A friend of mine recently complained that language is so crucial a crutch for him that he cant think without words. Made me start thinking if any of us can?
Are we limited in our thinking because of language? Is articulation an end result of thinking or we can only think what we can articulate? I think it is the classic chicken and egg question- what came first?
How did the early man think before the invention of language? Did he grow more sophisticated in his thinking with access to ever expanding vocabulary in language?
2 comments:
'Can we only think what we can articulate? Or can we articulate what we think?'
Do you remember how you used to think when you were a kid? I can't remember exactly, but I get the impression my dependence on words has increased as I've grown older.
As for the original question, I'm afraid I'm missing out on many things by leaning on words... Habit does become nature, after all. I've tried to consciously suppress the words during my internal soliloquies, and substitute them with pictures maybe, but the results till date have been indifferent at best.
- D*K
An intriguing question.
I feel language is an essential part of "higher" thought. Basic human thought obviously occurs sans language. However, I can't see how more sophisticated thought can occur without equally sophisticated language.
Progress in any field is associated with new terminology.
However, I suspect that the development of new terminology is simultaneous to progress and, essential for that progress to occur.
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