3 ms·
>Swearing, then, is as offensive as it is not because of some magic ingredient possessed by swear words but lacked by other words, but because when we swear, ou
by s3arch 11y ago
>Swearing, then, is as offensive as it is not because of some magic ingredient possessed by swear words but lacked by other words, but because when we swear, our audience knows that we do so in the knowledge that they will find it offensive.
Interestingly, While I was a kid, I used to think that since God created Darkness and Light, he must have created both Good and Bad....
But later as I grew up, I have realized that, its the purpose and end-results of something things we do, defines it either good or bad.
- hcrisp 11y agoIt is a matter of the heart, which is why the final statement in the article that swearing is not immoral rings hollow. The author tries to deconstruct what swearing is, but fails to mention "cursing" which calls evil down on someone (hate speech indeed), or "oaths" whereby one binds the validity of their word to something or someone of more worth than themself (e.g., swearing in a court of law, or phrases like the Roman's "by Jove"). Today, other than cursing, what we call swearing now is more related to vulgarity and blasphemy. All of which are harmful (and immoral) speech given the right motives. A much more edifying article about the morality of swearing is this one: http://www.pement.org/docs/swearing.htm http://www.pement.org/docs/swearing.htm