CAN

YOU

THINK

WITHOUT LANGUAGE

EFFORTS BY:

AKANKSHA JAIN (10609133)

R3
 CAN YOU THINK WITHOUT LANGUAGE?

Searching for options about this question leads to a broad spectrum of answers. On one hand we
can claim that we can even think in pictures or on the other hand one has to think to learn a
language. In terms of neurosciences it has been proved that thinking without language is
possible. However the philosophical references often deny that one can think without language.
So the bottom line question which engulfs anybody’s spirit is “is language a bar in thought
process”? The answer is rather simple and straightforward.

Thinking is an abstract word defined by the use in the language. Therefore, we cannot use ‘to
think’ in the context (without language) where the word ‘think’ has never been used nor defined
nor practiced. Thinking is an activity that involves the manipulation of mental representation of
various features of the external world. Thinking includes reasoning-mental activity through
which we transform available information in order to reach conclusion. Thinking or cognition
refers to a process that involves knowing, understanding, remembering and communication. It
involves a number of mental activities like concepts, problem-solving, decision-making and
judgement formation. Thoughts are forms conceived in the mind rather than the forms perceived
through the five senses. Thoughts and thinking are the processes by which these concepts are
perceived and manipulated. Thinking allows beings to model the world and to represent it
according to their objectives, plans and desires. Similar concepts and processes include
cognition, consciousness, ideas and imagination. Thinking is the highest mental activity present
in man. All human achievements and progress are simply the products of thought. The evolution
of culture, art, literature, science and technology are all the results of thinking. Thought and
action are inseparable - they are actually the two sides of the same coin. All our deliberate action
starts from our deliberate thinking. For a man to do something he should first see it in his mind's
eye -- he should imagine it, think about it first, before he can do it. All creations-- whether
artistic, literal or scientific --first occur in the creator's mind before it is actually given life in the
real world. The purpose of thinking, paradoxically, is to arrive at a state where thinking is no
more necessary at all. In other words, thinking starts with a problem and ends in a solution. Thus,
thinking is a tool for adapting ourselves to the physical and social environment in which we are
in.

Dr. Edward de Bono says that thinking can be improved just like any skill because thinking
according to him is a skill. He has developed many useful techniques for training thinking skills.
The benefits of developing thinking ability are manifold. By developing one's thinking skills one
can make achievements; can become successful; can shine in social life; can attain emotional,
social and economic maturity and so on. By developing one's thinking abilities it is possible to
transform one's aggressive tendencies, bad temper and other negative tendencies creatively and
constructively. It has been found by Dr. Edward de Bono that when school students were taught
to think effectively, their ill-temper and aggressive tendencies reduced significantly. Clinical
Psychologists have also found that those who have neuroses are poor thinkers compared to
normals. Neurotics scored significantly lower scores in decision making, problem solving and
creative thinking. Interestingly, when neurotics were taught to think effectively, they showed a
remarkable reduction in their neurosis.

Our mind cannot think or imagine if there are no descriptions or label to transfer it so, we use the
power of language. E.g. when we see a screen transmitting images we called it a television.
Without any description (language) we would not differentiate from a table or a chair, so
otherwise a television would be the same as table and table the same as chair. These descriptions
of objects are linked to our thoughts so therefore language is essential for thought. Language is
our surroundings and all aspects of what we think. Without language people in the world could
not distinguish right from wrong. Language is what uplifts our thoughts and empowers our mind.
Language structure is what helps direct our thinking. For example: Ana is doing a great job in
learning how to write her name. Structuring language allowed me to distinguish when to use
"write" instead of "right". We could not think if we did not make use of language. Language is
used to read, write, speak, think, etc and it arranges what we perceive.

At present many experts agree that what truly sets us apart from other species of an animal in our
use of language-an ability to use an extremely rich set of symbols, plus rules for combining
them, to communicate information. While the members of all species do communicate with one
another in some manner, and while some may use certain features of language, the human ability
to use language far exceeds that of any other organism on earth. Language is spoken, written or
gestured work, it is the way we communicate meaning to ourselves and others. The ability to use
language is a very important part of human cognition. Despite the ubiquity of human linguistic
ability, pinning down exactly how language helps us and how we use it is not at all a
straightforward task. One obvious use for public language is to communicate ones thoughts to
other people. In fact, this may seem like the only, or at least the most important, use of our
linguistic abilities. The cognitive processes involve producing and understanding linguistic
communication. E.g. "he didn't have the language to express his feelings".
One particularly interesting field within the nature-nurture debate that has drawn heated
testimony from both sides is language acquisition. How much of our ability to produce and
comprehend language is programmed into our genes, and how much do we acquire only with
environmental stimulus? Obviously, language cannot be completely genetic. Humans speak a
wide variety of different languages, and very young children of any race or ethnic background
can learn to speak and understand any of these if exposed to appropriate models at the proper
time in development. Similarly, children cannot learn to speak a public language without this
critical exposure. However, all humans use language in one form or another, and psychologists
and linguists has noted many cross-lingual universals both in how children acquire language and
in the inherent characteristics of the languages themselves. Therefore, as is the case with most
aspects of human behaviour, the truth most likely lies in some combination of nature and nurture.

For a long time, the idea that language might shape thought was considered at best not testable
and more often simply wrong. Lera Boroditsky an assistant professor of psychology,
neuroscience and symbolic systems at Stanford University, talks about how our language shapes
the way we think. She collected data around the world: from China, Greece, Chile, Indonesia,
Russia, and Aboriginal Australia and founded that people who speak different languages do
indeed think differently and that even flukes of grammar can profoundly affect how we see the
world. Language is a uniquely human gift, central to our experience of being human.
Appreciating its role in constructing our mental lives brings us one step closer to understanding
the very nature of humanity. Humans communicate with one another using a dazzling array of
languages, each differing from the next in innumerable ways.

