12 Language and Attitude: A Study in Arabic, English, and Japanese on the Role of Language in Cross-Cultural Thinking

Language, action, attitude, and thought and their relationship to each other have been discussed and debated for centuries. Confucius, for example, insists that acting is knowing. In other words, one does not know unless the knowledge is demonstrated through actions. Similarly, Goethe (1950) places an emphasis on action when he concludes in Faust (in contrast with what is found in the New Testament):

In the Beginning was the Act, I write, (p. 43)