Love and anger are two passions in the same thread of emotion. They exist in the same world, as siblings or bickering lovers. Opposites attract and all that. Love and anger are more related than love and lust, despite the fact that love and lust get confused so much. Lust is a want, a desire. It can be manifestly expressed, physically and verbally. "I want you" can be embellished in so many ways but still boils down to the same basic meaning. Love and anger extend to the point of speechlessness; "more than words can describe" is a cliche for a reason. Language is not complex or clear enough to accurately describe what needs describing. It reminds me of Derrida's statement that language is unstable; words only meanings are the images that we prescribe to them. The word 'tree' means nothing without the image of a tree, but the tree doesn't cease to exist if the word disappears. In the case of love and anger, we have no concrete image with which to associate with the words. Emotions are such an abstract notion; each person feels them differently, at different levels and capacities.
We can't expect to find one word to describe such complexities, but what if we could? I had a conversation about this the other with a wonderful group of young men. We discussed so much, but one thing that I was intrigued by was an idea that one day we may share a worldwide language. If that happens, what language do we choose? A language like French has the capacity to describe emotion much better than English, which, despite all of its complexities, is a simply descriptive language that focuses on comparative details that can't always necessarily express what needs to be expressed. Will a language evolve to the communicative needs of the user? Or are some things beyond what language has the capability to express? I think that part of why emotion is so powerful is because it is beyond language. It is variable in people, and complex in a way that can't always be described. It is so meaningful that even something as strong as language can't fully express it. As soon as language is stronger than the emotions is describes, the emotion is no longer that meaningful enigma it once was. It is not so powerful as to be beyond expression, undervaluing emotion because it can now be so easily said.
Universal language? Esperanto.
ReplyDeleteAs for expressing feelings: Late in the evening, as I close the living room window, I catch the fresh nighttime scent of the creek and the oak-strewn hills just beyond the property. These fragrances have an ecstasy to them, and they evoke nostalgias for other places I've been. Yet how can I share these feelings with anyone? How can even a close friend understand the particulars of my mental state? I'd love to express them so the other person can "get it", but even my best words can only be filtered, Derrida-style, through their own unique memories and feelings. It's like seeing a friend on the other side of a chasm, but, no matter how you stretch out your hand, you can't ever reach them.
Jim Hull