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Single Idea 2480
[filed under theme 18. Thought / B. Mechanics of Thought / 4. Language of Thought
]
Full Idea
Thinking can't just be in sequences of English words since, notoriously, thought needs to be ambiguity-free in ways that mere word sequences are not.
Gist of Idea
Language is ambiguous, but thought isn't
Source
Jerry A. Fodor (In a Critical Condition [2000], Ch. 6)
Book Ref
Fodor,Jerry A.: 'In Critical Condition' [MIT 2000], p.64
A Reaction
I think this is a strong argument in favour of (at least) propositions. Thoughts are unambiguous, but their expression need not be. Sentences could be expanded to achieve clarity.
The
19 ideas
with the same theme
[brains have an in-built private language ('Mentalese')]:
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2605
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If everything uses mentalese, ALL concepts must be innate!
[Putnam]
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2606
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No machine language can express generalisations
[Putnam]
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3086
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Are there any meanings apart from in a language?
[Harman]
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3996
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Folk psychology doesn't say that there is a language of thought
[Lewis]
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2524
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A language of thought doesn't explain content
[Dennett]
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4874
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The predecessor and rival of the language of thought hypothesis is the picture theory of ideas
[Dennett]
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2480
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Language is ambiguous, but thought isn't
[Fodor]
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2487
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Mentalese may also incorporate some natural language
[Fodor]
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2483
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Mentalese doesn't require a theory of meaning
[Fodor]
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8090
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Since the language of thought is the same for all, it must be something like logical form
[Fodor, by Devlin]
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12643
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Ambiguities in English are the classic reason for claiming that we don't think in English
[Fodor]
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2604
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We must have expressive power BEFORE we learn language
[Fodor]
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3010
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Belief and desire are structured states, which need mentalese
[Fodor]
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3213
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Animals may also use a language of thought
[Rey]
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3170
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We train children in truth, not in grammar
[Rey]
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7715
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Mentalese isn't a language, because it isn't conventional, or a means of public communication
[Lowe]
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4927
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Information-processing views of the brain assume the existence of 'information', and dubious brain codes
[Edelman/Tononi]
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11121
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Language of thought has subject/predicate form and includes logical devices
[Margolis/Laurence]
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17767
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The alternative to a language of thought is map-like or diagram-like thought
[Bayne]
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