By Qarol Price
Being a word-nerd pretty much goes with the territory when your field is philosophy. I don’t just want to know the meaning of a word, I want to know how a word gets its name.
The kind of words that fascinate me most are the ones that refer to “things” that are not at all objects but are intangible ideas or concepts — “things” that cannot be captured by any of the five senses, yet these things of no substance are given a name — thereby helping us to “grasp” their meaning or even just to know of their existence by way of the mysterious workings of the mind.
Some of the best examples of such abstract vocabulary are the twelve character traits that Johnston County Public Schools promote as monthly themes for character education. Does courage have a flavor or perseverance, a sound? Absurd! Would you recognize the scent of integrity or the color of honesty? You can’t hold something called fairness in your hand, yet we have an “idea” of what these words are naming. How, then, do we come to understand these abstract ideas?
Let’s examine September’s character trait of the month, respect. This is a juicy one! (At least to a word-nerd.)
I have consulted Etymonline.com, an etymology dictionary which documents the origin and history of English words. It points out that the prefix “re-” comes from the Old French and Latin for “again, back, anew, once more.” And “spect” comes from “specere” which means “look at” and goes back to the root word “spek” — meaning “to observe.”
We can certainly think of many familiar words containing this root like spectator, spectacles, inspect, spectacular, introspection, etc. So why does the naming of respect involve a visual reference? And then to combine it with a prefix indicating repetition — how does this characterize what’s going on when giving respect?
Respect, after all, is a kind of attention. Not just a glancing notice. It’s that “second look” or considered regard that allows us to recognize someone’s value or worth. Only then can we begin to appreciate others. Allowing a person to “be seen” is a basic civil courtesy that opens up pathways to deeper, more meaningful connections with others.
I am reminded of my daughter Victoria’s kindergarten years when she had to face a classroom bully who succeeded in acquiring loads of attention — but it was not the admiring kind. Sitting next to him in class made her the target of daily indignities of name-calling and malicious teasing.
Victoria and I discussed what would make this boy want to be so mean to everyone and how she might best handle the problem. It was clear that no one wanted to be his friend because he was just too nasty. She was willing to try making friends with him once it occurred to her that having no friends is what was making him so nasty. This considered “second look” was the sort of attention — the respect — that was needed. And, sure enough, it was her kindness and respect that quickly curbed his bullying ways.
Philosophers like Socrates, Kant, Mill, and Aristotle would agree that human worth is not conditional on achievement, usefulness or social status. Each person has dignity by virtue of being a rational, self-determining being, regardless of their level of moral maturity. It’s a matter of principle.
Next month: Perseverance
