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Conversely it is a bad idea to simply dismiss the power of a practice or the information content of language on the basis that its internal theory is bunk or non-existent.

Albert Wenger • A Short Note on Persistent Practices

Richard Nisbett articulates the essence of the paradoxical Middle Way of language and thought in his book The Geography of Thought:

Jason Gregory • Effortless Living: Wu-Wei and the Spontaneous State of Natural Harmony

He had a theory that the Finnish language—which some argue has its origins in the same group as Mongolian, Japanese, and Turkish—directly informs the character of the people. “Behaviors and value systems come from the grammar, the language. In Sweden, Norway, all of Scandinavia really, Germany, and England, we all speak languages that are dialects

Michael Booth • The Almost Nearly Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia

Allow me to try convincing you that although language is likely not deterministic, it can have an impact on the way you think, the way you learn, the habits you pick up, and the decisions you make﹣especially if we don’t actively try to expand our horizons past that which we’ve been served.

Steph Smith • Gaining Perspective Through Untranslatable Words

There is a depth of wisdom in language’s flexibility, in the soma of its poetry.

Perry Zurn • Curious Minds: The Power of Connection

Language is a leader’s charisma. It’s what empowers them to create a mini universe—a system of values and truths—and then compel their followers to heed its rules.

Amanda Montell • Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism

If you unwittingly study these peculiar modern populations without realizing the powerful impact that technologies, beliefs, and social norms related to literacy have on our brains and mental processes, you can get the wrong answers. This can happen even when you study seemingly basic features of psychology and neuroscience, like memory, visual pro

Joseph Henrich • The WEIRDest People in the World: How the West Became Psychologically Peculiar and Particularly Prosperous

Social and physical basis:

George Lakoff • Metaphors We Live By

is interesting to consider how many more benign behaviours might be made possible through semantic invention.