Never before has humanity done so much talking. But is anyone listening? For that matter, are people even speaking to each other?
We need to acknowledge that speech, as we know it, has never been so debased. We live in a world full of empty, degraded, and potentially violent speech: a daily reality that confronts us in the workplace, in the media, on the streets, on the internet, and in our political lives. Verbal clashes are commonplace, while proper dialogue is rare.
Gérald Garutti pushes for a return to a more constructive and responsible form of speech. He lays the groundwork for a humanistic approach: one which, contrary to the dominant culture of ignoring and humiliating others, emphasizes listening to them and mastering speech as a way of connecting. The arts of speech can contribute to the reconciliation of tensions in our society and to the realization of our full humanity.
"Watch Your Words is a stunning manifesto for anyone interested in how we might better communicate with each other."
Raymond Geuss
Watch your Words
A Manifesto for the Arts of Speech
Traduction et préface Raymond Geuss
Éditions Polity - Parution 15 avril 2025
"With compelling argumentative force, Garutti's Watch Your Words presents a resolute call for a new appreciation of the arts of speech as the central civic leverage point for emancipatory action. This manifesto explores both the foundational role of the word for the politics of social, political, and economic relations and how to reimagine those relationships in a world increasingly influenced by the internet's logorrheic deluge. Impeccably translated by Raymond Geuss, Garutti's manifesto has already led to the founding of the Centre for the Arts of Speech in Paris."
Willi Goetschel, University of Toronto
"Beginning with the simplest of propositions, 'we must value speech properly', Garutti tears into linguistic degradation in our time with depth, comprehensiveness, and knife-like clarity. His plea for linguistic restitution as an 'ethics of reciprocity' is equally simple, well articulated, and urgent. Translated by Raymond Geuss, who places the book within the genre of the manifesto, Watch Your Words is a must-read which should be widely discussed."
Daniel Herwitz, University of Michigan
"A passionate and timely plea to restore dignity and value to human speech. Reminding us that we are what we say, Garutti's manifesto is in fact a practical guide to what Michel Foucault once praised as 'the courage of the truth' made manifest in speech, action, and life."
James I. Porter, University of California, Berkeley
"Watch Your Words offers a thoughtful and engaged contribution to contemporary discussions on language, ethics, and performance. It invites artists, thinkers, and readers alike to reconsider how we speak, as well as why we do so."
JACLR: Journal of Artistic Creation and Literary Research
"Through watching his own words, Garutti has put French philosophy right back in the middle of accessible public discourse, and shone a coruscating light on one of the sharpest civilisational issues of our time."
Ethical Space: International Journal of Communication Ethics