IVP - Strangely Dim - Philosophers Walk the Earth

Philosophers Walk the Earth

By David A. Zimmerman

I'm starting to think that I could make anyone a philosopher. Basically, all they have to do is to relentlessly redefine every word they use every time they use it. Unfortunately, everyone would then hate them, because they will have made previously intelligible words unintelligible.

The consequences of these unspoken rules of philosophy are staggering. Consider the book Philosophy in a Time of Terror, in which, according to Christianity Today, Jacques Derrida takes two entire pages to answer the question "September 11 . . . gave us the impression of being a major event. . . . Do you agree?"

It has to be done, though: if philosophers speak plainly, all the philosophers around them will redefine what they say on their behalf, and rip them apart for having spoken so carelessly. You see this played out most aggressively in politics. A journalist demands a statement from a politician, who speaks as thoughtfully and quickly as possible without falling into the obvious traps of "So you're saying . . ." and "But four years ago you said . . ." Elections have hung on the words of such a conversation.

No wonder politicians dislike journalists. Taking communication seriously is a great thing, but taking someone else's communication seriously is seriously impolite. No one likes to be edited, and societies ancient, medieval, modern and postmodern have sought to suppress the editorial spirit. God help us.

And yet Jesus spoke with great conviction about the importance of personal precision: "Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Anything else is from the devil" (Matthew 5:37). Yikes! How much devil talk have I engaged in simply by typing the last 265 words? And how can I hope to communicate when I live in dread of speaking without thinking?

I'll admit it: I don't give thought to every word I say. Overcoming a habit of rambling comes through (1) speaking slower, giving ourselves time to think about what we're saying, or (2) speaking less, giving ourselves less freedom to weigh in on every subject. The book of Proverbs makes a strong case for holding our tongues: "When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but the prudent are restrained in speech" (Proverbs 10:19).

Yet even in our most heartfelt attempts to discipline our speech we have a limited view of the significance in what we say. Friends willing to risk a friendship in order to help us think more clearly and communicate more responsibly are true friends indeed. They look after us, not merely the pleasantries of a superficial acquaintance. We are, after all, called to "live in the truth," and we can't fulfill that calling alone. Our editors are our friends.

We are all subject to the same limited ability to speak with consistency and the same insufficient grasp of all the matters that demand our attention. Once we allow each other to fumble our way into the truth, giving grace for misstatements and fuzzy thinking, we can all safely apologize for wrong comments and commit ourselves once more to making yes mean simply yes, no simply no.

Check out my secret identity at www.ivpress.com.

Posted by Dave Zimmerman at February 13, 2004 10:53 AM