We’re publishing an original essay today by Dr. Sinéad Murphy, an Associate Researcher in Philosophy at Newcastle University and Daily Sceptic regular. She writes about how ‘health’ has become a plastic word, over-used and meaningless. Here is an extract:
In his book Plastic Words, Uwe Pörksen described how certain concepts come to acquire infinite flexibility and dominance, enveloping our powers of describing and understanding in their apparently profound ubiquity.
Plastic words are not technical words, Pörksen advised, which are often strictly limited to contexts and therefore of more or less restricted relevance. Plastic words are ordinary words, which have been taken from common parlance, refracted through one or other field of science, and returned to everyday talk with a new, broadened application and a new, somewhat ambiguous, authority.
Examples of plastic words are: “development”, “progress” and “communication”. Banal terms plucked from their historical parameters of use and conferred with a quasi-technicality that is not the less effective for being vague and accommodating.
Unlike jargon words, we can and do use plastic words freely and easily, Pörksen argues. We say that “progress in strategies of communication supports social development”, or that “development of communication styles is linked to progress”. In so saying, we have said very little – these statements do not mean anything, really. But we have also said very much, tapping into a seam of apparently scientific understanding that is sophisticated and worthy of being considered. We have given our talk a modern aura, and availed ourselves simultaneously of the unobjectionableness of common sense and the force of expertise.
Plastic words denote nothing, as Pörksen expresses it – the statement “progress in communication aids development” is nonsense. But plastic words are richly connotative. So much so that they suck the life from more specific, more nuanced, vernacular words, which are overshadowed by the apparent sophistication of plastic words and gradually fall out of favour.
There is an underbelly to using plastic words, however. The air of modern sophistication with which they infuse our descriptions is a thin one. Having revelled in its effect, we are bereft of any real appreciation of the stakes in whatever it is we have used them to describe, and must rely on professional analysis and advice for any substantial judgment. Using plastic words remakes us into clients of experts, Pörksen observes.
For this reason, the more we have recourse to plastic words, the less we are able to accurately describe and understand ourselves, each other and the world around us. Until at last we are at the mercy of expert analysis and advice, even for understanding events and negotiating situations that are quite concrete and personal.
Worth reading in full.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
“In his book Plastic Words, Uwe Pörksen described how certain concepts come to acquire infinite flexibility and dominance,…”
“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’
’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’
’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.”
Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) Through the Looking-Glass 1871
e.g. climate change
Maybe I should change my user name to “An Abundance of Caution”. This was that horrible key phrase, made up of these plastic words, that we kept hearing in the build up to lockdown.
I’m going to change mine to Gold Standard
Is standard gold substandard compared to the gold standard gold? Subgold, so to say, as opposed to supergold?
I am reposting this link from last night to ensure it gets publicised. Please spread this info.
I would like to encourage everyone to look at this link, to the conference with Viviane Fisher from the Corona Committee.
https://odysee.com/@en:a5/PK_Tot-durch-Impfung_english:a
The part on the vaccine contents starts at about 1.27.
At 1.42 there is a presentation from an Austrian surgeon with many slides and film of objects in these vaccines.
It goes into proper medical detail on what is in these “vaccines”
There are slides which show metallic objects moving in the “vaccines”. The reflective and synthetic ingredients are there for some other purpose and must come from military technology. It suggests to me that the “mad” theories about transhumanism could have merit, as some of these objects are clearly engineered nanobot type objects.
There is a good presentation from a German surgeon who is working with a group of international doctors to investigate and publicise this.
With the evidence in front of us of clear criminal intent there is no way anyone can now allow the vax deployment to children.
The medical team also used controls in the form of conventional vaccines.
No normal vaccine contains these synthetic objects.
I watched it last night. What the actual fuck? I have so far refused to accept nano particle sci-fi transhuman business but it’s seems convincing.. another mind-bending dimension. Arrrrrgh!
One of the objects looked like a nano submarine!
We all live in a nano submarine,
An oxide of graphene,
A toxic false vaccine .
Look!
Downvote completely warranted I’d do it myself if it let me.
I think that part of the apparent “movement” of the bits floating around could be attributed to simple Brownian Motion… But other than that, WTF??
or perhaps the contaminated jab batch that killed people in japan that had metal fragments in it
Thanks for the link. Everyone needs to watch it. I watched some of it last night and couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I have posted it on OffGuardian website to spread it around. It would appear that vaccine chips may no longer be a ‘conspiracy theory’.
Kate, Transhumanism is not mad theory…its also known as human augmentation and is being promoted by the UK Government in a document compiled by the UK and German military.
Here it is at the UK Gov website:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/human-augmentation-the-dawn-of-a-new-paradigm
On that page are also links to ‘The Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and ‘Agenda 2030’
….reckon they are trying to tell us something
This can all be demonstrated through:
Some lovely bowls of plastic word salads there, so beloved of those in government and others areas of “influence”, who have nothing to say, but say too much!
Unnecessary Verbosity is a sign of a lack of confidence in what is done.
Brevity tends to show a confidence in what has been written.
I’ve certainly attended meetings where all of the above were probably highlighted on a powerpoint. Corporate culture has infected everything!
Hahaha you’ve got it nailed down nicely!
A Gold Standard of Cautious yet Irreversible Biosecurity Safety Protocol Countermeasures ensued.
I do appreciate Dr Murphy’s wring. Deeply human and compassionate in the truest sense of those words.
Indeed. Seconded.
‘Have you no idea of progress, of development?’
‘I have seen both in an egg,’ said Caspian. ‘We call it “going bad” in Narnia.’
CS Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
I think Orwell explained the propagandized distortion of language, and the flexibility of meaning even better. One interpretation that may be a distortion here :
“Professor Chris Whitty, trumped the advice of the JCVI, recommending the Covid vaccinations for 12-15 year-olds after all ….”
I reckon that was a predetermined following of the political agenda – not real counter- ‘advice’. Of course, I can’t prove it, but I did predict it, and the ‘rationale’ used would fool only the irremediably dumb.
Distortion is about more than single words.
So… “plastic words” is the new term for what we used to call “bullshit”!
The implementation of fourth industrial revolution needs a global ‘health’ crisis to regulate citizens into acceptance of the new world order….just my humble opinion on world events.
Health is now a cult. Question not the esoteric incantions of thy medic-priests, lest ye suffer their wrath.
I just call it corporate shit talk. Been looking to find a new job and FFS almost every company has some bit on inclusion yada yada wokery tripe at the bottom of every job posting. Nauseating to say the least
Another excellent essay from Dr Sinéad Murphy, and another concept about language to absorb -except sheer verbosity has always been over-valued. I remember preparing for my English ‘O’ level exam and my teacher telling me I’d never pass if I only submitted four sides of writing in my essay: I should have been using longer ‘plastic’ words.
I scraped through.
The truth doesn’t need much in the way of abstract nouns (i.e. plastic words) – they are so often the resort of charlatans attempting to cover the truth, or. to say something when they have nothing to say.