and embellished existence so that through it they can cover the pain of their humiliation and quench their excessive thirst for approval and praise.
و. Psychological Warfare
The tricks of the “sorcerer’s tongue” have turned into a weapon for verbal and semiotic warfare among people. By semiotic warfare, I mean a war in which people attack one another with specific signs and symbols, a war whose weapons are words and signs. Such a war is not a real war with real effects, but a mental battle with hypothetical effects. Of course, people suffer and are harmed by such a war, but their suffering stems not from a real blow, but from an imaginary and hypothetical injury. This is a psychological war in which people try to strike each other with the tools of insult, humiliation, and reproach. In these encounters, people who have learned the “sorcerer’s tongue” well and know its mechanisms and tricks try to inflict emotional and sentimental harm on the other party through negative valuation. In this type of conflict, both the aggressor and the victim, despite fighting, agree on one thing: that evaluative language truly possesses the power to strip and grant value. On both sides of such behavior lies a glaring mental error: that “my value is what another says it is” or “another’s insult and contempt have the capacity to diminish a person.” In the process of linguistic valuation, the speaker imagines that they have managed to damage the existential capabilities of the addressee. This is precisely the reason for their verbal attack. The addressee, too, has come to believe that through the speaker’s specific word or gesture, something of their values has been harmed, and for this reason, they fall into anger and anxiety and perhaps think of retaliation or revenge. Whereas, with a precise and de-habituated gaze, it will become clear that both the aggressor’s attack and the addressee’s suffering are over nothing! I think Hafez also had this same meaning in mind when he wrote:
Tell the merchants of the world of illusion / Reduce your capital, for profit and loss are one
All the sufferings arising from feelings of inferiority and low worth, and all kinds of anger, rage, and depression stemming from them, are due to the suggestions of this language and its deceptions. It is clear that if people become aware of the false nature of this language, they will be freed from the suffering of believing this universal deception, and a heavy burden will be lifted from their minds and psyches.
From a fancy comes their pride and their disgrace / And from a fancy their peace and their war
Fancy is non-existence and existence in the world / You see the world flowing upon a fancy (Rumi)
11. The “Sorcerer’s Tongue” and Real Sufferings
If we attend to the nature of the “sorcerer’s tongue,” we will realize that sensitivity toward it is groundless and unfounded, for this language is nothing but a heap of verbal deception. But does what has been said mean that behaviors such as insult, humiliation, and reproach are unproblematic? The answer to this question is undoubtedly negative, and this is evident in the first instance by referring to the premises of the discussion. We said that the “sorcerer’s tongue” is a means for deception, harm, and exploitation, and it is obvious that all of these are irrational and inhumane behaviors. The emptiness of the “sorcerer’s tongue” is not meant to suggest that behaviors like insult and humiliation are unproblematic; rather, the aim is to expose the vacuous nature of this language. First, humiliation and profanity are undoubtedly the result of the speaker’s impotence in thought, incapacity in expression, and weakness of logic. One who has learned the art of dialogue and whose speech is backed by logic and reason feels no need for humiliation and insult. Moreover, where a person sees another afflicted with a sensitivity—even through error and deception—inflicting suffering and harm through that channel is a wrong and inhumane act. In other words, although false language is incapable of giving or taking anything, since for many this language carries sensitivity and importance, exploiting such a weapon is neither rational nor humane. Furthermore, in the process of humiliation and valuation, it is not only the listener or receiver who suffers from this destructive belief; the speaker or agent is also trapped in the values of the “sorcerer’s tongue” and is likewise a victim of this destructive web of illusion. The reality is that one who has discerned the vacuity of such a method neither takes it seriously nor fundamentally believes in it for the question of using it to arise. Such a person has become aware of the emptiness and obscurity of this language of lies and deception and has withdrawn from the fruitless and contentless strife of human beings.
12. The Geography of the “Sorcerer’s Tongue”
Is the prevalence of the “sorcerer’s tongue” and its dominance over the thought and psyche of human beings the same in all societies and cultures? It must be understood that the “sorcerer’s tongue” is not confined to a particular country or people; it exists and is prevalent to a greater or lesser degree everywhere in the world. As we said, the “sorcerer’s tongue” is the language of judgment and valuation of one another. In this sense, the intensity of the prevalence and imposition of this language depends on the quality of the relationship between society and the individual and the relationships of individuals with one another. The greater the effort to dominate, control, and exploit the individual in a culture, the more necessary the use of the levers of valuation becomes. Conversely, the more the rights and freedoms of the individual are recognized, the fainter the desire for domination, and naturally the less psychological tools for domination and exploitation are employed. Generally, and based on what we observe, psychological and valuational warfare takes a more widespread, intense, and violent form in closed societies and cultures, and is fainter and more limited in more open cultures. In truth, the more a culture has attained sufficient insight and discernment, the more it will realize that domineering behavior toward the individual, from a far-sighted perspective, is to the detriment of society itself. Society is composed of its individual members, and the clarity of thought and reflection of individuals signifies the strength, dynamism, and flourishing of the entire society—a matter that more aware societies have more or less grasped. Nevertheless, underdeveloped and closed cultures, due to the prevalence of imitation, herd mentality, and short-sightedness, prefer transient interests—of which preserving the status quo is one—to the growth and flourishing of their collective. Of course, as we see, on a large scale, the collective of such a short-sighted society becomes afflicted with individual suffering, tension, and neurosis, as well as social weakness, stagnation, and corruption.
