Do Words Hurt?

reply to post by LesMisanthrope


No don't be silly, its the voice. The voice is never separated from the words.
So in the case of a voice omitted loudly into your ear it would hurt you physically. Your analogy was impotent and out of place as punching someone has nothing to do with words.

When I speak words they are composed of sound .

And if you have faith in material science, tests have proven that spoken words effect the physical body and that negative words can harm by way of stress. It harms both the speaker and the hearer.If you are going to write about and make conclusions about words research before hand, it may help.

Mantras now are invalidated by you. The inherent energy of sound gone.
The voice, the communication of our thoughts(and you admitted you know thoughts can harm) can harm and wound.
Are you happy that a hearer of your words thinks that in cases of depression it is the fault of the hearer of negative and harmful words if they cannot suffer them.
Not what I think, that the speaker of negative hateful words should not be speaking them (as they do have the power to wound).
Gee with your kind of thinking no wonder so many people in the world are in a state of suffering, disconnected and disassociated.






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Duplicate post :

reply to post by LesMisanthrope


LM have you ever heard the term "defamation of character"? Do you know what it means? Amongst other things it means I that the Judicial System provides for recovery in cases where a person is defamed.

The punishment imposed is specifically because of the words, that in court, are established by a judge, as hurtful enough to result in his or her compensating the injured party(even if it did not result in financial harm). You see the whole idea that in fact words do hurt is incorporated in our judicial system and pretty much throughout the world.

Perhaps you should look into the logic of why?

Long Answer:

It depends on what you consider pain. Is pain an abstract, indescribable concept that we all know intuitively? Or can pain be described scientifically as C-Fibers in our body that vibrate in order to alert our brain that our body is in danger?

Hurting is a direct causal effect of pain, so it is impossible for something to hurt without pain... so really we are talking about if words can cause pain.

This depends on if your view on pain is an abstract, indescribable concept that we all know intuitively, or a scientifically describable feeling, characterized by C-Fibers in our body that vibrate in order to alert our brain that our body is in danger.

If you describe pain scientifically, then I am highly skeptical of words being able to cause physical pain, although it is in the realm of possibility... after all, sound waves are a physical entity, so a strong enough sound wave can in fact cause pain. So if your words are amplified by a megaphone to 200 dB which is above the comfortable threshold of hearing, then yes your words will cause pain.

Now if your question is on if the meaning of words can cause pain in the scientific sense, I will have to say no, it can't. We can't be establishing relationships between words and pain because we would be establishing a relationship between a scientifically describable phnomenom in pain and a scientifically indescribable phenomenom in the meaning of words. In other words, pain is a definite physical entity, while meaning is an abstract, immaterial concept, and there is no way for an immaterial concept to influence any object in the physical realm based on the laws of physics.

If you are one that describes pain as an intuitive, inexplicable feeling like an emotion, then I suppose you could consider the possibility that the meaning of words can cause pain. The trouble with this explanation is that if you define pain as an emotion that is intuitive and inexplicable, everyone is subject to their own interpretation of what pain is, so there is no guarantee that everyone holds an objectively equal definition of pain. In this case you can be as sure as you want that you are right about the nature of pain, but you cannot prove to others that you are right; you have to let them find out the true meaning of pain and emotions on their own.

Short Answer:

Do words hurt? If you're a weak minded fool.

Short Answer:

Do words hurt? If you're a weak minded fool.

Suppose you are 97 years old and a person approaches you and starts shouting insults. Had this not occurred you would have lived another 3 to 5 years, but because of this incident you suffer a heart attack and died.

Are you suggesting this is your fault?

Any thoughts?

reply to post by Kashai


If an old man dies from shouting insults at him, he is probably a weak minded fool... as I said.

Originally posted by Wang Tang
reply to post by Kashai

 

If an old man dies from shouting insults at him, he is probably a weak minded fool... as I said.

Have you ever heard of Eugenics.....Perhaps we should accept people who die from insults subhuman
or as weak minded fools. Perhaps you are a weak minded fool who is so weak minded he is in cable
of compassion for those who 's shoulders you are standing upon.

