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Thought Without Verbal Expression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2024

François Lhermitte
François Lhermitte*
Affiliation:
Académie des sciences morales et politiques
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Can we think without words? At first, the question is surprising, and the answer is most often, “No.”

This response is quite understandable. Words and thought are so closely connected in our mental activity that they appear almost indissociable, since if we follow an introspective process, it is not possible for us to analyze our reasoning and our feelings without having recourse to words. Moreover, man's verbal expression is not only a means of communication; it is also an instrument of progress for the mind, without which the mind would not be able to attain the very high levels of abstract and conceptual thought that are proper to it. No one would dream of minimizing the important influence of words on thought. It is more correct to magnify it as Paul Valéry did: “The honor of man, blessed speech.”

Type
Research Article
Information
Diogenes , Volume 30 , Issue 117 , March 1982 , pp. 11 - 25
Copyright
Copyright © 1982 Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie / International Federation of Philosophical Societies (FISP)

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