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6286 Foe- Personal names tabooed
http://foe.typepad.com/blog/2003/12/personal_names_.html
"Unable to discriminate clearly between words and things, the savage [sic] commonly fancies that the link between a name and the person or thing denominated by it is not a mere arbitrary and ideal association, but a real and substantial bond which unites the two in such a way that magic may be wrought on a man just as easily through his name as through his hair, his nails, or any other material part of his person." -- This is intriguing. Echoes of Ong, oral culture, and magic. Having a word for something gives you power over it, because it can be identified and discussed. The group-mind can attack it; giving something a word is for the group-mind what associating a symbol with a perception [external/internal sensation + brain feedback] is for the brain itself. No wonder words feel like spells! No wonder it feels like magic! This is the semiotcracy. This is ontological Sapir-Whorf. If you can give a name to the fact these people are stealing crops, you can do something about it. If you can name the people.

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