Theory of Knowledge

January 2014 Essay

The most efficient pathway humans can take to resolving world conflicts and uniting the
many disparate nations of the world is the establishment of a universal language.
(Gramsforth)

This title suggests that world conflicts stem from an inability to communicate efficiently,
due to the language barrier that constricts our understanding of the rest of the world. Taking this
into account, the conclusion is that establishing a single language, spoken universally, would
eliminate conflict, as people would be able to understand each other better. While this idea
makes sense in theory, practically, there are too many other factors involved to make it a sensible
claim. For instance, the claim implies that language differences are the cause of world conflicts.
Language relies heavily on the listeners interpretation of what is being said, especially if it isnt
in their native tongue, so is the language difference the true cause of conflict, or just our
interpretation? There are other cultural differences that exist between people besides language
that affect how we interpret and communicate traditions, cultural practices, religion. Is
language more influential in perception of a message than the emotion and intuition that leads to
prejudice and discrimination based on these differences, or is it simply diversity that breeds
conflict? Either way, conflict will still exist, universal language or not.
What we understand from communication in any language ultimately comes from our
interpretation of what is said. As such, one person may take away a very different meaning from
a message than another person does from the same message. For instance, when my classmates
and I were asked after reading the Allegory of the Cave to create the caves with some given
materials, we soon realized that we all had very different ideas of what the cave looked like,
despite having read the same description. Similarly, in my Spanish class, each student translates
a passage slightly differently from everyone else. This goes to show that even after hearing or
reading the exact same thing in the same language, people will still have their own understanding
of it. Therefore, even if we all spoke the same language, there would still be misunderstandings
leading to conflict. Other influences, such as body language or appearance, also affect the way
we are perceived. Conflict and discrimination based on these differences are more intuitively and
emotionally based- according to one study, kids as young as six months judge others based on
skin color because they notice automatically that they are different, and humans as a whole tend
to fear that which they do not know (See Baby Discriminate).


Works Cited
Bronson, Po and Merryman, Ashley. See Baby Discriminate. Newsweek. 4 September 2009:
53-60. Print.