Why do we use inappropriate words? Why do we swear?
Many of the words we use to degrade and dismiss what is important and worthy of respect.
"Taboo" words are spoken from the time we can speak.
The fact is when we swear we take the high and honorable things in life and throw them into the lower things, we debase them.
"If a person uses God and Jesus Christ and damn and hell as a throwaway standard expression of irritation or anger, he is belittling God, belittling Christ, belittling the serious of damnation, and belittling hell. We ought not to belittle these big things..." from the article: On Cussing
Video from Jonathan Pageau Clips
Why You Should Stop Swearing: Jonathan Pageau & (Pints with Aquinas)
"Watch the full version: Pints With Aquinas: Atheism, Boobs, and Swearing w/ Jonathan Pageau: • Atheism, Science, and The Problem Wit... " from the video introduction
"Consider cuss words, also known as curse words, swear words, profanity, bad language, and what not to say on television. Most psychologists use taboo words, a term so nonjudgmental that it seems to pass judgment on those who would call them anything else. But however we reference them, the fact remains that they intrigue and disgust, insult and—rather surprisingly, in some circumstances—assuage us.
Why do psychologists bother studying the language of the gutter? Well, as Timothy Jay, a professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, puts it in a 2009 review (available on his website, and very worth your time), swearing is ubiquitous: “we say taboo words as soon as we speak and we continue to swear into old age even through dementia and senile decline.” And we do so at a rate of about one taboo word per 200 words. This rate, however, differs dramatically among age groups (swearing peaks in adolescence), between genders (men swear more often and more offensively), and most importantly and perhaps obviously of all, from one individual to the next..." from the article: On the Psychology of Swearing
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