kerravonsen | (Reply)

From:

Which is sometimes what you need in order to begin understanding it.

Of course!
The operative word is "begin". Too many people stop at the naming.

Probably not thinking of what you are thinking of--I find naming things in my own psyche or history exceedingly useful.

We may be thinking of something similar, since this thought was prompted by someone saying that that they didn't like labelling things because that meant that one was being judgemental. It so happens that the label she was objecting to was one which she was also applying to her own psyche.

There are two unhealthy extremes with labelling things: one is to think that giving something a name means that you understand it; this can be anything from a doctor giving something a name but still be unable to cure it, through to labels being used as epithets. The other extreme is to be so afraid of the abuse of labels, one is afraid of using them at all (as happened with the person above).

The fact that names enable you to point to things is not a small thing at all. Not just with analysis (even self-analysis) but with discourse, including the discourse of social justice. When a type of oppression remains nameless, it can't be protested against, and if it can't be protested against, it can't be fought against. One of the instruments of oppression is silencing the oppressed. And the first weapon of freedom is words.

Yeah, there's a lot of thinky thoughts packed into my original remarks about names.