Jason Stanley has a commentary posted on the NY Times, The Ways of Silencing, in which he discusses how certain political discourse can silence people, or deny people access to language or vocabulary. Drawing on Catharine MacKinnon, Jennifer Hornsby, and Rae Langton, he writes:
Silencing in the sense described by Hornsby and Langton robs others of the ability to engage in speech acts, such as assertion. But there is another kind of silencing familiar in the political domain, not discussed by these authors. It is possible to silence people by denying them access to the vocabulary to express their claims.
One of the best investigations of propaganda was presented by Victor Klemperer, in his book “The Language of the Third Reich.” The data for Klemperer’s claims was the language used by the Third Reich. But the points he makes are applicable to propaganda in the service of much more mundane endeavors, be it to pass health care reform or to increase or decrease taxes. The use of propaganda is not limited to a single political affiliation or intent.
Via Feminist Philosophers, which also has a great discussion going about silence, silencing, and other concerns related to Stanley’s post.
