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Mentalese
BRENT SILBY
Unlimited (UPT)
Pinker’s Resistance
We have all had the experience of uttering or writing a sentence, then stopping and
realizing that it wasn't exactly what we meant to say. To have that feeling, there has to
be a “what we meant to say” that is different from what we said. Sometimes it is not
easy to find any words that properly convey a thought. When we hear or read, we
usually remember the gist, not the exact words, so there has to be such a thing as a gist
that is not the same as a bunch of words. And if thoughts depend on words, how could
a new word ever be coined? (Pinker 1994: pg 57-58).
Pinker’s Resistance
You might form a mental image of the object but have difficulty
finding the right word to name it
Perhaps this case shows that thoughts are formed and sometimes
there is difficulty translating the thought into language.
Maybe true that don’t remember the exact words, but that doesn’t
refute the claim that thinking is done in natural language.
But, couldn’t Pinker say that these recipes are in fact mentalese
encodings of sentences?
I do not think this poses a problem for the idea that thinking
is done in natural language
It is not the case that a new thought arose that needed a word.
Rather, the new word appeared in order to form a complex
thought that was originally made from a number of words.
It was an acronym:
“Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus”
It is difficult to see how “rock ‘n’ roll” could have been coined if
thought was done in mentalese. There is no letter “R” in mentalese
so there is little reason for why a mind would put these two words
together.
The phrase “Rock ‘n’ Roll” only exists because of its appeal in
natual language
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Christchurch, New Zealand
www.unlimited.school.nz