Maps of Human Communication: Science and the Arts

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the function of language as a map that navigates the perception of human reality. In the thesis, attention is paid to the structure of speech, and whether or not it accurately represents the structure of empirical knowledge. This thesis also examines how, in a scientific context, paradoxes and confusion in quantum mechanics can be avoided through the use of a linguistic formula. Such a formula will permit the structure of speech to be congruent with the structure of empirical knowledge, as it pertains to the description of scientific experiments. The structure imposed onto the content of films by certain creative techniques are also examined in this thesis. The overall conclusions are that while the use of a linguistic formula could be useful in a scientific context, a strict adherence to the structure of empirical knowledge might not be appropriate in the area of film-making, because it might stifle creativity or be viewed as censorship.