Labels as a sense of Self.

Many (perhaps most) people are obsessed with labelling in the search to know, not only other people and things but also of themselves.

It seem to be more than often (usually based on a very limited understanding) people attach themselves to certain catagories and “ists” or “isims”.

And then work backwords to try and determine who they are.

I myself tend to relate these catagories to values I already hold and often instead of working backwords I will think up a catagory on my own and many times I will find an ideology very close or identical to my “original” thoughts.

I’m aware that this isn’t a new precedent. Then again how many are really “new”, completely original ideas being unlikely and all.

Often though many will plunge will out completely understand the ideology they claim to adhere to.

As a negative side effect some use zealotry as a proxy for reasonable certainty.

And by this according to the level of conservative thinking they can develop a lens through which all information they receive is filtered and judged based on predeterminly held “values”.

This is one of the greatest positives I see of philosophy, as any who truly embrace it are basically required to review all of ones preconcieved notions and values.

Sadly some seem to get too intwined with particular schools of philosophy that they end up often forsaking the original spirit of it all.

Then again interperatation and dogma seem to have an part in any way of thinking. Philosophy included, so who’s to say what is truly the spirit of it all… though I think that line of think is correct, to the poin of me claiming philosophy as a Form or Universal.

Rather than as some think, a type of thinking invented by the ancient greeks, and I blame than interperatation to those who are too fixated on trying to catalogue everything without checking their sources.

Now it’s starting to look like a rant. :-k

All languages are mapping functions. Now you can call it a name, a word, a label, or a symbol, but the user of those things has one function. To map human behavior, or any behavior, past present, real, and hypothetical. And, if people were really obsessed with doing their own work, why all the stupid bs? And who in their right mind would assert that naming a thing known is the method of knowing what was named? damn,.

You pretty much said all you need to know

Too much labels= forsaking experience and bias

Too little labeling= immorality and excessive acceptance of bullshit

Labels are limitations.

You can only label and define thyself as well as you can limit thyself.