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Culture War Roundup for the week of August 26, 2024

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The justification is simple: sticks and stones may break your bones but words can never hurt you. To which the standard reply is: "but words can hurt too". To which my reply is: "no it can't, because to hurt is to cause pain, and pain is purely a physical sensation.

Okay, but do you believe the opposite of this is true as well?

"Bricks and stones may make our homes, but words will never help me."

Usually, people justify free speech not just on the fact that speech doesn't do harm, but because free speech produces some tangible good in the world through the sharing of information.

But if you don't believe words can cause pain, do you also believe that words cannot produce the opposite of pain - pleasure?

Because if words can't affect bodily pain or pleasure for better or worse in your view, wouldn't it be the same whether the government banned speech or allowed it?

But if words can cause pleasure/produce benefits, then how can you maintain that they cannot ever produce harms?