Words Are Not Enough
The Need to Understand the World through Feelings
Language is essential in our world. It serves as the operating system for connection and comprehension, allowing us to express and convey thoughts, emotions, and intricate concepts with finesse and precision. Through language, people communicate their needs and desires, crafting narratives of importance while fostering both social bonds and collaborative endeavours.
More fundamentally, language acts as the cornerstone of cognitive development. It articulates principles and shapes perceptions, facilitating learning by assigning levels of meaning to discrete events and ideas. Oral and written language intertwine closely with culture, acting as a conduit for the transmission of key customs and beliefs across generations. Languages encapsulate unique worldviews and cultural mindsets, enriching human diversity while nurturing a sense of belonging and heritage.
In our contemporary interconnected world, the precision of language holds heightened value. Clarity and accuracy in communication are absolutely paramount, ensuring that messages are conveyed effectively, meticulously, and in a timely manner. Linguistic ambiguities or inaccuracies lead to confusion, conflict, and the dissemination of misinformation, accentuating the necessity for accuracy in today's discourse.
Within professional, academic, and legal circles, the significance of precision is magnified. From conveying complicated ideas, and conducting research, to drafting contracts and policies, fastidiousness in language validates credibility, differentiates one idea from another in subtle ways, encourages critical thinking, and underpins intellectual rigour.
In the digital age of rapid information dissemination, the precision of language is essential for responsible journalism and public discourse. Clear and accurate communication can counter any misinformation and help shape public opinion responsibly. In science precision is indispensable for measurements, recording experimental protocols, and documenting research. Clarity and accuracy advance knowledge and uphold the integrity of academic inquiry.
In other words, language is the life blood of human expression, connection, and cognition, while precision and accuracy ensure effective communication across diverse contexts and disciplines. When language is free from jargon and unambiguous, it allows for deep understanding and prompts collaboration.
If that is the case, then any deterioration in our competence to express ideas must be a concern. On the flip side of the coin, relying exclusively on words to articulate emotional states, for instance, raises other issues. In psychology, the limitations of language in capturing the complexity of feelings have long been recognized. Emotions are multi-dimensional experiences; they involve physiological, cognitive, attitudinal and behavioural features that often elude precise verbal description. For instance, consider the challenge of describing the feeling of nostalgia or the sensation of awe in nature—words may fall short in conveying the full depth of these highly personal experiences. To some extent poetry gets closer to the truth. Our deepest feelings, though, can only manifest through physical expression such as tears, frustration, joy etc.
So there are words, and they pose problems of different kinds. But sometimes words are not enough or can be either inadequate or superfluous to a situation. In situations where words do not naturally play a part, inserting them can be problematic. Take the analogy between the linguistic analysis of emotions and the corporeal experience of music, for example. Music, as an art form, communicates emotions through sounds and rhythms structured in ways that transcend linguistic boundaries. It stands by itself and does not need any further explanation. The symphonic works of a composer like Mahler or the improvisations of jazz musician John Coltrane, demonstrate how music can evoke a range of emotions without the need for explicit verbal explanation. The experiential quasi-mystical quality of music to capture the depths of human sentiment, underscores the richness of non-verbal communication that’s every bit as powerful as the spoken word. Perhaps more so.
As a professional author and public speaker I am only too familiar with the pitfalls that language can bring with it. Our inclination to compartmentalize knowledge, the contention that any abstract work of art must have some kind of verbal explanation (program note, story, or corresponding artefact) in order to be fully appreciated, or the trap of framing all intellectual inquiry through the binary-linear lens of Cartesian logic, illustrate what can and cannot be adequately expressed through words. Sometimes words just get in the way – especially in they are ill-chosen, or simply out of place.
In politics, we see how mainstream political parties shoehorn every conceivable policy into their black and white ideology. This polarization reduces complex issues to overly simplistic dichotomies, stifling nuanced debate and impeding collaborative problem-solving. The structure of classical debate hinders authentic discourse to such an extent that it’s bound to generate inadequate or partial solutions. I am constantly amazed how intelligent people fail to comprehend this. On the other hand divergent thinking, without convergence, leaves everyone up in the clouds.
The issue of Brexit in the UK serves as a useful example of how polarization successfully reduced a highly complex and emotional issue to a simplistic ‘leave-stay’ debate which divided the nation. In this case the binary framing oversimplified the complexities of EU membership, trade agreements, immigration policy, and a raft of other economic issues, stifling more subtle aspects regarding the potential consequences and benefits of Brexit.
