Words-as-Darkness
Words-as-Darkness The Shadow Side of Language, Meaning, and Power I. Orientation: Why Darkness Must Be Named If Words-as-Light explains how language illuminates reality, then Words-as-Darkness is the necessary counter-doctrine: the study of how language obscures, distorts, fractures, and destroys . Darkness is not merely the absence of light. It is often engineered . Likewise, linguistic darkness is not mere ignorance. It is frequently produced , maintained , and weaponized . This paper exists because unexamined words rule unseen. II. The Core Claim (Stated Precisely) Words function as darkness when they obscure truth, fracture coherence, distort perception, and generate suffering by corrupting meaning. Just as light enables sight, words enable understanding . And just as corrupted light can blind, corrupted words can destroy cognition, conscience, and community . III. Darkness as Misapplied Meaning Dark words do not usually announce themselves as evil. They...