Language furnishes the best proof that a law accepted by a community is a thingthat is toleratedand not a rule to which all freely consent.
Ferdinand De Saussure
Last edited by Tdol; 18-Dec-2006 at 14:42.
Reason: To include the complete quote
Regardless of whether we like it (or are even consciously aware of it) most of the time we are all far more under the spell of authority than we care to imagine.
With all my respect for the founding father of structural linguistics, I can't agree with that.
Yes, 'a law accepted by a community is a thing that is tolerated and not a rule to which all freely consent.' But the nature of language is different. It's not something external to people who speak it. A language is not something they can deny or accept. It's part of their psyche, their collective unconscious. How can a sane person have such an attitude towards his inner self described in terms of tolerance?
Regardless of whether we like it (or are even consciously aware of it) most of the time we are all far more under the spell of authority than we care to imagine.
I wouldn't say more "golden" words than the ones above ,,,,
Language furnishes the best proof that a law accepted by a community is a thing that is tolerated and not a rule to which all freely consent. ~ Ferdinand De Saussure
The justice of the legislation is found in its ability to be accessible and open to variation in keeping with changing community needs and practices. As Giddens argues, "Social conduct depends upon ... the frames of meaning which lay actors themselves draw upon in constituting and reconstituting the social world" (1993:163). Justice is found when the law valids these frames of meaning, rather than simply matching instrumental intentions and outcomes.
Language furnishes the best proof.. 
Re: Language furnishes the best proof.. 
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