Offensive Language
WARNING: If you click on this link, be prepared to read what may be the most offensive article you have ever read.
Steven Pinker’s article, “What the F***? Why We Curse” is very interesting if you can handle casually reading almost every offensive word in the English language. Pinker traces the history of cursing in the second page of the article as something that originated in religion, but he shows how our cursing is becoming more secular. This is a very interesting concept, and it seems reasonable. Pinker says that the secularization of our cursing is directly related to the secularization of our culture.
He quotes G. K. Chesterton, who said, “Blasphemy itself could not survive religion; if anyone doubts that, let him try to blaspheme Odin.” While God may not be quite as irrelevant to popular culture as Odin, Chesterton’s point is well-taken. Religious cursing just doesn’t have the power to most people that it used to.
The religious history is just the beginning of this interesting article. Pinker discusses the sexual nature of much cursing, and other things. Since this could get kind of awkward if people post comments, let me just request this: please use some sort of self-censorship and be respectful of other people.
My girlfriend heard him speak on this subject last week. She said she’d never heard so much profanity concentrated into a single period of time (that’s really saying something considering she’s with me).
We should bring him to Harding to speak.
You could no doubt do it for less than 1/10 of whatever you paid Sean Hannity.
Even if they could overlook the language, his hair doesn’t meet HU regulations, either.
That was a “f-ing” good article!! :) No really that was a very good article. I think I learned alot… and he was a very compelling writer. That’s why I check this blog out you guys are always pointing out things I wouldn’t have other wise looked at or possible would have thought about.
Glad you liked it…
Good article, full of profanity, but not at all offensive.