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Full Idea
Every human language appears to have a word or expression equivalent to the English word 'I'.
Gist of Idea
All human languages have an equivalent of the word 'I'
Source
E.J. Lowe (Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind [2000], Ch.10)
Book Ref
Lowe,E.J.: 'Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind' [CUP 2000], p.266
A Reaction
If this is true (what is his evidence?) I take it to be very significant support for what I take to be obvious anyway, that the mind/brain has a central controlling core, which understands and decides, and which is the most valued part of us.
| 2965 | For Kant the self is a purely formal idea, not a substance [Kant, by Lockwood] |
| 21368 | The knot of the world is the use of 'I' to refer to both willing and knowing [Schopenhauer] |
| 18289 | Forget the word 'I'; 'I' is performed by the intelligence of your body [Nietzsche] |
| 22419 | 'I' is a subject in 'I am in pain' and an object in 'I am bleeding' [Wittgenstein, by McGinn] |
| 15813 | People use 'I' to refer to themselves, with the meaning of their own individual essence [Chisholm] |
| 6666 | All human languages have an equivalent of the word 'I' [Lowe] |
| 6140 | Maybe the word 'I' can only refer to persons [Merricks] |