Satanic Linguist Conspiracy

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

http://bonald.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/imaginary-vices/

If my goal were to corrupt lots of people, I would start with the moral vocabulary.  First, pick a virtue, then make up a new word for that virtue, and say that the new word denotes a vice.  For example, I want to discourage modesty.  So I invent a new word, "prudery", that is just another word for modesty, but has a negative connotation.  Nothing but evil will come of this.  Many souls have maintained righteousness by asking questions like "am I being cowardly?" or "am I being dishonest?", but I'm pretty sure that no one has ever become a better person for worrying about being a prude.

Next, I'd distort the meanings of virtue words, making sure that the virtues I really wanted to get rid of would have no well-known word at all.  Being in league with the Devil, I'd be especially eager to snuff out charity–the supernatural love of God that Saint Thomas called the form of all other virtues.  I'd take that word and reassign it to mean something boring, like giving money to poverty relief, and leave no word for the theological virtue.  Or I'd take piety, a word that once referred primarily to the honor we owe our parents, and convince people that being "pious" just means going to church a lot.  Then if someone wanted to refer to the original, down-to-earth virtue, he'd have to say "filial piety", but not too many people will know Latin-ish words like "filial".  Why is this so important?  Because virtues we don't have words for are off our mental radar.

Last, I'd start using words for vices as if they were virtues, e.g. referring to a book or a movie as "irreverent" as if this were a good thing.  This would probably be going to far, though.  I don't think anybody would be willing to go along with this.

Hurr durrr

[ñͤͣ̄ͦ̌̑͗͊͛͂͗ ̸̨̨̣̺̼̣̜͙͈͕̮̊̈́̈͂͛̽͊ͭ̓͆ͅé ̰̓̓́ͯ́́͞]

[Luna]

Very 1984...

[Phox]

http://bonald.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/imaginary-vices/

If my goal were to corrupt lots of people, I would start with the moral vocabulary.  First, pick a virtue, then make up a new word for that virtue, and say that the new word denotes a vice.  For example, I want to discourage modesty.  So I invent a new word, "prudery", that is just another word for modesty, but has a negative connotation.  Nothing but evil will come of this.  Many souls have maintained righteousness by asking questions like "am I being cowardly?" or "am I being dishonest?", but I'm pretty sure that no one has ever become a better person for worrying about being a prude.

Next, I'd distort the meanings of virtue words, making sure that the virtues I really wanted to get rid of would have no well-known word at all.  Being in league with the Devil, I'd be especially eager to snuff out charity–the supernatural love of God that Saint Thomas called the form of all other virtues.  I'd take that word and reassign it to mean something boring, like giving money to poverty relief, and leave no word for the theological virtue.  Or I'd take piety, a word that once referred primarily to the honor we owe our parents, and convince people that being "pious" just means going to church a lot.  Then if someone wanted to refer to the original, down-to-earth virtue, he'd have to say "filial piety", but not too many people will know Latin-ish words like "filial".  Why is this so important?  Because virtues we don't have words for are off our mental radar.

Last, I'd start using words for vices as if they were virtues, e.g. referring to a book or a movie as "irreverent" as if this were a good thing.  This would probably be going to far, though.  I don't think anybody would be willing to go along with this.

Hurr durrr

Why was not I, the resident Satanic Linguist, Informed of this dubious chicanery and hoaxious verisimilitude!?

[Prince Glittersnatch III]

A few of his longer essays include:

http://bonald.wordpress.com/in-defense-of-censorship/

and,

http://bonald.wordpress.com/in-defense-of-monarchy/

[The Good Reverend Roger]

We need to offer this man our complete support.