Language is the house of Being. Man lives in his home. Those who think and those who create with words are the guardians of this home. “Martin Heidegger, German philosopher, Letter on Humanism, 1947.
The philosopher José Ortega y Gasset once said that man has no nature, only history. While I respect this opinion, I believe that the true human nature of man is language. Just as the lesser god Prometheus delivered fire to man, a greater god delivered a great blessing to mankind: language.
After years of reflecting on what Martin Heidegger meant by “Language is the house of being,” I finally realized (while watching catastrophic news on television) that Heidegger meant that language is not just a construction, a shelter, a building, an abode. , but the soul of humanity – container of infinity.
Through language we seek heaven and earth; Through language we accept or reject God; Through language we accept or reject the absolutes that guide the human race.
And yes, it is only through language that we experience aesthetic bliss and love. Although happiness and love are more akin to emotional life, the viscera, the central nervous system, the body can only partially express happiness and love. Language is essential, or if not, try telling painters, poets, and writers.
Take Trollope (in Pendennis history): “It is better to love wisely, no doubt; but to love foolishly is better than not being able to love at all.” And Trollope went on to fill the library shelves with language and love.
We think and feel using words. Although words are more adept and suitable for thinking than for feeling, we still recognize that even our deepest emotions must be turned into words to express what we feel. When we immerse ourselves in a good book we feel with and for the characters: with Don Quixote and Sancho we experience the true meaning of friendship; with Anna Karenina and Aschenbach we feel the exquisite pains of deeply tormented souls; with Remedios La Belleza we ascend to heaven.
Can we build science without language? Isn’t language the container of patterns, axioms, equations, paradigms, and formulas? Can wisdom be achieved without language?
Even the most recalcitrant nihilist or atheist needs language to refute the existence of God; the same God who gave him the gift of language.
When humans master a language, they are never homeless. Even when their houses are burned – as we watched the flames destroy thousands of houses in San Diego, California – their spirit, their humanity survives in the House of Being – Infinity.