Perhaps when you are in you 90's and at your great-grandchildren's birthday party a balloon explodes. And as a result you suffer a heart attack and are dead......I guess that will make you a weak minded fool

Perhaps you have no comprehension as to what it is that I am taking about, because you have a Personality Disorder. Perhaps we should all pretend for you that if you insult and 90+ year old person and they die, you are not criminally responsible. Perhaps you are not an example as to what is wrong with this world???

I doubt it.....I mean honestly one of the first signs of humanity (in respect to development) is caring for the elderly where does this put you???

Any thoughts?

reply to post by Kashai

My thoughts are that I think the people that think their negative words can't hurt others are feeling a disconnectedness ( psycopath's cannot empathize with or feel others pain and suffering) which is also common in people who think they can insult others to build up their vanity .
They seem to want to justify the harm they do to themselves and others by by saying the hearer of their insults (or negative words/ thoughts) are weak minded.
What is sad is that they really think they are strong by using their ( negative) words and speech to inflict wounds to others.
They are disconnected from reality and themselves.

reply to post by LesMisanthrope

The pen is mightier than the sword.
Words can incite a battle.

The first sign of humanity is a human brain contained in a human head attached to a human body.

reply to post by Wang Tang


Emotional pain can be measured in the brain - it exists, we are affected by emotional pain. Granted, some people cannot feel emotional pain and so emotions associated with words cannot "harm them".

An fMRI-Based Neurological Signature of Physical Pain
Study: Brain Scans Can Measure Pain
Emotional Pain and Physical Pain Activate Similar Brain Regions
How Much Does it Hurt? Let's Scan Your Brain

Pain has a very broad definition because, as you said, it is subjective. Pain is an emotional response to nerve irritation. There are people who are insensitive to physical pain (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain) just as there are people who are insensitive to emotional pain (Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder).

With that in mind, we can conclude that physical pain and emotional pain are both "real", since both can be scientifically measured.

I will use myself as an example:
- Physical pain does not bother me much; I've birthed three children ("the worst pain a woman can endure") without pain medication or cursing during the delivery and was laughing within seconds of the births.

When people are complaining about physical pain, my attitude tends to be, "Suck it up, it doesn't hurt that badly." Because, in my experience with the same physical injury, it doesn't hurt much at all. I have to consciously make an effort to feel empathy for people who are feeling what is, from my perspective, non-existent pain.

- Emotional pain cripples me. In some cases, emotional pain causes physical pain to my heart, my stomach; my lungs become restricted and I have trouble functioning, sometimes wishing I could die to escape the pain I'm feeling. There is no "get over it", because it is overwhelming.

When people are complaining about emotional pain, my attitude tends to be, "What can I do to help you with this pain?" Because, in my experiences with the same emotional injury, the pain is unbearable. I feel much empathy for people who are feeling emotional pain because I can identify with what they are feeling.

If you called me a, "weak minded fool" and those words "hurt my feelings" , creating an emotional response so large that I felt the need to resort to physical violence against you and nothing you did in your own defense hurt me so I severely injured you, I would look at you in derision as "the weak bodied fool who couldn't keep his/her mouth shut" and you'd scorn me as "the weak minded fool who had an emotional response to words".

Either way, someone would be "hurt" based on an exchange of words, and we'd each consider the other a fool.

Clearly, and we all know this already, it is our holistic response to words that causes pain, not the symbolic representation of thought we call 'words'.

reply to post by Kashai

defamation of character

If words hurt, wouldn't they charge for assault? Of course not, because no physical assault occurred. Why would someone sue for defamation of character? Because their vanities are at risk, their reputation is not how they wished it to appear, their character is defamed. Not a single drop of blood was spilled.

libel

libel |ˈlībəl|
noun
1 Law a published false statement that is damaging to a person's reputation; a written defamation. Compare with slander.
• the action or crime of publishing such a statement: a councilor who sued two national newspapers for libel | [ as modifier ] : a libel action.
• a false and malicious statement about a person.
• a thing or circumstance that brings undeserved discredit on a person by misrepresentation.
2 (in admiralty and ecclesiastical law) a plaintiff's written declaration.