Today, more than ever, language is an integral part of our existence and survival. We depend on
it to think and communicate on a day to day basis from person to person. In this age of cellular
phones, fax machines and the internet, we use language so much that we usually take the power
of language for granted. Ludwig Wittgenstein an Austrian- British philosopher who worked
primarily in the areas of philosophy of mathematics, mind and language once said that "If we
spoke a different language, we would perceive a different world". Effective communication with
people of different cultures is especially challenging. Cultures provide people with ways of
thinking--ways of seeing, hearing, and interpreting the world. Thus the same words can mean
different things to people from different cultures, even when they talk the "same" language.
When the languages are different, and translation has to be used to communicate, the potential
for misunderstandings increases.
In the 19th century German Philosopher Wilhelm Humboldt claimed that language was directly
connected to thinking- that people around the world should actually think differently due to their
native language. The American linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf based on his hypothesis introduced
an idea that thoughts are controlled or influenced by the language we speak. Whorf (1956)
suggested that ‘language shapes the way we think and determine what we can think about’. For
e.g. he noted that the Hopi people cannot think about the past. In contrast of seeing that thoughts,
knowledge and values differ with every language, the aspect of language is as universal as
human culture itself. Every person since the beginning of human existence has used some form
of language to communicate to each other. Even though an object such as a potato is called le
pomme de terre in French, it is the same object in both French and English. The process by
which languages label these objects is the universal concept. In addition, since language is linked
directly to everyone's thoughts, language can be called the most universal discipline. One can use
language to influence many other disciplines such as logic, justice and value judgments, making
it an extremely powerful controlling tool. To control those disciplines, one could limit a person's
knowledge of language to control what they can or cannot understand. For example, if a person
only knows the words car and fast, then he will only use those two words to describe an
automobile. That person cannot describe the car's looks, handling, ergonomics, braking, and
suspension and so on. By controlling his knowledge of language, he is limited to what he can
understand. He will only be able to classify whether the car is fast or not. A similar element of
language that is commonly used by politicians is ambiguity; the transferring of thoughts that is
open to more than one interpretation. Politicians usually tend to be ambiguous in their election
promises so that when they get elected, those promises can be interpreted differently so that they
don't really have to be fulfilled. The language of politicians can alter the expectations of the
people, influencing them to vote for them. Therefore, politicians use the power of language to
control disciplines to their advantage. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

All the labels within any language have a role in the way we, as human beings think and process
our experiences. With the direct control that language possesses over thoughts, a person could
easily control other disciplines to their advantage. However, not only words and labels
themselves have an influence on our minds but the way they are said can have an influence of
how we identify people. Language can reveal an individual's identity through knowledge by
acquaintance in the sounds of their spoken language. On the other hand, people have actually
used the stereotypes created by the sounds of language to their advantage. An example of this
can be found on television with infomercials. When they have an expert on a product talk on an
infomercial, he usually speaks with a heavy British accent. This creates the illusion that the
person is well educated and knows what he is talking about. This makes viewers of these
infomercials believe entirely what he is saying and they very often buy the product. Thus, even
the sounds of language have a powerful impact on how we think. So with all things considered,
language is a lot more powerful than we think. Without it, we would not be able to handle any
thought. Through the direct link between our thoughts and our language, we can be extremely
influenced by the usage of labels and their sounds. An important thing to realize is that by
understanding the power of language, we can learn how to use it more effectively and we can
reduce its influence on our thoughts. Human kind's quest for knowledge is only limited by our
language and its ability to control what we can and cannot know.

The power of thought, the power to think and imagine, is present only if there are symbols or
words to transfer it. If no language exists to transfer thoughts, then thoughts lose all their value
and pass into the realm of non-existence. For example, one cannot effectively describe a picture
without using words. If I try to explain the beauty of Raphael's painting "School of Athens," I
must somehow use the words colour, appearance, and reality in order to succeed. Even if I was
only thinking about the painting, I would still have to use the words colour, appearance, and
reality. Yet, there are those who attack this premise and profess those thoughts are independent
of language. They argue that while a person may not be able to communicate without using a
language, that same person can think without using a language.

However, this approach is false because there is no way that a person can know that he is indeed
thinking of a picture without using the word picture. A person cannot know that he is thinking of
a picture and not a bus or an egg without calling a picture-picture, a bus-bus, and an egg-egg. By
using language to assign different words to different objects we draw clear differences between
pictures, buses, and eggs -- otherwise, without language, our mind would equate pictures to
buses and buses to eggs. Therefore, seeing that thoughts cannot exist without language, one must
turn to the use of language as a controlling tool. When a language provides words for objects or
events, we can think about these objects more clearly and remember them. It is easier to think
about two colors with two different names than colors with the same name (Özgen, 2004).

At the present time there seems to be broad agreement among linguists that language does
influence thought in various ways, though not as strong as Whorf’s statement of hypothesis
quoted above would seem to imply. It is obvious that some of us are capable of thinking ‘outside
the box’ of language when we make a conscious effort. I firmly believe that traffic runs both
ways between language and thinking and both are intricately intertwined. We need language to
think and interpret everything we experience and to put it into perspective, everything including
this essay.

References:

• Baron, R.A.(2006). Psychology, Pearson Education, V Ed., 246-283

• Boroditsky, Lera.(2009). How does our language shape the way we think,
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/boroditsky09/boroditsky09_index.html
• Cohen, Raymond. Cultural barriers to effective communication,
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/problem/cultrbar.htm
• Knezek, Malia. The miracle of language,
http://www.duke.edu/~pk10/language/psych.htm
• Whorf, B.L.(2008). Language shapes the way we think and determines what we can
think about, http://whereinsoever.wordpress.com