Language of Thoughts - Part II
Since thoughts can be language represented, they have structures. Natural languages or images as a means to realize it. Normal humans realize it using more than one form. However, children and people with disabilities realize it using symbols.
20th century western philosopher Jerry Fodor feels thoughts are a language represented with mental sentences or 'Mentalese' that is distinct from natural languages. His Language of Thought hypothesis can be understood from an analogy in computers. Computers use binary numbers to represent logic. All programs written in higher languages are translated to their binary forms which form the words of the language. Accordingly all natural language conversations have a underlying basic Mentalese.
On the other hand, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests an extreme approach that language shape thoughts. This idea relates to two of its principles. One, language determinism, our language determines our thoughts and two, language relativity, people speaking different languages think differently. This theory has come under many philosophers' microscope and is widely debated for its sanctity.
It seems internalized language is thought while externalized language is speech. Few years back, the Harvard Gazette ran an article on which comes first - language or thought. But the question remains - can thoughts exist without languages?
20th century western philosopher Jerry Fodor feels thoughts are a language represented with mental sentences or 'Mentalese' that is distinct from natural languages. His Language of Thought hypothesis can be understood from an analogy in computers. Computers use binary numbers to represent logic. All programs written in higher languages are translated to their binary forms which form the words of the language. Accordingly all natural language conversations have a underlying basic Mentalese.
On the other hand, the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests an extreme approach that language shape thoughts. This idea relates to two of its principles. One, language determinism, our language determines our thoughts and two, language relativity, people speaking different languages think differently. This theory has come under many philosophers' microscope and is widely debated for its sanctity.
It seems internalized language is thought while externalized language is speech. Few years back, the Harvard Gazette ran an article on which comes first - language or thought. But the question remains - can thoughts exist without languages?
posted by Karthik @ 1:05 PM
2 Comments:
Thought is the basis for everything, including language itself - which is just a tool to express the thought; through a medium whether aural, gesticulatory, visual or some otherwise. To even conjecture whether thought exists without language does not make sense at all in my view.
Agree, if thought is the basis why the notion that language must be tied to thought? Let me see...what about thoughts in a newborn?
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