Name
Term: Name
Method: Stream of Conscious
Name: Both verb and noun, name may be the most powerful word in the English language. Without a name, a thing does not exist. For example, I cannot exist in society without a name. Because I exist in a matrix of relationships created by human discourse, I must have a name, otherwise I cannot be considered. The same applies for all objects. Imagine that which you cannot imagine! I once asked a question of a leading astro-physicist: "What is the universe expanding into?" His response: "Not nothing." Even the inexpressible has a name, if an odd one.
The value of name (n.) comes from to name (v.). Homo Sapiens, the wise man, might better be re-named the naming creature. This is what gives us powerÂreal, imagined, virtualÂover all things. So what you might ask? Are naming practices exercises in control? When Americans owned slaves, the slaveowner often named his Âproperty with animal-like names, with child-like names or with fanciful names. As African Americans freed themselves or found themselves with the power to name their children, they often chose noble names (Charles), strong names (Caesar), or revolutionary names (Moses, i.e. the guy who lead his people to freedom). Even so, Whites continued to reduce Black namesÂto Chas. instead of Charles for example. Similarly, women have historically had to give up their names upon marriage, a symbolic bowing to the power of the husband to re-name. This makes it difficult for historians to track authors who wrote as single women before disappearing into near-namelessness. And what of children? When we name children do we grab power? Names like Jr. or the IIIrd are obvious examples, but even naming a child after a favorite television star or because neighbors gave their children the same name (Oh God, how many 18 year old AshleyÂs can there be in this world!) suggests the exercise of power at some level even if only the power to conform to societyÂs naming practices.
Thus the beauty of the blog. Those of us who get to blog get to name ourselves, whether it be by employing our real names or by taking on a persona or character. Thus definer.
Method: Stream of Conscious
Name: Both verb and noun, name may be the most powerful word in the English language. Without a name, a thing does not exist. For example, I cannot exist in society without a name. Because I exist in a matrix of relationships created by human discourse, I must have a name, otherwise I cannot be considered. The same applies for all objects. Imagine that which you cannot imagine! I once asked a question of a leading astro-physicist: "What is the universe expanding into?" His response: "Not nothing." Even the inexpressible has a name, if an odd one.
The value of name (n.) comes from to name (v.). Homo Sapiens, the wise man, might better be re-named the naming creature. This is what gives us powerÂreal, imagined, virtualÂover all things. So what you might ask? Are naming practices exercises in control? When Americans owned slaves, the slaveowner often named his Âproperty with animal-like names, with child-like names or with fanciful names. As African Americans freed themselves or found themselves with the power to name their children, they often chose noble names (Charles), strong names (Caesar), or revolutionary names (Moses, i.e. the guy who lead his people to freedom). Even so, Whites continued to reduce Black namesÂto Chas. instead of Charles for example. Similarly, women have historically had to give up their names upon marriage, a symbolic bowing to the power of the husband to re-name. This makes it difficult for historians to track authors who wrote as single women before disappearing into near-namelessness. And what of children? When we name children do we grab power? Names like Jr. or the IIIrd are obvious examples, but even naming a child after a favorite television star or because neighbors gave their children the same name (Oh God, how many 18 year old AshleyÂs can there be in this world!) suggests the exercise of power at some level even if only the power to conform to societyÂs naming practices.
Thus the beauty of the blog. Those of us who get to blog get to name ourselves, whether it be by employing our real names or by taking on a persona or character. Thus definer.
posted by Definer at 4:45 AM
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