The nature of the Brexit debate led to a breakdown in constructive dialogue, with both sides resorting to entrenched positions and adversarial rhetoric. Although hilarious to watch, this polarized debate not only impeded collaborative problem-solving but also deepened societal divisions, creating a fractured political landscape that persists beyond the referendum.
In France, the issue of immigration has long been subject to a range of views, with political discourse often reducing the complexities of immigration policy to banal yet highly passionate generalisations. Debates on immigration have frequently been framed in terms of ‘open versus closed’ borders, oversimplifying the multifaceted challenges and considerations involved in managing migration flows, especially from north Africa.
The divisive nature of the immigration debate in France has led to a narrowing of perspectives, with little room for refined conversations on issues such as asylum processes, integration programs, labour market dynamics, and humanitarian considerations. This has impeded efforts to develop all-encompassing viable immigration policies that balance humanitarian concerns with national security and socio-economic factors.
In both the UK and France, polarization has contributed to oversimplification, constraining the scope of debate along with subsequent solutions. By acknowledging the subtle complexities of these issues and pursuing open dialogue uninhibited by ideological constraints, instead of debate that sorts issues into opposing camps, societies can shift towards more inclusive and effective policymaking processes.
There is no doubt that language has the power to shape reality – an actuality that resonates with the concept of linguistic determinism in linguistics and psychology. The idea that our words shape what is possible and influence our thoughts and deeds underscores the importance of mindful communication. Consider how advertising campaigns and political rhetoric can swing public perceptions (and purchasing behaviour) illustrating the profound impact of language on manipulating collective beliefs and actions.
But communicating emotions needs more than words. What I felt when I heard Yuja Wang perform the 2nd piano concerto of Rachmaninov, what I felt when I visited Chartres cathedral for the first time and saw sunbeams shining through the stained glass windows, and what I felt when I watched Margot Fonteyn dancing Swan Lake, was invariably more than I could ever put into words.
Emotions arise from the gut and the heart. They needed no accompanying words of explanation. Immersive experiences deepen our understanding of the infinite and the unknowable. By experiencing emotions directly, rather than trying to analyze them verbally, we cultivate emotional intelligence and empathy. Any approach that prioritizes experiential engagement in nurturing authentic human connections, is superior to intellectual dissection. There’s no substitute for the live event.
Exploring our humanity through diverse disciplines highlights the universal challenges we face expressing, understanding, and connecting through our emotions. By embracing experiential modes of engagement, transcending artificial divisions, and harnessing the transformative power of language skilfully, I am sure we can cultivate richer, more empathetic affiliations and a deeper appreciation of the human experience.
Perhaps words are used too much to analyse and explain feelings, when other forms of expression would be better. Music is written to be heard and yet we demand program notes to explain what we’re about to hear - thus creating an artificial division between the music as experienced and its intellectualisation. By putting things in compartments, and sorting them in like manner, we lose something in translation. Add Cartesian logic to all of this and we lock inquiries into two opposing teams.
Perhaps it would be best to not try and explain or describe or excuse our feelings so much as experience them. One of the main lessons I learned after my father left our family (I was eight years old) was to lock my feelings away in order to avoid the rawness that accompanied his departure. In the trauma of sadness I closed down every aspect of the man I loved so much – his scent, his laughter, the fact that he was the first to pick me up when I fell... I did not utter a single word for over a month. Then, one evening late, when my poor mother couldn’t stand the silence anymore, she pretended to leave me. After much pleading with me to say something, anything, she shouted goodbye, headed out of the door slamming it behind her, leaving me alone in the darkness just like my dad had done. At that moment the shock of my grief crowded in on me and I burst into tears. In those ensuing moments of anguish, the boy was transformed into the man.
I am also reminded of a CEO I was mentoring – a tough-minded, highly driven, and successful banker who was always in the news; a leading light in his industry. One afternoon I walked into his office as usual and we started chatting. Innocently I asked him about his family as I knew he was having some issues at home. He stared into the distance and started sobbing uncontrollably. It was possibly four or even five minutes before he paused sufficiently that I could ask what was wrong... He murmured an answer that took me totally by surprise. Through sobs he said, “I’m trapped in a prison of spreadsheets, market analyses, profits and performance appraisals. Surely there has to be more to life than this Richard?”
And of course there is. Experiencing life through the heart matters far more than the mind will ever admit. That doesn’t mean we should lock up our emotions, submit to reason, and try to heal our own and the world’s suffering solely through the use of words. Sometimes words are not enough for the task we assign them.