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1630 | We can only see an alien language in terms of our own thought structures (e.g. physical/abstract) [Quine] |
Full Idea: We are prone to talk about physical and abstract objects. It is hard to know how else to talk, because we are bound to adapt any alien pattern to our own in the very process of understanding or translating the alien sentences. | |
From: Willard Quine (Speaking of Objects [1960], pt.I,p.1) |