This paper examines the conception of language as fixed ‘names’, a view that, as I shall show, reduces conversation in classroom to a mere exchange of words. Within such a narrow understanding of language, disagreement tends to be seen as something merely to be resolved or to be corrected, making genuine conversation even more difficult. In school, genuine dialogue becomes possible only when we unsettle the fixed meanings of the words we use. Drawing on the insights of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Stanley Cavell, I discuss the uncertainty inherent in conversation and how it can be acknowledged as the very nature of language. For this, the paper engages with Wittgenstein’s critique of the linguistic dogmatism to demonstrate how the belief in linguistic certainty constrains genuine educational conversation. Then I turn to his concept of 'language-games' to illuminate the situatedness and variability inherent in our linguistic practice. Building on W‘s understanding of uncertainty, Cavell turns the discussion to ethical responsibility. He suggests that insisting on certainty constitutes a failure of acknowledgment, as it disturbs us to understanding and acknowledging the essential uncertainty in our relation to the other and the world. Through these, this paper seeks to challenge the rigid belief in fixed linguistic meaning. By doing so, I propose that the classroom should not be a field for language exchange, but a safe place to enable true conversation.

Authors:
Youngseok Kim, Pusan National University, South Korea

About the Presenter(s)
Master’s student, PNU Education. Interests: Ethics of language, dialogue, Wittgenstein & Cavell. Project: Challenging linguistic certainty for ethical responsibility.

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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