Trzy zasady etyki slowa (Three principle of ethical speech)

Abstract

This chapter, developed in the context of wide-ranging recent discussions about the “ethics of speaking”, proposes three ethical guidelines, presented in a language developed by the author and known as “Minimal Polish”, but which can also be described as the Polish version of “Basic Human”. In a highly simplified form, these three guidelines can be formulated as follows: 1.Speak the truth, 2. Speak clearly and intelligibly, 3. Speak with good will towards the addressee. In a somewhat fuller form, they read: 1. Don’t say to anyone about anything: “It is like this” if you know that this is not true. 2.When you are saying something to someone about some things, say it so that this someone can know well what you want to say. 3.When you are speaking to someone, don’t say something like this to them at the same time: “I feel something very bad towards you”; don’t say it with words, don’t say this with your voice, don’t say it in any other way. The chapter places these guidelines in a broader context, relating them in particular to John Locke’s discussion of the “abuse of words” in his Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690). Show more