Can one think without languge?

[Barney Stinson]

Language is defined by a set of symbols and meanings.

Ready? Go.

 

[Jim Morrison]

Language is used to describe abstract feelings. Think yeah, but not like we do.

 

[Barney Stinson]

Explain to me how it's possible to think without some form of language. Everything we think, everything anything thinks comes from a certain stimuli that we react to in whatever way. Without language....essentially it's impossible to express anything, to think anything really, without language.

Right?

 

[Jim Morrison]

Explain to me how it's possible to think without some form of language. Everything we think, everything anything thinks comes from a certain stimuli that we react to in whatever way. Without language....essentially it's impossible to express anything, to think anything really, without language.

Right?

fight or flight

 

[Barney Stinson]

Is fight or flight actually thinking, or is it just a base reaction that is in animals?

 

[Gimmi]

If you didn't know what the word anger was would you still frown when I stepped on your foot?
Of course.

 

[DB]

You're not trying to express anything, just think. So, yes.

 

[Barney Stinson]

If you didn't know what the word anger was would you still frown when I stepped on your foot?
Of course.

Frowning is considered body language.

 

[Barney Stinson]

You're not trying to express anything, just think. So, yes.

Try to do this; think without using any form of language.

Bet you can't. Now try and think of an example where something thinks a thought, without using language.

 

[Renzokuken]

Body language is a form of language, so to speak. So yes, you can think without language. And it's impossible (For us) to think without using a language because we were brought up with a language; as is everyone else on the planet.

 

[Barney Stinson]

So then what you're saying is it's impossible to think without language?

Language is the cornerstone, as well as the pinnacle of human civilization. Without language, how would anyone ever be able to convey any form of message? How could a culture survive without the ability to communicate? Even the primitive humanoids of Earth had cave paintings and other forms of communicating. There are baser instincts and reactions that may be considered thinking without language, such as how a jellyfish lives its life, or how a blind, deft baby could convey to it’s mother that it’s hungry, tired or in need of change. However, as we’ve come to grow and evolve into the species we are today, could it simply be that some basic form of language is imprinted into our DNA, and we are born with a very simplistic knowledge of ‘language’? While a child that is blind will have a significantly different version of facial expression than that of someone with sight, the child still understands the basic emotions and how to convey them. When you look around, nearly everything is turned into some form of language. If you see a street, you understand it as a street, a road, a pathway, and you understand the color and texture of it. Would it be possible to understand all these without the language to convey messages about it? On a basic level one could say that thinking – and for that matter the actual thought process -- could be achieved without language, but if we are to understand thinking as self-reflection, and self-realization, wouldn’t one need language? How could you reflect upon yourself, reflect upon others, how could you come up with a thought that didn’t automatically link to some form of language? Is this even possible? But perhaps the biggest question is this; if you could think without language, couldn’t that be perceived as a form of language on its own?

What's your thoughts on that?

edit; and in case you were wondering, no I didn't write that.

 

[DB]

Try to do this; think without using any form of language.

Bet you can't. Now try and think of an example where something thinks a thought, without using language.

That's because I've used language my entire life. What you're trying to argue is that if you took away my language right now that I wouldn't be able to think, not if one grew up without language.

You'd eventually develop a way to think about things to yourself. Maybe even develop your own language. Also, body language is more instinctual than learned.

 

[Barney Stinson]

There's studies that show the difference between people that were born blind, and those who can see all their lives. The blind one's facial expressions are essentially just a tad of a frown and a tad of a smile, whereas the person seeing has dozens of facials expressions.

Hellen Keller grew up without language, as she was born blind and deft. She lived like a savage animal for years with her family without growing up with 'language', and yet she created her own form of language within a short amount of time.

 

[RyanXWing]

How do you develop a language without thinking?

 

[Barney Stinson]

On the opposite side, how do you think without first developing some form of language?

 

[Jim Morrison]

On the opposite side, how do you think without first developing some form of language?

On the realistic side, what came first.

 

[Renzokuken]

So then what you're saying is it's impossible to think without language?

Yes. That's what i think. And your quote pretty much bolstered what i said anyway.

 

[Barney Stinson]

Thinking is defined as the process of using your mind to consider something carefully. How can you consider something without first having language?

 

[CelestialBadger]

this is stupid. language was invented by people which would have been impossible without thought.

 

[RyanXWing]

Bees communicate through dance which could be interpreted as a language.