I know it is a bit lazy and trite to make use of the title
of Kundera’s wonderful book for my own purposes. However, it makes a point that I want to take
advantage of.
When people take words as set, plain and simple, unchanging
things, words become light. When words
become detached from the ideas that they represent, words become light. When the distance between words and things,
which is bridged by ideas, is ignored or forgotten, words become light. Language becomes dysfunctional and
ineffective, when words become light. This
situation is untenable; it is unbearable.
Words have become light and flimsy things. Well to be fair, many words have almost always
been used primarily in a light way. Sometimes
that is good, and sometimes it is bad.
It of course depends on the context.
Everyday words are used very lightly and understandably so. We know what water and pens are and can use
the words in a light way. In both cases,
using the words—and thoughts that the ideas and physical things they are both
attached to—usually does not require a heavy word or deep understanding of the
word/idea/thing. In everyday use, light
words make daily life easier and help it run smoothly. It is not on that level that I am criticizing
the lightness of words. I don’t think we
need to think seriously about water every time we ask for a glass of it at a
restaurant or about a pen every time we need to ask to borrow one to write
something down.
The dangers arise when words are always used in a light way
and taken to be essentially light things; that is I want to focus on. When we disagree about the use or meaning of
words, the words need to me taken seriously, and we need to realize that they
are heavy things that are tied to ideas and physical objects or realities: physical
things. Those physical things are not
directly represented by the words; the words represent the ideas. The ideas are a result of the interpretation
and understanding of the physical things.
The words are not the ideas—just as the ideas are not the things—but
they are used to represent them as a sort of shorthand or symbol.
When we forget that the words are only a representation of
an idea—interpretation or understanding—, then words become light and to a
certain extent they become meaningless in their connection to the physical
word. If the physical word changes, the
light word will no longer be able to allow us meaningful and productive
interaction with the world (or with other people). If the idea changes, or people that you are
interacting with have different ideas attached to the words (or to the physical
objects/ realities) and the word and user of the word don’t take notice, then
the word becomes somewhat useless. In
fact, it becomes worse than useless; it becomes a center of misunderstanding
and maybe even conflict. When we fail to
realize that some disagreements are the result of more than just ignorance of
the facts or plain stupidity, we take words as essentially light things. We fail to realize that some disagreements
are the result of differences in the words that stem from differences in ideas
and interpretations of physical things.
It is not every day that we need to feel the weight of
words: the chain that ties them to ideas and through ideas to the physical
world. But if we never feel the weight
of words they will evaporate into a mist.
They will lose their usefulness and relevance. Though we may not feel the weight of words
often, we must never forget that they are always heavy things, even when we use
them lightly. The background awareness
of how heavy language is will keep the words from evaporating, even if we don’t
often consider or feel the weight of them.
To make use of Kundera’s title can be using his words in
either a light or heavy way. If I were
using them just to get your attention and draw you in with something familiar
and deep sounding, then it would be light.
That is not my reason for choosing my title.
Kundera’s novel deals with issues of choice, significance,
meaning and reoccurrence (much of it in response or in opposition to the ideas of
Nietzsche). The benefits and drawbacks
of lightness and heaviness are explored in the novel, and it is that
exploration and tension that I wish to make reference to by using Kundera’s words
as a title for my here. I may or may not
agree with the conclusions that he and his characters come to in the book, but
it is an exploration that does not dodge important questions and feelings.
When we use words we should, at least
occasionally, take time to explore the difficult questions of the lightness and
heaviness of them and not dodge the issue. We should never forget that words and language
are heavy things and need to be respected as such.
