Studying The Trivium cont, Ch.2b: The Nature and Function of Language w/ Sister Miriam Joseph, Ph.D.

Now, she says, it is the nature of language to communicate through symbols.

Language is a system of symbols for expressing our thoughts, volitions, and emotions.

A word, like every other physical reality, is constituted of matter and form.

There's the Aristotelian angle there, coming through Aquinas, probably, the Thomistic tradition.

We call it the Thomistic tradition because Aquinas, his first name was Thomas, St. Thomas Aquinas.

So usually it's called Thomistic, just FYI.

We don't call it Aquinistic.

We call it Thomistic.

We take his first name.

It's rather unlike...

Augustinian because Augustine's first name was Aurelius.

We don't say Aurelian.

We don't say that.

We say Augustinian.

We use his Latin.

Just go with it, man.

I'm sorry.

This is just how it works.

You got to learn this stuff so that you can not feel like an idiot at cocktail parties, I guess.

I still feel like an idiot at cocktail parties, but I guess that's why you have the cocktail.

Well, sorry if you have kids around and, you know, but.

That's as PG-13 as it gets around here, is mentioning alcohol every once in a while.

Okay, in moderation.

Now, a word, like every other physical reality, is constituted of matter and form.

A word is a symbol.