Robert May
UC Davis
"Ideological Words and Thoughts"
Ideologies, as we will understand the term, are a sort of folk social theory directed at target groups (often with ill-defined or vague boundaries). Idologies are typically supported by institutions and are justified by propoganda that reinforces beliefs of individual subscribers, and which in part justifies their subscription to the ideology. The force of an ideology may vary, as they are sensitive to many contextual factors in culture and society, and diachronically may lose their vitality for lack of subscribers. In this context, we will discuss the following thesis: Pejorative words are ideological words. They are meant to encapsulate core theoretical abstracts of an ideology, held in common by its subscribers. Our concern is with defective ideologies, like anti-semitism, racism or homophobia; their abstract is that people ought to be the target of negative moral evaluation all because of being in the target group. To wit, the conceptual content of “kike” can be glossed as: Ought to to be the target of negative moral evaluation just because of being a Jew. The role of pejorative words in this sort of ideology is thus to capture the negative moral essence of the ideology, along with its target. But this moral essence is corrupt: No one ought to be the target of negative moral evaluation just because of being a Jew! Because pejorative words express unsatisfiable morally corrupt concepts they have null extensions; accordingly claims like there are kikes or that all Jews are kikes are necessarily false.
UC Davis
"Ideological Words and Thoughts"
Ideologies, as we will understand the term, are a sort of folk social theory directed at target groups (often with ill-defined or vague boundaries). Idologies are typically supported by institutions and are justified by propoganda that reinforces beliefs of individual subscribers, and which in part justifies their subscription to the ideology. The force of an ideology may vary, as they are sensitive to many contextual factors in culture and society, and diachronically may lose their vitality for lack of subscribers. In this context, we will discuss the following thesis: Pejorative words are ideological words. They are meant to encapsulate core theoretical abstracts of an ideology, held in common by its subscribers. Our concern is with defective ideologies, like anti-semitism, racism or homophobia; their abstract is that people ought to be the target of negative moral evaluation all because of being in the target group. To wit, the conceptual content of “kike” can be glossed as: Ought to to be the target of negative moral evaluation just because of being a Jew. The role of pejorative words in this sort of ideology is thus to capture the negative moral essence of the ideology, along with its target. But this moral essence is corrupt: No one ought to be the target of negative moral evaluation just because of being a Jew! Because pejorative words express unsatisfiable morally corrupt concepts they have null extensions; accordingly claims like there are kikes or that all Jews are kikes are necessarily false.