Full Idea
The ancestor and chief rival of the language-of-thought hypothesis is the picture theory of ideas - that thoughts are about what they are about because they resemble their objects.
Gist of Idea
The predecessor and rival of the language of thought hypothesis is the picture theory of ideas
Source
Daniel C. Dennett (Kinds of Minds [1996], Ch.2)
Book Reference
Dennett,Daniel C.: 'Kinds of Minds' [Phoenix 1997], p.68
A Reaction
When you place them side by side, neither seems quite right. How can a mental state resemble an object, and how can an inner language inherently capture the features of an object? Maybe we lack the words for the correct theory.