What people can share belongs to words, what they can't, is owned by silence. Words express meanings, perceptions, and emotions. They contain the depth or surface of one's soul, depending on one's intentions and psychological characteristics. Nevertheless, words are not always able to express the existential depth of the things which can't be shared with others. When words don't translate the human soul, one's inner world begins to talk through silence. The absence of words also brings words, marked by profound strength of understanding. Perceiving the meaning of silence, delving into its transcendental spheres, and decoding the mystery of the unsaid: here is the message of wordy silence. In your opinion, can silence be wordy?
In some cultures, silence is said to be heavy, light, intense, perhaps even dangerous. Indeed the absence of words does not mean that a message is not being relayed. Rather, we may want to consider how in tune the intended recipient is, to understand the message being silently relayed. I am interested to see how this conversation/discussion goes Amalya Sukiasyan .
Christine Kisenga, thank you for your response. To decode the layered meaning of silence, one needs to have advanced psychological and philosophical insights, strong communication skills, and cultural awareness. Sometimes, silence can contain more words than speech itself. It's another dimension of language, being expressed through paralinguistic features and metaphysical interpretations.
Two people can be so attuned to one another that there is no need for words to express a shared understanding and even if they wanted to they might be unable to articulate what is understood between them and enables them to act in harmony. This can happen even in mundane circumstances, such as two hunters acting in concert to pursue their prey. What is shared may also be "owned by silence" and not "belong to words".
Silence is two-sided: it can communicate not only shared understanding but also express profound coldness and unbridgeable distance between people. That type of heavy silence, which carries the weight of existential emptiness, turns individual challenges into universal struggles, translating the metaphysical words of the unknown.
RE: "translating the metaphysical words of the unknown"
I can't even come up with a reasonable guess as to what that's supposed to mean or what its truth-conditions might be. Can you say it in words that your grandmother would understand?
Since my comments are intended for an academic audience, I think they are understandable. The thought you've mentioned can be interpreted in different ways. Translating the metaphysical words of the unknown means expressing universal truths that are layered, multidimensional, and carry metaphysical depth. In other words, if silence is viewed as a universal language—which, besides people, includes cultures, societies, and, on a broader scope, beyond-earthly realities—it represents sophisticated meanings of human existence. For a non-academic audience, it would be: demonstrating the deep meanings of things. Life experience reveals truths, making silence clearer and more perceivable.
RE: "Translating the metaphysical words of the unknown means expressing universal truths that are layered, multidimensional, and carry metaphysical depth."
Can you give an example of such a universal truth?
Universal truths come from thinkers whose ideas transcend the bounds of time and space. Shakespeare is one of them. One of his quotations is an example of universal truth: "To be, or not to be, that is the question." These eternal words demonstrate the problem of human existence, underscoring the challenges of moral, psychological, and philosophical dilemmas. Through this quote, Shakespeare expresses the layered nature of life's uncertainties, the multifaceted trials of the human condition, the metaphysical weight of consciousness, and the never-ending journey in the pursuit of meaning.
I agree that that's an important truth, namely that raising the issue of the contingencies of human existence is an important question. But the words are not a demonstration, which an answer to such a question would be. Granted, in the context of the play Shakespeare expresses or at least hints at some of things you claim. But why cast that point as "translating the metaphysical words of the unknown" which is not a self-explanatory (and maybe not the best) trope? If you are going to use coded language you ought to first provide a key in a more accessible idiom.
Thank you for your remarks. I represented Shakespeare's lines as an example of universal truth, not as an interpretation of my previously mentioned words. Words are not a demonstration, but they express one's perception of the world and notions about life. As for decoded language, it is simply my writing style, which, consciously or subconsciously, sometimes includes metaphoric, philosophical, or literary layers. It is challenging to find a universal key to understanding complex meanings that will be accessible to all. However, I try to balance it as much as possible.
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