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Jonathan DePadua Racelis Philosophy of Language and Culture

Philosophy IV Fr. Jayson Gaite

Philosophy of Language: A Candidate’s Avenue to Influence

Language is utilized as a tool or a portal to express our thoughts, emotions, and

aspirations with others. A quality of human language is the ability to convey a being by
using another being, such as signs and symbols; this gives us the fact that language is widely
used throughout the place, and time determines the tone of the attributes that determine its
use. Philosophy of language is concerned with philosophical concerns about language and
the notion of language, language aptitude, and the language we speak. According to one
interpretation, language philosophy is similar to other philosophical disciplines in that they
both query the nature of knowing.

This is so timely in the present setting, from which we ready ourselves for the
upcoming 2022 national elections. Many elections had gone by, and many did their part to
make our country, the Philippines, prosper as much as possible, making the country compete
with other nations in terms of aspects that play a vital role in growing. Yet, after each period
of the presidents, we always come back from the very beginning from which we seek and
analyze the right, qualified, and suitable candidate for the position of the president. Every
candidate that wishes to run and be elected has their capabilities, contributions, and, most
significantly, their platforms. They use the power of language to voice out their wants for
the country, some use it as a tool to gain trust and spread their influence, yet some use it as a
means towards deceit. We are already tired of the flowering words of the candidates who
long to sit at the office of the presidency; I think it is already time to analyze and believe the
terms these candidates utter deeply.

This final paper of mine would like to apply and analyze the terms linguistics and or
from the philosophy of language. I will reflect and put it into the context of the upcoming
2022 national elections. As I have said in my first reporting which discusses the point that I
would like to share, the word linguistic exclusively refers to the study of languages alone
and the differences among these languages. On the other counterpart, the philosophy of
speech discusses the similarities between and among languages themselves, making them
more somewhat related to each other. Whether it be at the national or local level, every
political candidate must have the desire to serve and lead the people or their place. These
candidates have different personalities and family backgrounds, yet, in the name of service
for one's own country, these distinctions are disregarded and set aside if the Lord has called
them to serve His people, like what philosophy of language has taught us. And once they
had already received the gift of office and responsibility to take care of the country, they
became one family and shared one commonality: Service.

This paper asserts that language and words may be employed in the political realm to
promote elections. The Philippines' 2022 national elections are rapidly approaching, and
language will play a critical part in the country's progress. Some argue that language is the
Sem. Jonathan DePadua Racelis Philosophy of Language and Culture
Philosophy IV Fr. Jayson Gaite

currency power of elections, for this is the main element to buy into what these politicians
are saying or murmuring. We must not deny the fact that words are essential in the
profession of a politician, especially that in these times of trials, fake news online is still
lurking, candidates use language to manipulate people.

Language is an avenue for candidates to influence. We all know that it is not only the
good things that we can exploit; many would also affect by wrongdoings. That is why this is
the word I chose for the title of my paper, for I am leaving to the candidate the choice,
whether it is the righteousness that he wishes to seek and share or the deceptions that he
plans to impart on us.

The chapters had provided the concept of logos; Heraclitus' philosophy is the most
influential among his contemporaries. He claimed that everything in the world is made up of
continually changing components. Even though most of these shifts are invisible to the
human eye, there is a secret harmony behind the turmoil. We discussed the being of logos,
from which we refer to the unity of being, cognition, and language. As I have pondered
upon, I imagined that the national and local elections are already finished, and we have just
elected new leaders to guide and serve the Philippines' country. Now, what they need to
acknowledge now, is the logos, which is Jesus Christ. God will impart on them His
providential guidance as a unity of being, for it is through Him that all things dwell fluently
and graciously.

In chapter 5, we tackled the world, though, and language in Aristotle. According to

interpretation, he stated that mental representations are expressed through symbols in
speech. Instead of the symbolism of the phenomenal world, these representations are
founded on a commonality. The mind acts as a link between language and the outside world,
and it also acts as a bridge. By this, let me again express my realizations from which I have
been reflecting upon, just like the mind, from which functions as a bridge, intermediate, and
a link between language and the world to coexist, so as these political candidates that long to
be elected in their respective offices. They also are bridges, intermediates, and links for us to
exist together with the world of politics, with other countries, and they act as our
representatives and means so that the voice of the voiceless may be heard. They will be the
channel for us to be recipients of many graces that are about to come; that is why we need
candidates who are faithful, who are responsible, and most of all, candidates who are not
corrupt.

Rene Descartes' examination of language and human linguistic capacity is the topic
of Chapter 7. In his Discourse on Method, he utilized an analogy between machines and
humans to investigate the human capacity to originate, develop, use, and interpret language.
He claims there are two ways to distinguish between human and man-like robots. Man's
ability to express feelings and ideas via language is one thing, but his ability to conduct
Sem. Jonathan DePadua Racelis Philosophy of Language and Culture
Philosophy IV Fr. Jayson Gaite

intelligently is another. The second reason is that the human-machine lacks a thinking soul.
As a result, although machines can do certain things as well as or better than humans, they
can only execute particular tasks. They are illiterate and can only carry out the duties that
have been programmed into their systems. Animals are analogous to machines in that they
function based on the arrangement of their organs. They do not think; they eat when their
stomachs tell them to, sleep when their brains tell them to, and go to the bathroom when
their bladders tell them to. An animal machine's organs would work the same way as an
animal's. In contrast to robots, whom all operate in the same way, a rational human would be
able to appraise a situation and conduct in line with their emotions, and different persons
would respond in different ways. These arguments favor humans' superiority over both
animals and human machines.

Given these arguments and premises concluded to the superiority of us humans

among animals and human-machines that Descartes has given us, we must therefore live up
and do our part to become a superior being. This gift that has been given to us rational
beings is a gift that we can use to elevate man’s capacity to live. The candidate that we put
our bet or trust must be knowledgeable about this gift that we have, must be aware that their
use of this language to influence us must be used to attain peace and seek the truth.
Philosophy of language is a way or an avenue for these candidates to influence and lead.
We, too, having the privilege to exercise our right to vote, must also be aware and wise, to
whom we shall give our votes, for it is in our care that the faith of our country, the
Philippines is at hand.

The last argument I would want to make comes from Locke on Words, chapter 9 of
the handout. Words, according to Locke, reflect nothing more than the user's own thoughts
in their most basic or immediate meaning, no matter how recklessly or carelessly those ideas
are derived from the objects they are meant to represent. In his article, he defines a word as
an arbitrary symbol that represents an idea and claims that the human mind conceals both
the meaning of a word and the notion expressed during communication. I may apply Locke's
theory to the sphere of politics that we have and are now experiencing by grasping the truth
that every single word said by candidates represents some political point of view.

We must all be aware and critical when listening to these people's words; we must
pay attention to the language the next time we see these politicians give a speech or debate,
and try to read between the lines to understand what is really being said; and we will
undoubtedly be surprised at how much we can learn from a simple choice of words. Indeed,
language is an avenue for candidates to influence. May we have peaceful and grace-filled
national and local elections this coming May!