Lol

If the function of language is to create useful abstractions of reality, then what becomes of philosophy? Taken in earnest, it becomes little more than an academic and esteemed expression of madness. It becomes the exercise of language in a realm it is unfit to navigate.

Of course, to make such a claim about the function of language would betray the claim itself. This is the bind. We can use words to describe reality, we can build systems which help us maneuver through reality, but those words and those systems remain abstractions. They do not tell us what reality is; they only describe how reality seems to function from within.

And to take seriously any word I’ve just written would be to succumb to foolishness. This is a position uninhabitable by any serious mind, yet to stand in opposition to it would be no more serious an act. Conviction does not save us from foolishness. It is not reason that grounds our convictions, but a failure to reason completely.

That we play this game in seriousness is perhaps our greatest folly. It is an effective game, yes, but it is a laughable one. Every word spoken should be followed by a giggle and every word written should be followed by an “lol.” This may well be the only sane way to thread the needle.