I just finished listening to this, really interesting and a fascinating discussion. I wanted to jump in at one point though, when you were discussing the tower of Babel (soohhh much I would like to say on that!) Because in the biblical story it was the technology (bricks) that precipitated the building of the tower, and, the danger came, not in the sameness of language per se, but the sameness in thinking that resulted. Even if you only partly inhabit another language you do get a sense of how the corresponding culture 'thinks' so, we can recognise that language is not merely a tool that we use, it is a phenomenon, a structure of sorts that we inhabit. Heidegger wrote of language as the house in which man (Dasein) dwells. You made that point in the interview I think. Very important subject to think about. I will have to place it on my ever growing list!
I just finished listening to this, really interesting and a fascinating discussion. I wanted to jump in at one point though, when you were discussing the tower of Babel (soohhh much I would like to say on that!) Because in the biblical story it was the technology (bricks) that precipitated the building of the tower, and, the danger came, not in the sameness of language per se, but the sameness in thinking that resulted. Even if you only partly inhabit another language you do get a sense of how the corresponding culture 'thinks' so, we can recognise that language is not merely a tool that we use, it is a phenomenon, a structure of sorts that we inhabit. Heidegger wrote of language as the house in which man (Dasein) dwells. You made that point in the interview I think. Very important subject to think about. I will have to place it on my ever growing list!