The meaning of political science is often restricted to the state, government, and everyday politics. However, it goes beyond that. We as humans share various relationships. What do we do when conflicts arise in these relationships? How do we resolve them? The Socratic dialectical method or Habermas’ idea of deliberation provides a solution. It says conflicts are better resolved through dialogue rather than domination. Hence, it tells us how to talk in a dialectical manner. It is the process of reasoning together. For instance, when your father asks you to aim for a government job, but you want to become a content creator, you do not totally oppose each other. Instead, you engage rationally: Why is a government job important? Maybe because it provides security and financial stability. But being a content creator might give you creative freedom. So you decide to take a government job but also start your creator journey simultaneously — maybe by vlogging your day as a government employee...
What recently caught my attention is the Deepseek founder's idea that language is the fundamental component of human thought. In other words, human thinking is essentially a linguistic process. What differentiates us from animals or other species is our ability to read, write, speak (words), and process information. Hence, the development of formal language is an essential component of human civilization. It is largely through this process that we come to understand reality.
Let's say I have to devise a solution for the existing problem of poverty. We understand that something like poverty exists because the word poverty exists. The word poverty doesn't just describe a state of lacking; it inherently creates a division, a stark contrast against those we label rich or well-off. This linguistic separation then fuels our efforts to bridge that gap. Once we have the word poverty, we begin to analyze its causes: lack of access to education, systemic inequalities, or limited economic opportunities. This whole process of solving the problem of poverty is possible because we have language.
Therefore, I believe language is the most important creation of human intelligence.
The question now is: How did language develop, considering that before its existence, there was no formal language? How did people think and communicate before language as we know it? Various language development theories offer multiple reasons for this, such as the role of gestures, sounds, symbols, observation, etc. The process of language development was not easy, and that's why it took centuries for a language to evolve. This brings us to another question: Why are certain words used for certain objects or acts? For example, why is the word table used for a table and not chair? Maybe it is related to the concept of arbitrariness in language. Well, I’ll leave this domain to the linguists.
But once the language was developed enough to explore any phenomenon, we began seeing various other creations and discoveries. Language eases and accelerates the process of thinking by providing a set of alphabets and the words formed by them. A word has a fixed meaning, which structures our thoughts and makes it easier to understand any phenomenon. What do we actually do when we have a conversation with someone? We exchange words, and through them, we understand the other person. When we say, "I do not like fruits," you automatically know that I am not talking about potatoes. This narrows down the interpretation of the subject.
This is the reason why the selection of words is so important in poetry: A word has a specific suitability and range.
However, language has its limitations, and the postmodernists would agree with that. It is difficult to explain colors to someone who has never experienced sight. Certain things can only be understood through direct experience. Emotions are a perfect example of that. Sensory organs also play an important role in understanding the world around us. Hindu thought also emphasizes understanding things as they are in their natural setting without any interference. For instance, dhyan (meditation) and mindfulness are examples of this approach. Therefore, language-especially written language-is an important aspect of human thought, but it is not the sole factor. Artificial Intelligence is thriving on this very written language (text) to create an intelligence that is not natural.
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