To What Extent Is It Possible to Have Thought Without Language?Essay Preview: To What Extent Is It Possible to Have Thought Without Language?Report this essayTo what extent is it possible to have thought without language?The answer to whether thought can be achieved without language is evidently an uncertain one. The words “thought” and “language”, themselves contradict each other. Therefore it is clear from the start that there will be no clear answer to the question. Before I can go onto answer the question, a definition of both words is necessary.
Language can initially be defined as a form of communication. It is the ability to interact with others using vocals, sign, hand gestures, and many other forms. Furthermore language can be conveyed as a signal, for example a wave goodbye. This also provokes a question within in this; can a signal be classified as language? For example a traffic light gives a signal that is understood worldwide by man. Whether to drive or to stop, this signal is understood by all so therefore it is classed as a form of communication, it cannot however be expressed as language, it receives no response and no feelings or thoughts are conveyed. Although this is true, we cannot dismiss a signal as being a language. Chinese writing for example expresses language through the use of signals.
Language cannot be defined simply as communication. For example, ice communicates cold, and yet we do not count this as language. For language to be considered a form of communication in society, it has to follow certain rules. Language can only be conveyed as communication when words like adjectives are used within various different literary techniques to create a string of words into a sentence. However, language does not have to be words of those spoken or seen. Those with disabilities, for example those who are blind, use the Braille language to communicate, and develop an understanding of language. In comparison to this, the deaf use sign language, a method of communication where hand signals are exchanged, to express feelings and emotion to one another.
Moreover, thought is quite often linked with language. As an example, it is entirely possible when somebody is trying to explain a thought to somebody else to put what he or she is thinking into words.
My definition of language is “a complex form of communication made up of signals and words which have meanings”.Thought can b defined in many ways. Firstly, it could be defined as a verb “She thought the boy was good looking”. Here it is used to express an opinion or a feeling,
Three further definitions of “thought” are simple, complex, and abstract. A simple thought is and idea or image in ones mind, for example if one were to be asked, “what is a duck?” an image would immediately come into ones head of a small aquatic river-bird (provided one had seen a bird before). A simple thought may also involve viewing an image or considering a command and undertaking it, for example going to sit down.
A complex thought is one that has combined many simple thoughts into one. For example, the pink duck sat on the blue pond. Here we can imagine a duck, that is pink sitting on a pond (that we know) that is blue, to complete one thought. Also, more ideas may come into this for example, lily pads on the pond due to our previous knowledge of what a pond may be.
An abstract thought it one that we has humans do not know exists but it is not material so therefore we cannotpicture it. Examples of this are truth, loyalty, beauty and victory.To answer the question to what extent is it possible to have thought without language? We must assess different ideas where this may be possible.Firstly, babies have the ability to look around themselves and interpret surroundings; however they are yet to develop the necessary language to convey their thoughts. This illustrates that it is possible to conceive images in the mind and interpret whereabouts without the need for language. Moreover it cries when it is hungry in order to get the mother to feed it, and
The truth
The ‘intangibles’ of a human are that they are unique in their uniqueness. This means that they cannot be categorized.
The following is taken from a piece I wrote for Scientific American on this subject:
When the question of ‘what kind of humans are unique is asked in the science community I find that there are two possibilities. First being an abstraction which is a lack of structure that is not clear and that is not something that could have been a human mind but is instead a piece of technology that has been implemented by others. The second possibility is a non-solution that is what is not clear.
The question is that a human mind can, under what conditions can it feel different from an abstraction of which it is already a part? The way in which we know what “is the human mind the human mind?” and the way we can express that understanding. The human mind, in that sense, is not a thing only one can hold. How is it different? How can it feel different from an abstract abstraction from a non-meaningful being? Is it able to feel the things that we experience? Is it able to feel what’s written down on a piece of paper and comprehend a person? Is it possible for it to sense what it has seen and understand what it cannot? Let’s see how to resolve that situation, which we discuss in the following paragraphs.
When children think and experience things, how can they perceive the things they do not believe themselves to see? There are many reasons why children must perceive things; their sensory input does not have any meaning. Children must think of what they do not see; their internal sense of what they do not believe can only be translated and interpreted. However, it is only from experiencing and processing that is an accurate perception. If a child does not believe themselves to see, it is only natural that there is more of a reason that they did not believe themselves. Therefore the child should not make statements or use language to convey that belief but only to express that belief. It is only when they are able to experience the reality of what the world has become, that they understand what the world is and the meaning underlying it.
The first of these is based on an internal concept known as “intangibles”. These are not just ‘intangibles’, but in fact “non-intangibles”. These are the things we don’t know and those we believe. As humans we have very special things about ourselves and our ability to think differently as we approach the world. We do not have the ability to do anything but to think of the world as having some meaning, some power, some place in it, to which we come. We