the anaesethetic of the familiar

(Above; the Harvard psych-cognoscenti eagerly await the commencement of Mr Pinker's address)

I went (with Gareth who's written about it too) to hear Steven Pinker speak about/from his new book yesterday. He's no fool, knows what an audience might enjoy and decided to focus on the chapter about swearing. Very popular. He used a great phrase while talking about the uses of swearing - describing it as a way of overcome 'the anaesthetic of the familiar' to shock people into noticing something. And that struck me as a really useful idea in a lot of circumstances. So much of our lives (especially our business/work lives) is trammeled by convention and habit that we're suffocated by the anaesthetic of the familiar a lot.

And he introduced a word I'd never heard of but really liked too - dysphemism. It seems that a dysphemism is essentially the opposite of a euphemism. So while a euphemism allows you to talk about a topic without confronting the nasty reality of that topic (say 'poo') a dysphemism is an intentionally hard word intending to confront you with that reality and make you examine if (say 'shit'). Again this would seem to have a lot of applications in business life, which is festooned with euphemisms, concealing reality and causing bad decisions. The interesting challenge might be to find the dysphemistic words that will usefully confront people, rather than just saying 'your business is shit'.

Comments

[Peter]

What's the evidence that the use of euphemisms in business leads to bad decisions? I doubt that their use has any adverse affect on decision-making processes or outcomes.

I would venture that most euphemisms, like statements of political-correctness (so-called), are used for reasons of politeness. Some may think this means the speaker is sparing people's feelings or molly-coddling them; rather, I think such politeness is a measure of civilization.

[Charlie Gower]

Thank you, I have learnt a new word I can rest easy now. My work here is done. Also, might it be nice to have a 'tea morning' in the New Piccadilly before it's too late?

[Mike Wagner]

This post has my mind racing.

The observation concerning euphemism as a means of deflecting makes perfect sense to me.

But then again, I have been in certain settings where intentionally harsh words were so commonly used that they became the familiar and lost their impact.

Thanks for stirring things up.

Keep creating,
Mike

[russell]

I guess that's my point. I'm not suggesting that everyone starts swearing any more than they do, or being disrespectful, but that we should pay attention to language to make sure that when an issue needs to be discussed, and its reality needs to acknowledged, that we think hard about the words we use - to make sure that they're 'appropriately harsh'. Meaning not swearing but real. So that we don't end up with more words like downsizing.

As Steven Pinker went on to say in his talk most relationships would be impossible without euphemism and hypocrisy most of the time. And that's fine. That is, indeed, civilisation. It's just that every now and then we need to break out of that.

[Deborah]

Indeed. Excellent post Russell. Thank you. I will weave this into my work, somehow. I too am obsessing about this new word and desparate to find a situation to use it in. Soonest.

I am interested in covert objectives and how these often manifest themselves as sub-text. In other words, as Stanislavski identitfied over 100 years ago, we are all playing an objective. Always. This informs how we deliver the words and, more importantly, how they are received. What we feel leaks out.

Suppose this translates as if we really mean the business or idea or process or response or whatever is shit, that is what they will hear, see and feel.

So let's try and be respectfully honest. And never, ever be formulaic.

[Carl]

I've just finished reading Unspeak by Stephen Poole which covers a similar subject. Well worth reading

[gabriel]

Swearing is a form of releasing the frustrations, or a way to express yourself in a very "expressive" manner...but one must be very careful on the communication context In my country there is a stand up comedy monologue on this theme witch is very known and witch brought a national awareness to the artist... So the four letter word and his family can bring you fame, but you must keep in mind that is a two edges sword ...

[petar]

building upon your point, mister Davies,

I have been wondering/observing a development the last couple of months, and was wondering if you had some insight.

More and more dialogue in commercial, movies and tv series has a very strong passive agressive tone.

Passive-aggressive behavior refers to passive, sometimes obstructionist resistance to following authoritative instructions in interpersonal or occupational situations. It can manifest itself as resentment, stubbornness, procrastination, sullenness, or repeated failure to accomplish requested tasks for which one is assumed, often explicitly, to be responsible. It is a defensive mechanism and, more often than not, only partly conscious. For example, people who are passive-aggressive might take so long to get ready for a party they do not wish to attend, that the party is nearly over by the time they arrive. source: Wikipedia.

it seems that asking/ saying what you mean has been reduced to a stereotype or a relic from a gloriuos past. it is as if people think that by not saying what you mean or doing, you are cunning and reading the others mind. A couple of years ago the slained politician Pim Fortuyn, did say what he (and a large passive majority, who turned rather more active) was thinking. what happened was a political earthquake.

Is spinning ( as in what politicians do) becoming the norm?, is Passive-aggressive behavior becoming the standard?

[Drew B]

Love this dysphemism malarky and it makes perfect sense. When working with company spokespeople, we often encourage them to be as robust with their opinions as possible. Could it be we're asking them to be more dysphministic / dysphemistic? Am I using the right wording here? (resisting not using a swear word as a crap joke to round off this comment)