NIGERIAN MEDIA AND THE QUEST FOR CLARITY IN THINKING AND SPEECH: PHILOSOPHICAL INSIGHTS FROM LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
Ludwig Wittgenstein is famous in philosophical parlance for his contributions to the philosophy of language. His postulations, especially his insistence on clarity of thought and speech as utilities necessary for assessment in linguistic communicative engagement, have assumed a decisive position in human interactions. Language is a game that must be played like any other game with rules known, adopted, and practised by all the players in the game for the sake of clarity and fairness, neglect of which will most certainly inaugurate discountenance, apathy, and disinterestedness among players in the game as could be discoverable in the Nigerian media. This is a problem this discussion intends to address. Because by its very nature, the media globally, or in terms of the Nigerian Media, is fundamentally constituted as an institution of communication that deals with information dissemination, and its abuse has terrible consequences for societal living. Using the philosophical postulations of Ludwig Wittgenstein, the article presents a wake-up call to the media to stick to the principles of its noble profession in contributing positively to society's development, especially on the Nigerian plane.