13. Conclusion
As we said, the "sorcerer's tongue" is not a language with special terminology or a separate grammar. The false tongue is part of the very language we speak from morning to night. The falseness of this language lies in the mendacity of its message. This language is a language for carrying baseless values, a language for boasting, belittling, pretense, and other performances in all of which deception, domination, and fear are concealed. And since such performances are more or less common among all people, this language is also more or less prevalent everywhere in the world. The "sorcerer's tongue" is a language by means of which fabricated and imaginary concepts enter people's thoughts, feelings, and relationships, casting a veil over the truth of things and rendering human beings incapable of recognizing realities. In authentic language, that which we name, whether we point to it or not, exists, but in the sorcerer's tongue, things are pointed to that are merely a handful of words, without any content. Because of its mendacity, this language creates great problems for human beings and brings about vast catastrophes in society.* Verbal valuation is in truth nothing but a network of deceit and trickery that people have invented for psychological warfare, and despite its widespread prevalence and the many sensitivities that accompany it, it is a phenomenon empty of meaning. In this sense, if we look carefully at many of people's conversations and relationships, we see with utter astonishment that very often human beings truly exchange "nothing" with one another, quarrel over "nothing" and harbor enmity toward one another, give and take back "nothing," and in the struggle of this utterly void transaction, what tremendous energy they burn and what fruitless suffering they endure. It is for this reason that Rumi warns:
The discord of people arises from names; when it goes to meaning, peace descends.
As long as we stare at the words and terms of language, we will be pained and agitated by the notion that we have been harmed, but if we move beyond the surface of vocabulary and attend to meaning, we will realize that behind many seemingly imposing and bombastic terms and "names," there is no content. It is then that we will be freed from the suffering of the baseless notions we have constructed for ourselves and others, and we will put an end to the futile war over nothing.
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❊❊ Due to the important role that language plays in our thinking, feelings, and relationships, in the book "From Suffering to Liberation," we have dedicated a chapter titled "What is Language?" to understanding language. Also, if interested, you may refer to linguistics books, including "The Study of Language" by George Yule, translated by Ali Bahrami, and "Language and Thought" by Dr. Mohammad Reza Bateni.
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The Sorcerer's Tongue
Author: Sasan Habibvand
Ways to contact the author:
email: [email protected]
telegram.me/sasanhabibvand
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As we said, the "sorcerer's tongue" is not a language with special terminology or a separate grammar. The false tongue is a part of the very same language we speak from morning to night. The falseness of this language lies in the falsehood of its message. This language is a language for carrying baseless values, a language for boasting, belittling, pretense, and other performances in all of which deception, domination, and fear are concealed. And since such performances are more or less common among all people, this language is also more or less prevalent everywhere in the world. The "sorcerer's tongue" is a language by means of which fabricated and imaginary concepts enter people's thoughts, feelings, and relationships, casting a veil over the truth of things and rendering human beings incapable of recognizing realities. In authentic language, that which we name, whether we point to it or not, exists, but in the sorcerer's tongue, things are referred to that are merely a bunch of words, without any content. This language, due to its falsehood, creates great problems for human beings and brings about vast catastrophes in society.* Verbal valuation is in truth nothing but a network of deception and trickery that people have devised for psychological warfare, and despite its widespread prevalence and the many sensitivities that accompany it, it is a phenomenon empty of meaning. In this sense, if we look carefully at many of people's conversations and relationships, we will see with utter astonishment that very often human beings truly exchange "nothing" with one another, quarrel over "nothing" and harbor enmity toward one another, give and take back "nothing," and in the struggle of this utterly void transaction, what tremendous energy they burn and what fruitless suffering they endure. It is for this reason that Rumi warns:
The strife of people arose from names; when it went to meaning, peace arose.
As long as we stare at the words and terms of language, we will be pained and agitated by the notion that we have been harmed, but if we move beyond the surface of vocabulary and attend to meaning, we will realize that behind many of the seemingly majestic and bombastic words and 'names,' there is no content whatsoever. It is then that we will be freed from the suffering of the baseless notions we have constructed for ourselves and others, and will put an end to the futile war over nothing.
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❊❊ Due to the important role that language plays in our thinking, feelings, and relationships, in the book "From Suffering to Liberation," we have dedicated a chapter titled "What is Language?" to understanding language. Also, if interested, you may refer to linguistics books, including "The Study of Language" by George Yule, translated by Ali Bahrami, and "Language and Thought" by Dr. Mohammad Reza Bateni.
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