Kwame Anthony Appiah's “Making Conversation” and “The Primary of Practice”

Introduction

Like all the other debates, the argument of Anthony Appiah is emphasized upon the concepts of “cosmopolitan” and “globalization”. He assesses whether thought controls language or language controls thought is ultimately improvable. In few instances, we see that thoughts control the way we speak and content we deliver through the use of language. The author seeks to explain how culture brings people together and how cultural dissimilarities actually result in the connection of people through different contexts. In other instances we see that language tends to control our expressions and cognitive directions. The influence of linguistics on the formation of thoughts has been a concerning argument among many linguists and analysts. Language, including vocabulary, models and symbols not only facilitate the process of guiding thinking and even control the way of thinking. Hence, through this viewpoint, we can suggest that language indeed liberates the human mind and frees it from thought that continually build inside. In our view too, language shapes the structures of thought and not the individual instances (Barrios, 13-189).

Discussion

People, who do not understand their own social situation and surroundings, remain prisoners of the dominant culture imposed on them. These people do not know how to tackle with their experiences to say what they mean. For them, language creates an imprisoning feeling where their actual thoughts remain suppressed or neglected. On the other hand, for people who know their social standing and cultural edge, use language as a tool to express their opinions at the right time. The timing and the way of expression, controlled by the speaker is an added requirement for an effective use of language in an attempt to free the human mind (Taylor, 453-474).

Appiah's concept of “Cosmopolitanism”

The main argument in Appiah's concept of cosmopolitanism is that the world neds more diversity than uniformity in the recent times. Communication has always been a dominant domain of culture. The relationship between culture and communication is close yet complex. Communication is a means of human interaction through which cultural practices, beliefs, norms, rituals, and patterns are shared. Culture is a residue of social interaction that takes place between families, friends, and peers in a specific community. Without communication, cultural heritage can neither be promoted nor preserved. Cultural characteristics can only be transmitted from one place to another by means of communication tools. Hence both the terms are linked ...