HOW LANGUAGE TOUCHES ITSELF
An exploration of self-reference
Dialetheia: (from Greek δι- di- 'twice' and ἀλήθεια alḗtheia 'truth'.[1]) =
a sentence A where both the sentence and its negation ¬A are true
A and ‘not-A’ are both true. If we look at the origin of the word, we see that the word does not mean that a sentence is both true and false, but merely, that a sentence has two truths.[2] Dialetheism is a view that there are dialetheias and thus opposes the Law of Non-Contradiction
This sentence is not true
If this sentence is true, then its content says that the sentence is false, so, it is both true as well as false.
If this sentence is false, then its content tells that the sentence is true, so, it is both false as well as true.
Such a sentence as this one poses a problem, a paradox, for some philosophers. But what if this is not a problem? If we follow dialetheism these ‘two truths’ can coexist.
a quantum particle can be both here and there. The here and the there are both true, it is a dual truth
‘Being in the doorstep means being inside as well as outside. If we want to see the in-between as something we can inhabit, it is necessary to sometimes let go of the law of Non-Contradiction.’[3]
If a sentence is a body, a body that interacts with others, that has relationships, fights, has sex, procreates, gets itchy, gets sunburned. How then does the sentence relates to its own body, how does language masturbate?
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialetheism#:~:text=Dialetheism%20(%2Fda%C9%AA%C9%99ˈ,are%20both%20true%20and%20false.
[2] Priest, Graham, Francesco Berto, and Zach Weber, "Dialetheism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2024 Edition), Edward N. Zalta & Uri Nodelman (eds.), forthcoming URL = <https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2024/entries/dialetheism/>.
[3] Timothy Morton Dark Ecology
