Language, Thought and Consciousness: An Essay in Philosophical Psychology

ISBN-13: 9780521639996 / Angielski / Miękka / 1998 / 308 str.

Peter Carruthers

Opis

Do we think in natural language? Or is language only for communication? Much recent work in philosophy and cognitive science assumes the latter. In contrast, Peter Carruthers argues that much of human conscious thinking is conducted in the medium of natural language sentences. However, this does not commit him to any sort of Whorfian linguistic relativism, and the view is developed within a framework that is broadly nativist and modularist. His study will be essential reading for all those interested in the nature and significance of natural language, whether they come from philosophy, psychology or linguistics.

Recenzje

' … a book crammed with penetrating observations and good arguments. Few readers will fail to learn something from it, and none will be disappointed.' The Times Literary Supplement

Spis treści

Preface; Introduction; 1. The geography of the issues; 2. Which language do we think with? 3. Thought-based semantics; 4. Holism and language; 5. First steps towards a theory of consciousness; 6. Second (-order) steps towards a theory of consciousness; 7. A reflexive thinking theory of consciousness; 8. The involvement of language in conscious thinking; Conclusion; References; Index.