Judith Butler wrote the article “The Values of Difficulty” as a response to the article “Language Crimes: A Lesson in How Not to Write, Courtesy of the Professoriate” written by Denis Dutton. Butler defends her position in her essay and states that academic writers need to use complex terminology in order to express themselves and to shape the meaning in the right way. She believes that there is a connection between the language and the meaning and that a term could be misunderstood if simple language would be used. I agree with Judith Butler because she proves her point by mentioning in which ways the language can change perception of common words.
Judith Butler begins her informative article by giving her evaluation of Dutton’s journal Philosophy and Literature which creates a contest each year in order to discover bad academic writing. Denis Dutton believes that academic writers want “to persuade their readers not by argument but by obscurity that they too are the great minds of the age” (Dutton 146). Judith disagrees and states that the minorities suffer because of the so-called common sense and that difficult language is not the problem. According to her, such language is necessary in order for a meaning to be conveyed in the right way. Scholars need to question common sense so that the ideas about the society would be changed in a way which does not undermine anybody’s rights and language is a good way of questioning the old ideas and changing the situation in the society: “language that takes up this challenge can help point the way to a more socially just world” (Butler 147). Butler agrees that scholars should be able to express their complex ideas in a simple way, but she disagrees that difficult language should not be used, because it is often the best option in order to change the people’s perception of a social issue. She mentions Theodor Adorno and says that he was right in proving that the common word ‘man’ can be dehumanizing. It sounds impossible, but he proves that is it possible, and that language has a great power in shaping the perception.
The information Butler presents is accurate because she uses arguments stated by Adorno and Marcuse who believe that language is supposed to be difficult when expressing certain ideas. Marcuse believes that the philosopher would have stated their ideas using simple words if it were possible. However, some ideas are hard to translate to everyday language. This information is significant to everybody because it is important to acknowledge that the language which is used for writing academic journals may be different than language used for teaching. It would not be fair for professors to use language which students do not understand at their initial stages of learning a new matter. The essay defines its key terms and these are related to language and its level of simplicity and intellectual ideas. Dutton thinks that professors who use vague and obscure language show off and that is the reason for his contest which involves finding the most obscure sentence published in an academic journal or a book. Theory should not be so incomprehensible because students need to be able to understand it. Therefore, it is not beneficial for anybody to define concepts in a way which is not easy to understand, but sometimes, it is necessary to use language which cannot be commonly understood because of the complexity of the ideas and because of the shift in meaning.
The essay uses information fairly, accurately, and objectively and the info is up to date and representative of the issue because Butler explains her point of view clearly and uses respectable philosophers and sociologists to prove her point about the power of language. She says: “language plays an important role in shaping and altering our common or ‘natural’ understanding of social and political realities” (Butler 147). Judith Butler sees a relationship between language and political constructions of reality. She interprets her information fairly because she states that common sense has to be questioned especially by scholars and one way of doing it is by introducing “new ways of looking at a familiar word” (Butler 147). Common sense may be adequate in certain situations, but not when questioning the status quo. The majority of people are not threatened by the rights which the minorities are supposed to have. Therefore, gay people’s rights need to be protected even though it may be against common sense for some people since heterosexuals constitute the majority.
There is the appeal to ethos in Judith’s essay because she uses arguments of Adorno and Marcuse to make her point. They are people of great intellectual authority and she gives information about her topic using their work in the field of sociology and its relation to language. The appeal to pathos is related to Butler’s use of gay and lesbian rights as a way of proving her point about the complex language and obscure ideas. Dutton believes that complex ideas can be stated using simple language and that obscurity is used to cover up the fact that the author’s arguments are not thoughtful enough. Judith Butler defends her position and her use of complex language by stating that the ideas she expresses ask for such a language in order for her to make a point. Her goal is to make a change in the society and in the way certain groups of people are looked at.
I agree with Judith Butler when she expresses the reasons for the use of difficult language because she makes much sense. It is true that words have great power and that a meaning depends on the choice of words. A certain word can have a negative connotation and it could be changed if a scholar would use this word in a different context. I also agree with her view of common sense because it is questionable what common sense is. Times change and the society and its norms change as well, which is why language has to question the reality. There are topics which are rarely mentioned in the media such as “sexuality, race, nationalism and the workings of capitalism” (Butler 147). When discussing these topics with the intention of changing their position in the modern world, it is inevitable for the scholar to use specific language which may be regarded as demanding. It is hard to change the public opinion and it has to be done at all social levels for the change to be successful.
Judith Butler is successful in defending her choice of language, but there is a logical fallacy in her text. She mentions slavery and women being forbidden from voting as the examples of common sense. That is the false analogy since her defense is supposed to be related to the use of obscure language. On the other hand, she explains her point well and she has right in defending her position. Dutton is also right in noticing that many academic writers use difficult language to show off their writing skills. This can be dangerous for the students who might think that they are not intelligent enough to understand the author’s ideas. However, Judith Butler is right in stating that language plays a great role in changing the way of thinking in the society.
Works Cited
Butler, Judith. "The Values of Difficulty." Across the Disciplines: Academic Writing and Reading Plus . Ed. Jaqueline McLeod Rogers and Catherine S. Taylor. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2011. 147-48. Print.
Dutton, Denis. "Language Crimes: A Lesson in How Not to Write, Courtesy of the Professoriate." Across the Disciplines: Academic Writing and Reading Plus . Ed. Jaqueline McLeod Rogers and Catherine S. Taylor. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2011. 144-47. Print.
