ABSTRACT
The root of words, their obsolete meanings, and the conventions regarding their use tell us something about their history and present. The changing uses and meanings of words register evolutions and transformations not just in language but in society’s perceptual frames. In a small way, then, elements of the story of modernity may be traced through reflecting on the meanings of words. The disaggregation of production and perception that began with the industrial revolution has been taken to a qualitatively different level. When consciousness is thus disarticulated and dispersed, cause–effect relations become harder to grasp. One reason perhaps why ethics as an issue barely registers in public discourse. Panic-stricken authoritarian morality is certainly evident, but not collective reflection on the basis of which actions might be meaningfully considered. Ecological movements are, for the most part, a refreshing exception to this rule.
