Language

The use of language is a key concept in Why This Way. Our rules of communication specify to "use language accurately and honestly, stating only truths." as well as to "use words within the range of meanings used in society at large." At the same time as we wish to encourage people to use language in deliberate and specific ways, we also emphasize awareness of the diversity of ways in which people, both inside and outside of our group, use language.

A core idea in Why This Way is the idea that the same truth can be expressed in language in different ways, and another core idea is that people can use the same word, phrase, or linguistic construction to refer to different concepts.

As an example that comes up frequently in religion, people with different belief systems might both use the word "God" but might have fundamentally different (and perhaps incompatible) ideas of God. On the other hand, two people might talk about a similar or related concept, with one person using the word God and another person not and instead using a different word or phrase.