Discourse constrains but does not fully determine what can be said

Evidence

Moreover, so authoritative a position did Orientalism have that I believe no one writing, thinking, or acting on the Orient could do so without taking account of the limitations on thought and action imposed by Orientalism. In brief, because of Orientalism the Orient was not (and is not) a free subject of thought or action. This is not to say that Orientalism unilaterally determines what can be said about the Orient, but that it is the whole network of interests inevitably brought to bear on (and therefore always involved in) any occasion when that peculiar entity “the Orient” is in question. — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 55

Categorization

• DEFINE: Precise statement of discourse’s determinative power — constraint without full determination, key to correct application.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Edward W. Said, Orientalism, 55
• XREF: connects to: Slang and colloquial speech resist official one-dimensional discourse. — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 378; Language itself is a political battlefield when discourse is indoctrinated — Herbert Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man: Studies in the…, 713; Needs lacking adequate language may cease to be felt — Nina Eliasoph, “Close to home”: The work of avoiding…, 148 (+2 more)