made famous by the European avant-garde of his time.For Benjamin,montage was not only a style but a philosophy of history:it entailed focusing on discontinuities separating past and present, and emphasizing a utopian rather than progressive notion of historical transformation,as a way to preserve a reservoir of hope in otherwise damaged life. Para 18:The term 'reservoir of hope'is helpful to me here,for it brings me to my third and final point-that language conditions morality-for what is morality but the architecture of hope, hope for the future,hope for a better understanding of the past.What do I mean by the statement that language conditions morality?I have hinted at certain aspects already-the tolerance that is bred from the uncoupling of an object from a certain set of sounds-the fundamentalism that is manifest in the insistence on conventional grammar-the deviousness that is exhibited in the misuse of mathematics by soothsayers posing as scientists and economists.I know also what I do not mean by language conditioning morality-I do not mean political correctness-for that only relentlessly beats it into a shape that accommodates and validates society's prevailing anxieties. What I do mean,I think-and I am very much in the process of exploring this-is that language, when misapplied,gives us ample scope for hiding from the truth.And yet,it is language,in its myriad forms,when used sincerely,and as appropriate to the question that we are asking,that ultimately saves us from despair. Background information about the writer. E Sunetra Gupta is an acclaimed novelist,essayist and scientist.In October 2012 her fifth novel,So Good in Black,was long listed for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature.In 2009 she was named as the winner of the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award for her scientific achievements.Sunetra,who lives in Oxford with her husband and two daughters,is Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at Oxford University's Department of Zoology,having graduated in 1987 from Princeton University and received her PhD from the University of London in 1992made famous by the European avant-garde of his time. For Benjamin, montage was not only a style but a philosophy of history: it entailed focusing on discontinuities separating past and present, and emphasizing a utopian rather than progressive notion of historical transformation, as a way to preserve a reservoir of hope in otherwise damaged life. Para 18: The term ‘reservoir of hope’ is helpful to me here, for it brings me to my third and final point – that language conditions morality – for what is morality but the architecture of hope, hope for the future, hope for a better understanding of the past. What do I mean by the statement that language conditions morality? I have hinted at certain aspects already – the tolerance that is bred from the uncoupling of an object from a certain set of sounds – the fundamentalism that is manifest in the insistence on conventional grammar – the deviousness that is exhibited in the misuse of mathematics by soothsayers posing as scientists and economists. I know also what I do not mean by language conditioning morality – I do not mean political correctness – for that only relentlessly beats it into a shape that accommodates and validates society’s prevailing anxieties. What I do mean, I think – and I am very much in the process of exploring this – is that language, when misapplied, gives us ample scope for hiding from the truth. And yet, it is language, in its myriad forms, when used sincerely, and as appropriate to the question that we are asking, that ultimately saves us from despair. Background information about the writer. Sunetra Gupta is an acclaimed novelist, essayist and scientist. In October 2012 her fifth novel, So Good in Black, was long listed for the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. In 2009 she was named as the winner of the Royal Society Rosalind Franklin Award for her scientific achievements. Sunetra, who lives in Oxford with her husband and two daughters, is Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at Oxford University's Department of Zoology, having graduated in 1987 from Princeton University and received her PhD from the University of London in 1992