The Only Perfect Communication

It is not difficult to to learn through deduction and conversational experience that human communication, whether it involves language, spoken or written, or alternative nonverbal means, is a deeply ambiguous thing that can easily be manipulated or misunderstood.  The only means of perfect communication, a direct connection of one mind to another, is inaccessible to humans.  In the absence of telepathy, a being can only rely on inferior methods of communication and must deal with the limitations therein.  Though telepathy is foreign to human experience, it is a simple matter to grasp the three particular aspects of human existence that would be transformed if telepathy was bestowed upon humankind.

Telepathy would solve the problem of other minds, and it remains the only way to do so.  Without the ability to see into other consciousnesses, there is no way to know if other entities that behave as if they possess their own respective minds truly do have mental life.  If a person programs an automaton to act as if it is conscious, though there is no consciousness that animates the shell, all appearances make it seem as if the automaton is conscious.  The only ways to know if a consciousness exists are 1) to directly experience it (as one does with their own mind) or 2) telepathically gaze into another mind.

Not only would telepathy reveal or disprove the existence of other minds, but it also would enable people to experience the deepest intimacy.  Only with such a mental ability could people truly share the deepest sense of oneness with others.  If other minds with the same limitations as my own mind exist, I can never share the most complete intimacy with them, for our minds are separate, disconnected by a lack of telepathy.  In the absence of telepathy, I am left without even the capacity to know if their minds exist.  This holds significant ramifications for human relationships, for the effects touch all aspects of how humans interact.

Yet another benefit of telepathy would be the ease with which the rational could expose the stupidity of the fallacious--showing the world the distinction between the truth and falsity of a matter would be easier than ever, as nothing more than gazing into the minds of others would settle a multitude of disputes.  Pseudo-intellectuals could no longer hide behind their claims, left with no way to shelter their intellects from the vicious scrutiny of the intelligent minority.  After all, the same features of telepathy that would provide heightened intimacy would also erase the possibility of anyone concealing their fallacies and motivations.

Communication using human language is inherently flawed, limited, and arbitrary, but none of these things render it totally useless.  Societies can remain relatively stable in part due to partially shared linguistic norms.  We do not need telepathy in order to communicate effectively, albeit imperfectly.  Nevertheless, telepathy alone can be legitimately called the only perfect communication between one mind and another.  No other nonverbal or verbal method of conveying information can compare favorably.