Is there thinking without language?

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  1. Steven Lindquist profile image61
    Steven Lindquistposted 9 years ago

    Is there thinking without language?

    Is it possible to think without language given that language is needed to understand sound and visual representations.

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  2. chuckandus6 profile image78
    chuckandus6posted 9 years ago

    Yes,Helen Keller is proof that before Language was acquired she still thought, it just differentiated from the thinking process of someone with the knowledge of language.

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    1. Steven Lindquist profile image61
      Steven Lindquistposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Can you give some examples Nichol. I am interested in knowing what she thought in terms of what a flower was or the smell of bread. It is just further exploration of this question. What was bread if she didn't know the name for it?

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    2. chuckandus6 profile image78
      chuckandus6posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Source(s):
      http://en.wikipedia.ori/Helen_Keller
      xaxorm • 4 year. Comment 5 2  the
      human brain is readily adapted to find correlations in behavior, experience, and observation and format them into abstract constructs that symbolize the phenomena.
      Hele

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  3. RonElFran profile image96
    RonElFranposted 9 years ago

    I don't think that true thinking without language is possible. Reacting to various cues is certainly possible, but dogs, horses and other animals do that without (IMO) being able to think. To me, thinking necessarily involves reasoning on an abstract level, and I don't see how that's possible without language. Was Helen Keller ever really without language? Humans are born with innate language ability, and nothing says it has to be verbal. Patterns of touch can constitute language, as is proven by Braille. So, I don't think she is a counter example to the generalization that there is no true thought without language.

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    1. Steven Lindquist profile image61
      Steven Lindquistposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I would agree with your statement and find it fascinating that other people would take time to entertain such a notion. I think and therefore I use my language skills to formulate responses to people,without that I am not sure what form would be used

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