"To a linguist, the phenomenon is familiar: the euphemism treadmill. People invent new "polite" words to refer to emotionally laden or distasteful things, but the euphemism becomes tainted by association and the new one that must be found acquires its own negative connotations. "Water closet" becomes "toilet" (originally a term for any body care, as in "toilet kit"), which becomes "bathroom," which becomes "rest room," which becomes "lavatory." … The euphemism treadmill shows that concepts, not words, are in charge. Give a concept a new name, and the name becomes colored by the concept; the concept does not become freshened by the name. (We will know we have achieved equality and mutual respect when names for minorities stay put.)"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Academics from CanadaCognitive scientistsPhilosophers from CanadaLinguists from CanadaPsychologists from Canada
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Pinker
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Steven Pinker
49 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Steven Pinker →
Related Quotes
"What about the rationalization that charitable extracurricular activities teach kids important lessons of moral engag…"
"Effective altruism – efforts that actually help people rather than making you feel good or helping you show off – is …"
"The moralistic fallacy is that what is good is found in nature. It lies behind the bad science in nature-documentary …"
"It's no mystery why organisms sometimes harm one another. Evolution has no conscience, and if one creature hurts anot…"
"On top of all the miseries inflicted by predators and parasites, the members of a species show no pity to their own k…"
"But Elias did propose an exogenous trigger to get the whole thing started, indeed, two triggers. The first was the co…"
"The human brain is an exquisitely complex organ that evolved only once. The elephant's trunk, which can stack logs, u…"
"Intelligence, then, is the ability to attain goals in the face of obstacles by means of decisions based on rational (…"
"The elegant study... is consistent with the themes of modern cognitive neuroscience. Every aspect of thought and emot…"
"Suppose the reasoning centers of the brain can get their hands on the mechanisms that plop shapes into the array and …"