WITTGENSTEIN
Luca Sofri
24 December 2019
The terrible way in which some newspapers are treating the sad story of the two girls who were hit and killed in Rome reveals among other things a disease typical of Italian discussions and information: the substitution of facts and their understanding with empty labels and generalizations. And given that– I advance the OTHER-PEOPLE-GOODER – in this story there are several serious aspects, I just want to cite an example of this, of this sloppiness of thought that will continue to repeat itself beyond this story: the use of the term“drugged” by some of the titles.
“drugs” do not exist: in the sense that there is no exact category of substances that for some reason or criterion differs from another that we call“non-drugs”. It is a hasty definition with which in Italian we call coarsely substances that induce changes in the psycho-physical state (but like wine, too, or as medicines) and that are prohibited by law (but despite the legalization of cannabis or personal use, we call them the same soft drugs). You will understand that the second thing is a completely volatile criterion and not the nature of the substances and their effects. To be clear, this says Treccani enciclopedia, drugs:
dròga s. f. [perhaps from’Oland. droog «dry, dry»]. – 1. Name of various dry, aromatic vegetable substances (better known as spices), used to give more flavour to beverages or foods: e.g. cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, vanilla, carnation, products that, for their origin, were also called in the past colonial. 2. In pharmacology, any natural, plant or animal product containing one or more active principles (alkaloids, glycosides, essential oils, bitter, purgative, aromatic substances, etc.), and which, when properly prepared and preserved, find therapeutic or experimental indications which are being studied by pharmacoknowledge. 3. a. In current language, any substance capable of temporarily modifying the state of consciousness or in any case the psychic state of the individual (narcotic, hallucinogenic, barbiturate, psycho-stimulant); also, name of certain substances likely to increase energy and physical performance, especially in sports competitions
Of course we neglect the definition 1; the definition 3, as we said, is very elusive and ambiguous (it would concern precisely also the alcohol, or the aspirin), and speaks not randomly of“current language”; the definition 2, instead, is technical and exact: and does not distinguish drugs and medicines. Wikipedia says even more clearly that:
In pharmacology, the drug, also called a drug, is a chemical used to treat, cure, prevent or diagnose a disease or to promote well-being.
That is, he gives drugs and drugs (medicine) for synonyms. That is what happens in English: where the term“drugs”””; – means drugs (medicine). A similar issue is doping: there are no inherently correct or incorrect substances, there are simply those that we have decided are permitted or prohibited, with variable criteria established by human commissions. What we can call“doped” is an athlete who has today taken among the other substances that are banned today. In other words, he violated the rules.
And who can we call "drugged”, then? The one who has taken substances that make us lose lucidity, so any of us has ever been a little tipsy? Or the one who is at a given time? Or who has taken substances whose intake is prohibited? (not who has done a joint). Or who with continuity (we have the term“drug addict”, not for nothing) takes drugs“heavy”? And the definition of what is heavy and what is not, is it universally written somewhere?
The answer can be chosen by each of us in his current speech at the bar, if he wants: but he should be consistent and know how to answer the contradictions I mentioned. What is not acceptable is that serious work of information on an extensive, complex and serious problem such as addiction, and on tragedies such as that of Rome, should be done at the hands of the drug addict”in the headlines. It’s Cronaca Vera in the '70s, not serious pretentious newspapers in 2019.
And yes, I know that.
https://www.wittgenstein.it/2019/12/24/titoli-drogati/
