Abstract
Nowadays political correctness (PC) is blamed by its opponents because of a failed model of multiculturalism, an influx of migrants and the threat of terrorist acts. Obviously, a definition of tolerance given by UNESCO in 1995 has lost its meaning. In order to argue a possibility of a global ethos based on new understandings of PC, the authors refer to contemporary achievements of semiotics, hermeneutics and philosophical anthropology. We use a critical method developed in the hermeneutical tradition of P. Ricoeur, J. Kristeva, Tz. Todorov and others. Criticism is directed at (1) paradoxes of postmodern philosophical attempts for justification the idea of political correctness; (2) the way of introducing new terminology, as on a language level it leads, not to inclusion, but to exclusion, of disadvantaged people because as E. Benveniste states, the third person is rather the non-person. The conclusion is that politically correct speech should be grounded on a basis which takes into account the three persons of verb conjugation. Similar philosophical and ethical ideas can be found in works of J. Kristeva, Tz. Todorov, P. Ricoeur. An example is given for how these ideas can be implemented in the fields of film and art. This is one of the possible ways of overcoming the exclusion of disadvantaged people who are only named in politically correct terms, and not as participants, in social and political dialogue.
Highlights
The wave of terrorist acts that have overwhelmed Western Europe over the last two years has given rise to a number of accusations against globalization processes, multiculturalism theories, and ideas of political correctness related to them. This criticism poses the question of a possibility of projecting such a kind of global ethos that would allow for the overcoming of existing forms of discrimination
A possibility of overcoming racial, ethnic or religious discrimination based on language requires, as a first step, a review of the criticism of the current model of political correctness
Attempts at substitution for the term linguistic tact have been made. Their great delay has lead to a failure because the political correctness (PC) movement has spread all over the world and the term has been firmly inscribed in speech practice. This failure evidences that a ratification of a politically correct vocabulary requires at least two necessary, but insufficient conditions: (a) institutions that possess power in order to canonically impose a new terminology; (b) a presence of persons whose dignity or whose rights are in some way involved because of an outdated vocabulary
Summary
The wave of terrorist acts that have overwhelmed Western Europe over the last two years has given rise to a number of accusations against globalization processes, multiculturalism theories, and ideas of political correctness related to them This criticism poses the question of a possibility of projecting such a kind of global ethos that would allow for the overcoming of existing forms of discrimination. (e) does not give rise to linguistic exclusion of the third person of verb conjugation but on the contrary, it gives them voice; emphasizes the idea that projecting of a new global ethos requires a shift of attention from terminological to narrative level; takes into consideration the role of works of art, which—contrary to ideological anonymity—are always a product of an author’s individuality; identifies mechanisms for overcoming social exclusion by focusing on functional, rather than substantive, ideas for society; overcomes anonymity of previous practices of creating a politically correct vocabulary based on instrumental views of language. We proceed to an argumentation of these ideas
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