Linguistic Nihilism

[Veritas Aequitas]

Muchas gracias for the replies guys 'n' gals.

1. If linguistic nihilism is not true then communication should be effective.
2. Communication is not effective.
Ergo,
3. Linguistic nihilism is true.

To ensure survival of the individual[s], groups and humanity, communication is critical.

• Communication is usually defined as the transmission of information.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication

• Communication can be classified based on whether information is exchanged between humans, members of other species, or non-living entities such as computers. For human communication, an important distinction is between verbal and non-verbal communication.
  Verbal communication involves the exchange of messages in linguistic form.
  Verbal communication refers to the exchange of messages in linguistic form or by means of language.
  Ibid:

Regardless of how you measure whether language is effective for humanity's communication thus survival, language is the optimal best at present.
If we get rid of languages, because of language nihilism, what better alternatives do we have for communication to facilitate survival?

If we don't have any better alternative, all we need to do is to improve on our current competence is the use of language.
As stated by others, it is evident there are loads of progress since verbal language first appear within humanity, so we just continue to improve on it, until there are better alternatives to language [I don't think there will be within the next 500 years].

If I don't speak, you won't understand and if I do speak, you'll misunderstand. This is the dilemma of language.

Note the problem when people of different languages meet the first time and try to communicate with each other. They will misunderstand, but driven for survival sake, they will keep grinding at it and in time establish effective understandings at least to know what is edible and what is not edible.

Humans are also evolved a language function which facilitates quicker understanding of languages.

Wernicke's area (/ˈvɛərnɪkə/; German: [ˈvɛɐ̯nɪkə]), also called Wernicke's speech area, is one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex that are linked to speech, the other being Broca's area.
It is involved in the comprehension of written and spoken language, in contrast to Broca's area, which is primarily involved in the production of language.
It is traditionally thought to reside in Brodmann area 22, which is located in the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere, which is the left hemisphere in about 95% of right-handed individuals and 70% of left-handed individuals.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke%27s_area

As you note human has evolved to be adapted to improve and optimize the use of language.
As with the moral sense, when we are able to understand the fuller functions and mechanisms of the language center of the brain, there is room for greater and effective communicaition via language

There are many ways to mitigate the limitation of language which we have no other choice to communicate to facilitate the survival and progress of humanity.

Note,
The Principle of Charity
The heuristic approach
Critical thinking
Loosen up dogmatic thinking
Improve listening skills,
Improve language and writing skills,
and so on.

Re 'linguistic nihilism' it would be more appropriate to apply it to specific languages that hinder the progress of humanity. Here is one that we should get rid of, but unfortunately there are still remnants of followers as evidenced in some posters here.

Note https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinary_ ... philosophy#
Ordinary language philosophy (OLP[1]) is a philosophical methodology that sees traditional philosophical problems as rooted in misunderstandings philosophers develop by distorting or forgetting how words are ordinarily used to convey meaning in non-philosophical contexts. "Such 'philosophical' uses of language, on this view, create the very philosophical problems they are employed to solve."

[Agent Smith]

To ensure survival of the individual[s], groups and humanity, communication is critical.

• Communication is usually defined as the transmission of information.
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication

• Communication can be classified based on whether information is exchanged between humans, members of other species, or non-living entities such as computers. For human communication, an important distinction is between verbal and non-verbal communication.
  Verbal communication involves the exchange of messages in linguistic form.
  Verbal communication refers to the exchange of messages in linguistic form or by means of language.
  Ibid:

Regardless of how you measure whether language is effective for humanity's communication thus survival, language is the optimal best at present.
If we get rid of languages, because of language nihilism, what better alternatives do we have for communication to facilitate survival?

If we don't have any better alternative, all we need to do is to improve on our current competence is the use of language.
As stated by others, it is evident there are loads of progress since verbal language first appear within humanity, so we just continue to improve on it, until there are better alternatives to language [I don't think there will be within the next 500 years].

If I don't speak, you won't understand and if I do speak, you'll misunderstand. This is the dilemma of language.

Note the problem when people of different languages meet the first time and try to communicate with each other. They will misunderstand, but driven for survival sake, they will keep grinding at it and in time establish effective understandings at least to know what is edible and what is not edible.

Humans are also evolved a language function which facilitates quicker understanding of languages.

Wernicke's area (/ˈvɛərnɪkə/; German: [ˈvɛɐ̯nɪkə]), also called Wernicke's speech area, is one of the two parts of the cerebral cortex that are linked to speech, the other being Broca's area.
It is involved in the comprehension of written and spoken language, in contrast to Broca's area, which is primarily involved in the production of language.
It is traditionally thought to reside in Brodmann area 22, which is located in the superior temporal gyrus in the dominant cerebral hemisphere, which is the left hemisphere in about 95% of right-handed individuals and 70% of left-handed individuals.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernicke%27s_area

As you note human has evolved to be adapted to improve and optimize the use of language.
As with the moral sense, when we are able to understand the fuller functions and mechanisms of the language center of the brain, there is room for greater and effective communicaition via language

There are many ways to mitigate the limitation of language which we have no other choice to communicate to facilitate the survival and progress of humanity.

Note,
The Principle of Charity
The heuristic approach
Critical thinking
Loosen up dogmatic thinking
Improve listening skills,
Improve language and writing skills,
and so on.

Re 'linguistic nihilism' it would be more appropriate to apply it to specific languages that hinder the progress of humanity. Here is one that we should get rid of, but unfortunately there are still remnants of followers as evidenced in some posters here.

Note https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinary_ ... philosophy#
Ordinary language philosophy (OLP[1]) is a philosophical methodology that sees traditional philosophical problems as rooted in misunderstandings philosophers develop by distorting or forgetting how words are ordinarily used to convey meaning in non-philosophical contexts. "Such 'philosophical' uses of language, on this view, create the very philosophical problems they are employed to solve."

I see you have done your homework. Fantabulous!

Linguistic nihilism shall remain unjustified and so you may refute it at will mon ami.