Single Idea 23756

[catalogued under 18. Thought / A. Modes of Thought / 1. Thought]

Full Idea

At the very best, a mind is enclosed in language as in a prison. It is limited to the number of relations which words can make simultaneously present to it; and remains in ignorance of thoughts which involve the combination of a greater number.

Gist of Idea

The mind is imprisoned and limited by language, restricting our awareness of wider thoughts

Source

Simone Weil (Human Personality [1943], p.89)

Book Reference

Weil,Simone: 'An Anthology' [Penguin 1986], p.89


A Reaction

This seems to be a germ of the type of view of language which blossoms in Derrida. But she is on to something. None of us grasp fully, I think, the non-linguistic nature of good thinking.