When 'Brain Dead' Becomes A 'Dead End' For Some People
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
10 October
2022
"
Today, one writer used the term "brain dead." I choked up when I read
it. Someone who asserts that another person's mind is dead does so because he
feels intellectually superior. People of this genre are typically incapable of
using their intelligence to its full potential and are unable to understand how
our God prevents us from feeling disappointed in spite of all of our flaws.
"
" What We Can Find Words For Is Already
Dead In Our Hearts."
-Nietzsche
"
Shabdaarth Pratibhutam, Prateetichasya Vyvadhanam. "
(There's
always a wide chasm between a word and its perceived and often popular
connotation)
Yask in his
Nirukta, a technical treatise on etymology, lexical category and the semantics
of Sanskrit words
This
pertains to my term 'brain dead' that choked up, nay gobsmacked, a few readers
and as I've quoted at the outset, the gentleman believes that those who resort
to using such terms are incapable of using their potential to the optimum. This
is again a pontificating opinion and we've no dearth of opinionated people
who're forever willing to opine and judge others.
These free
opinion givers must realize that using the term 'brain dead' for someone is not
showing condescension or intellectual superiority. " Words are often vague
and rather insincere representations of what one actually thinks "
(Horace, translated by Sir Ted Hughes in
'Greeko-Latin Connotational Imprints', OUP, 1972). So, employing an Intentional
Fallacy to discern the mind of the user of a word is itself a fallacy one must
get rid of.
We must
remember Noam Chomsky's words that the words are verbally associated, but
psychologically separate entities. In Neuro-Linguistics, this phenomenon is
called lingual dissociation: A gulf between what has been perceived and what
was intended by the speaker or user. When you burst firecrackers, you first see
the light followed by the sound. There's a fractional difference between the
two happenings. In other words, it's not a simultaneous process.
Likewise,
calling a person 'brain dead' is metaphorical rather than literal. Chilean
Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda called Nehru a 'brain dead sciolist.' Nehru had
that rare magnanimity and he respected Neruda. He (Nehru) just smiled and said,
" I cannot peek into his (Neruda's) mind to discern what he meant by
'brain dead'. He may have had an altogether different meaning of the word '
(quoted by Dr. Radhakrsishnan's son Sarvapalli Gopal in The Hindu, 1974).
I may not
be a wordsmith but I use my words very judiciously and am never disdainful of
anyone, not even of those who criticise and peel my skin off.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul
is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He
has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages
including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/brain-dead-end/d/128139
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism