Be more gentle and patient when educating your working class comradesLudwig Wittgenstein (whether you like him or not is besides the point) was a philosopher who talked about something called "language-games." He meant this in a similar way to different types of games we play, like board games, sports, or war games.
His idea was that words and sentences get their meaning from how we use them and the context in which we use them. For example, the word "water" can be used in different ways and have different meanings depending on the situation. It could be a request for someone to get you water, a warning that the water is poisoned, or even a secret code.
So, according to Wittgenstein, language is like a game where the rules are made up of how we use words and sentences, and the meaning comes from playing the game and following those rules.
People often get confused and frustrated when they talk about different things but use the same words. This is like playing a game with someone, but you each think you're playing a different game.
Imagine you and your friend are playing a game of cards. You think you're playing a game where the goal is to get the highest number, but your friend thinks it's a game where you want the lowest number. You both keep playing and arguing about who's winning, but you're never going to agree because you're playing by different rules.
This happens a lot in conversations and arguments. We use the same words but mean different things, or we think we're talking about the same idea but we're actually not. This can lead to unproductive arguments where no one understands each other and everyone gets frustrated.
The key to avoiding this is to make sure we understand each other before we start arguing or discussing something in depth. We need to clarify what we mean by certain words and ideas, and be open to learning that someone else might use those words differently. That way, we're all playing by the same rules and can have a more meaningful conversation.
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