“Your body does not eliminate poisons by knowing their names. To try to control fear or depression or boredom by calling them names is to resort to superstition of trust in curses and invocations. It is so easy to see why this does not work. Obviously, we try to know, name, and define fear in order t…”— Alan Watts, amazon.com
“The flip side of all of this: Epley notes that just as we’re more likely to anthropomorphize and name certain objects, there are also certain conditions that make us more inclined to dehumanize something. In Epley’s 2016 study on voice and anthropomorphizing, his team also found that when we strip a…”— Stephanie Bucklin, thecut.com
“Such studies indicate that, when we’re able to form some sort of connection with technology (or more specifically, project a connection onto it), we tend to view them as more humanlike — which may, in turn, make us more likely to give them a human name.”— Stephanie Bucklin, thecut.com
“Understanding the complexities of what/who you were dealing with might make you feel better. Just 'naming' brings relief, as it is a form of containment.”— Carrie Barron, psychologytoday.com
“Most conceptual categories in the human mind and in language are characterized by a core of clear cases, with a blurry periphery of unclear, borderline cases.”— Geoffrey Leech, amazon.com