slander

slander |ˈslandər|
nounLaw
the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging to a person's reputation: he is suing the TV network for slander. Compare with libel.
• a false and malicious spoken statement: I've had just about all I can stomach of your slanders.

reputation

reputation |ˌrepyəˈtāSHən|
noun
the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something: his reputation was tarnished by allegations that he had taken bribes.
• a widespread belief that someone or something has a particular habit or characteristic: his knowledge of his subject earned him a reputation as an expert.

character

character |ˈkariktər|
noun
1 the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual: running away was not in keeping with her character.
• the distinctive nature of something: gas lamps give the area its character.
• the quality of being individual, typically in an interesting or unusual way: the island is full of character.
• strength and originality in a person's nature: she had character as well as beauty.
• a person's good reputation: to what do I owe this attack on my character?
• dated a written statement of someone's good qualities; a recommendation.
2 a person in a novel, play, or movie.
• a part played by an actor.
• [ with adj. ] a person seen in terms of a particular aspect of character: he was a larger-than-life character | shady characters.
• informal an interesting or amusing individual: he's a real character.
3 a printed or written letter or symbol.
• Computing a symbol representing a letter or number.
4 chiefly Biology a characteristic, esp. one that assists in the identification of a species.

If your argument is that words can hurt the "character" of someone, or "financially injure" a "reputation", you're merely positing more non-entities as the suffering parties, when in fact it is your "mental and moral qualities" and your "beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something" that are at risk—your vanity. This is why I call it superstition. In each case, the individual has not received any injury; he merely doesn't like to be lied about. No one wants to appear different than they wish they would appear.

If someone lied about you and you never knew, or they lied about you in a language you didn't understand, would you still feel pain? Would those words, however false and malicious, harm you in any way? Of course not, because its not the words that hurt, it is the way you think about them and yourself.

Are you your reputation? Are you what people think of you?

vanity |ˈvanətē|
noun ( pl. vanities )
1 excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements: it flattered his vanity to think I was in love with him | the personal vanities and ambitions of politicians.

Good point.

reply to post by BDBinc

No don't be silly, its the voice. The voice is never separated from the words.
So in the case of a voice omitted loudly into your ear it would hurt you physically. Your analogy was impotent and out of place as punching someone has nothing to do with words.

Your analogy is just as impotent, as words have nothing to do with the way sound hurts eardrums. Have you ever been to a metal concert? Could you understand the words? Was it really the words hurting your eardrums? Or was it the sound?

My analogy is ridiculous because it is the exact same as your analogy.

I mean this is 3rd grade stuff here.

reply to post by LesMisanthrope


If words can't hurt and are essentially ineffectual in general; regardless of the intent...

Then why continue this thread? Ego? Pride? or just in love with the sound of your own voice?

reply to post by LesMisanthrope


Do you speak to people in the manner you write to people on this forum? Being condescending requires words.
If you were to go up to people and call them certain names (words) you might find it would hurt you.

reply to post by olaru12


Probably for the same reasons you reply to it.

reply to post by Itisnowagain


Do you always attack people instead of their arguments when you debate a topic?

Does your opinion say more about me or more about you?

Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
reply to post by Itisnowagain

 

Do you always attack people instead of their arguments when you debate a topic?

Does your opinion say more about me or more about you?

edit on 10-5-2013 by LesMisanthrope because: (no reason given)

Do you read the 'words' as an attack?
Is this not your argument? Do words hurt?

reply to post by LesMisanthrope

Is it the word 'condescending' that you saw as a 'personal' attack?
You ask 'Do words hurt?' and have spent a lot of energy telling everyone that words do not hurt. I have given you something to consider - if you walk up to certain people and say certain words, you will get hurt. Put your theory into practice and report back.

reply to post by LesMisanthrope


I just finished reading misfits by James Howe which was enjoyable if perhaps aimed at young adults Here is a summary. It does argue the opposite of the OP. Worth a read whatever your view.