Looking To Words Instead Of Concepts

The folly of looking primarily to words instead of thoroughly looking to actual concepts is sometimes the reason why certain people fail to use language consistently.  Some words like "logic" or "conscious" that can convey very specific philosophical concepts or truths are still used with much lesser degrees of thoughtfulness and precision in "normal" conversations.  Many times, someone will get away with contradictory uses of the same words because they do not consciously acknowledge that philosophy underpins everything about existence, as well as because they genuinely lack the self-awareness and self-development necessary to understand concepts themselves consistently.

It is one thing to intentionally, knowingly use less specific language in conversations that are not particularly philosophical or important.  Of course this can be far more convenient even for people who do not pretend they can truly avoid philosophy in certain social or life contexts.  It is another thing to only think precisely about concepts when someone else calls out the ambiguities or inconsistencies in their casual language (not that everyone even uses language inconsistently or without having thought rationally about what they mean by specific words ahead of time).

In the case of the latter, one finds that plenty of other people act like they wish to be thought of as rational only to not even describe their own worldviews coherently when pressed.  I am not talking about people who are rational but simply do not have an easy time articulating their valid philosophical stances.  I am referring to people whose words betray a lack of intelligence, consistency, and depth, people who do not even use words consistently when someone discusses more abstract matters than daily practicality.

For some people, language, not reason, is what they look to, stopping at words and halfhearted attempts to describe beliefs and ideas instead of looking to the concepts behind them.  This is why their linguistic habits are inconsistent without them even recognizing it until someone else points it out.  They do not even try to consistently understand philosophical concepts on their own, even when their everyday lives make them stare at those concepts blankly, because it is so much easier to only think about whatever concepts are directly referred to in informal communication with coworkers or similarly inept friends.

Reason and concepts precede language, and anyone who places a reverse emphasis on these things stands on sheer philosophical nonsense.  The tendency for non-rationalists to not even know how they need to use words in order to be clear (as clear as language allows for, at least) and consistent with their own terms and ideas is quite evident when one searches for it.  All one needs to do to expose this lack of philosophical substance and basic consistency is ask the people in question to clarify their definitions in different scenarios.  If they do not grasp the concepts behind their words soundly, they will likely not even be able to explain themselves without contradicting something they said before.