Naming something allows one to put it in a box. Once something is in a box, it can be put away so it doesn't have to be thought about anymore. Oh, that's X and all the magic and mystery goes away out of it.
This is true to some extent, and it's often a problem; it's where stereotypes and biases come from, for instance. Naming things too discretely, rather than giving oneself the continuum of information that real people (and things) often possess.
On the othe rhand, there's something to be said for it in some circumstances too. There's only so much thinking that can really be done in any given length of time, after all, and naming things and thus being able to shunt them allows for that time to be spent on things that might be more worthy of extended consideration. It's all a matter of where you think it's most important to spend your effort and, of course, how much effort one has available to spend in the first place.
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Date: 2002-08-14 02:23 pm (UTC)This is true to some extent, and it's often a problem; it's where stereotypes and biases come from, for instance. Naming things too discretely, rather than giving oneself the continuum of information that real people (and things) often possess.
On the othe rhand, there's something to be said for it in some circumstances too. There's only so much thinking that can really be done in any given length of time, after all, and naming things and thus being able to shunt them allows for that time to be spent on things that might be more worthy of extended consideration. It's all a matter of where you think it's most important to spend your effort and, of course, how much effort one has available to spend in the first place.