TOK- Essay Question 9 “Discuss the roles of language and reasoning in history”
1451 words
Nadia Lotze
000 865-015
Mr Skeoch
History is the past written by the present. The very nature of this statement creates the predicament of historical knowledge. The historians of the present are under constant pressure of rapidly changing society; therefore what we discover from the past is dependent on our perceptions that are forever changing. History and historical explanations are deduced and manipulated by the two ways of knowing, language and reasoning. The role of language in history is very important, because history is written, presented and illustrated to people through language. Reasoning is also an important factor in history;
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This is demonstrated throughout history, the dictators of the past knew the importance of language and how propaganda could be used to influence others. An example of this is explored through the polemic novel ‘1984’ written by George Orwell, the novel is a political satire that illustrates that the use of language could be used politically to deceive and manipulate people, leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey those in authority and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality. This suited the totalitarian regime of the 1948 Soviet Union lead by Stalin.
It is quite apparent that language has a large influence in hindering historical knowledge; this is due to the fact that language has a flawed and vague nature. Language is highly mutable and words can change their connotations over short periods of time, it is also important to remember that words are replaced with new ones and that the meanings and understanding of those words also change the actions of the past. The experiment “Reconstruction of auto-mobile destruction” done by Loftus and Palmer is an example of the interaction between language and memory. Within their case study participants were shown a video of a car accident, they were then asked at what speed the cars hit, collided, bumped, scraped or crashed at? The answers from the participants varied depending on the type of verb used to ask the question. This clearly represented that the language used influenced the
Absolute control over society is the central theme in the novel, 1984, by George Orwell. One method this power over society is exercised is use of language to manipulate and control people. The story features a society called Oceania, which is located in the European region. In Oceania, there is a form of totalitarian government called the Party which controls the entire society. The Party controls thoughts by making certain words or phrases illegal. In addition, any anti-party thoughts or motives are also deemed illegal. To control society, thoughts are monitored by telescreens which read reactions and record speech. A force, called the Thought Police, is also engaged to take power over and eliminate society’s individual beliefs. The
“Newspeak was designed to. . .diminish the range of thought. . .by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum” explains George Orwell, the author of a dystopian fiction novel, 1984 (Orwell 300). Orwell designs a society in which a totalitarian government rules, depriving people of their thoughts. The story gives us a look into the life of the main character, Winston, who seems to face issues with reality control. Today, we will delve into the depths of this novel and explore Orwell’s views on the nature of language. In simple terms, Orwell suggests that language, if used in a certain way, has the ability to influence people and compel them to alter their thoughts. With this statement and supporting evidence, it can be concluded that the effective use of language can give individuals power to modify or reshape opinions that will allow for change in society.
Literature Setting in Frankenstein and The World is Too Much With Us Frankenstein, also known as the Modern Prometheus, is the title to Mary Shelley’s novel, based on Greek mythology involving Prometheus, a deity. Throughout the novel Shelley uses setting like natural surroundings and weather to form the moral traits in the Creature and Victor Frankenstein which has repercussions on the events that occur involving them. As a product of Shelley’s time, Frankenstein reflects key elements in the literature of the romantic era; evidently Romantic literature often entails dark and exotic places, therefore Frankenstein is no exception. The setting assists the characterization of Victor Frankenstein and the creature throughout the novel as well
This paper deals with ways history can be interpreted and influences different interpretations have on society and individuals. This is explored through
In George Orwell’s 1984, the strategies used by Oceania’s Political Party to achieve total control over the population are similar to the ones employed by Joseph Stalin during his reign. Indeed, the tactics used by Oceania’s Party truly depicts the brutal totalitarian society of Stalin’s Russia. In making a connection between Stalin’s Russia and Big Brothers’ Oceania, each Political Party implements a psychological and physical manipulation over society by controlling the information and the language with the help of technology.
In Telling the Truth About History, three historians discuss how the expanded skepticism and the position that relativism has reduced our capacity to really know and to expound on the past. The book talks about the written work of history and how individuals are battling with the issues of what is “truth.” It likewise examines the post-modernist development and how future historians
To Kill A Mockingbird, a coming of age novel written by Harper Lee, is set in a fictional small, southern town called Maycomb in the 1930s. From simple details in a childhood story, Lee apprises how the world is full of pain caused by prejudice. In early chapters of the novel, Atticus, the father figure in the novel, remarked that “You never understand a person until…”. However, people wouldn’t care less. So instead of understanding, they start judging.
“War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is strength.” George Orwell’s 1984 depicts a dystopian state which is controlled by a totalitarian government. The government uses propaganda as a cornerstone of exploiting people and remaining in power. Techniques such as doublethink, slogans, newspeak and laws are cunningly used by the regime in order to maintain authority. Every action of an individual is controlled by the state through the use of fear thus restricting an individual from using their own intellect in order to make effective decisions. The propaganda evident in 1984 can be compared to the propaganda found in the film Goodbye Lenin.
How does the way history is told have power in our understanding of the past and present?
In the totalitarian world, which Orwell describes, language is the most significant and effective approach to maintain the rule. From Orwell’s perspective, everything including language, which is particularly powerful, belongs to political measure. In fact, language is the fundamental motivation of creating a nation or a tribe. It is also the foundation of thought because Human’s thought must rely on the language expressing. Then it could be deduced by analogy that controlling human’s language equal controlling human’s thought. Except expressing, it has the ability to build facts. The Party controls citizens’ thinking through controlling the language so that the Party applies euphemistic words to mislead public and prettify its policy. It is unimaginable that language contributes to the rule. The totalitarian utilize every language method to hold the dominant position.
George Orwell, the writer of many highly regarded literary works, is extremely interested in the power of language, mainly how it is abused. By analyzing two of his works, 1984 and Politics and The English Language, it is clear that Orwell is using his writing to bring awareness to the dangers of the manipulation, misuse, and decline of language. In 1984 he demonstrates how language can be used to control thought and manipulate the past. This is proven throughout the novel by examining the language of Newspeak and how it is key to controlling the totalitarian state, and how using language to alter and manipulate history can shape reality. In his essay Politics and the English Language Orwell
The definition of history, is a question which has sparked international debate for centuries between the writers, readers, and the makers of history. It is a vital topic which should be relevant in our lives because it?s important to acknowledge past events that have occurred in our world that deeply influences the present. This essay will discuss what history is, and why we study it.
History is a complex concept that needs to be broken-down in order to be fully understood. This is most successfully done through examples from the past. Creating
History can be defined in a number of ways. One could say history is a record of events that occurred in the past, or another person could say that history is the knowledge and facts of the past. Carl Becker’s definition is perhaps the simplest and finest definition of history. Becker defines history as “the memory of things said and done” (223). Memory is history, which is what history truly is and how it should be looked at by mankind. As long as mankind has that memory, then that memory of the things said and done will become history. For mankind to truly be able to define what history is, they must understand the importance of preservation, interpretations, and periodization with the things said and done.
Historians are faced with the challenge of working with the small amount of historical evidence that they have. Between primary and secondary sources, indecipherable languages, damaged artifacts, and biased accounts of history, they have quite the task in front of them. The state of the evidence we have to learn from allows us an interesting look into peoples thoughts, feelings and experiences, but also forces us to interpret to the best of our ability, and make educated guesses on what life was like in ancient times.