Guide to Critical Thinking

1.5 The Importance of Language in Logic
The foregoing distinction of the different uses and meanings of the word argument show the 
importance of employing language precisely. In addition to creating misunderstandings, mis-
used words or the lack of knowledge of distinctions in meaning also prevent us from formulat-
ing clear positions about matters that pertain to our personal goals and happiness. Language 
affects how we think, what we experience, how we experience it, and the kind of lives we lead.
Language is our most efficient means of communicating what is in our minds. However, it is 
not the only means by which humans communicate. We also communicate via facial expres-
sions, gestures, and emotions. However, these nonverbal cues often need clarifying words so 
we can clearly grasp what someone else is expressing or feeling, especially people we don’t 
know very well. If we see a stranger crying, for example, we might not be able to distinguish 
at first glance if the tears are from happiness or sadness. If we are visiting a foreign land and 
hear a man speaking in a loud voice and gesturing wildly, we might not know if he is quarrel-
ling or just very enthusiastic unless we understand his language.
This suggests that words matter very much because they are the universal means for making 
ourselves clear to others. This may seem obvious, since we all use language to communi-
cate and, generally speaking, seem to manage satisfactorily. What we do not often recognize, 
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Section 1.5 
The Importance of Language in Logic
however, is the difference we could experience if we took full advantage of clear and precise 
language in its optimal form. One result could be that many will no longer ignore what we say. 
Another could be that as our vocabulary expands, we will no longer be limited to what we can 
express to others or in what we can grasp from our experiences.
Suppose, for example, that you are invited to a dinner that unbeknownst to you introduces 
you to a spice you have never tasted before. As you savor the food on your plate, you may taste 
something unfamiliar, but the new flavor may be too faint for you, amidst the otherwise famil-
iar flavors of the dish you are consuming. In fact, you may be cognitively unaware of the char-
acter of this new flavor because you are unable to identify it by name and, thus, as a new 
flavor category in your experience.
According to philosopher David Hume (1757), many 
of us do not have a sensitive enough palate to actually 
recognize new or unfamiliar flavors in familiar taste 
experiences. For those who do, it would seem that the 
test of a sensitive palate lies not with strong flavors 
but with faint ones. However, recent neurobiological 
research suggests that our responses to taste are not 
entirely dependent on the refinement of our sensory 
properties but, rather, on higher levels of linguistic 
processing (Grabenhorst, Rolls, & Bilderbeck, 2008). 
In other words, if you cannot describe it, it may be 
quite possible you are unable to taste it; our ability to 
skillfully use language thus improves our experience.
Logicians and philosophers in general take lan-
guage very seriously because it is the best means for 
expressing our thoughts, to be understood by others, 
and to clarify ideas that are in need of clarification. 
Communicating in a language, however, is more com-
plex than we recognize. As renowned philosopher 
John Searle observed, “Speaking a language is engag-
ing in a rule-governed form of behavior” (Searle, 
1969, p. 22). This means that whenever we talk or 
write, we are performing according to specific rules. 
Pauses in speech are represented by punctuation 
marks such as commas or periods. If we do not pause, 
the meaning of the same string of words could change its meaning completely. The same prin-
ciple applies in writing. But although we are more conscious of making such pauses in speech, 
sometimes we overlook their importance in writing. A clever saying on a T-shirt illustrates this 
point, and it reads as follows:
Let’s eat Grandma.
Let’s eat, Grandma.
Commas save lives.
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