Can people consciously think about a topic without language?

Question

the PHILOSOPHICAL question is whether we can think at all without language... perhaps "consciousness" is the better term... Can I consciously think about a topic without language?

Try these...
Can you think of abstract concepts without language? (freedom, morality, love...)

Is emotional response the result of active thought (consciousness) or simple stimulus-response?

What about academic subjects that involve mathematics? Can you even begin to "think" them without the language of math (numbers and symbols)?

I would like people to answer "YES" and give me the reasons.......if you answer "NO"...it's not going to be answer to me because i am somehow neutral and toward YES to this question

Answer 1

Of course we can think without language. In fact everyone spends the first year of their lives doing so. And we think visually, aurally, emotionally, etc, simultaneously, with or without language, when we have memories.

That's what people mean when they say something "feels like" this or that -- their thoughts are not linked to lingo but to all those other ways of processing stimuli.

Language I think is a much more recent arrival on the scene, in terms of human development, which just applies labels and means of externally communicating things that we think about. Just because we didn't yet have the word "freedom" back in the stone age doesn't mean people didn't understand the concept of it.

Phew, think I need a lie-down.

Answer 2

I think you would enjoy this book:

The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image by Leonard Shlain

It is not about goddesses or goddess worship, but rather religious concepts that are word based versus image based. It is a broad and ambitious work that touches upon the evolution of our species alongside the evolution of the written word and speech. It is a fascinating read and has become one of my favorites.

As to your questions, first we can consciously think without lanuguage. I would think that many abstract concepts are more easily thought about without language. It is difficult to describe freedom to someone who doesn't know what it means. I also believe that emotional response can be the result of active thought and stimulus, simutaneously or separately. However, the language of mathematics is an entirely different realm. I do not think that you can conceive the ideas and formulae without knowledge of numbers and symbols.

Answer 3

Yes, language was created by man to express his abstract thoughts. Other creatures have languages, not as complicated or intricate as ours, like manatees, they probably don't communicate in abstract terms at all. Emotional response has to do with something other than thought. Why? Because you are willing to disregard your thoughts in the pursuit of emotion, which is what makes them so dangerous. In basic mathematics, numbers and symbols are designated signs that represent an actual thing like three coffeepots. I can tell you, hey these are three coffeepots because I have the linguistic ability to do so and this enhances my ability to do more complicated equations but at the core, there is still this idea of three coffeepots but if I were to change the symbol 3 to %, the idea of the three coffeepots would not become obscured to me. You might not be able to understand what I was talking about if I told you that I had % coffeepots but I would still understand that there were three coffeepots and therefore, I could still think mathematically. If you're talking about imaginary math, well I don't understand much of imaginary math with language to aid me.

Answer 4

I'd say yes to the Q about abstract concepts. I can think in pictures--you say "love" and I picture my husband and baby girl...you say "freedom" and I see the Statue of Liberty and think about things like apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany, and how blessed I am to live in the U.S.
Academic subjects--yes. I can put 2 and 2 together in my head w/o seeing symbols or even the numerals...I have to use symbols here b/c I'm writing.
Emotional response--I think both, given various circumstances.

This is a very interesting topic--thanks for bringing it up.

Answer 5

People with limited language/communications skills do it all the time. They KNOW what they want to say but can only think about it since they lack the words to express themselves.

And isn't that pretty much how new words are coined..? First comes the thought and then the word is coined to express the thought, the idea, concept or thing? Think in terms of today's technology... imagine what someone from 100 years ago would say if he/she would hear someone say, "Do a google search," or "Fax it to me."

Answer 6

Yes, through images is the short answer.

The emotional is both consciousness and instinct to stimuli.

Math,I have to read it as if, it was the same as reading a book.

I will add that we as a society are bombarded with too much information and I work hard at removing myself from TV commercials because of the enticment to eat, to diet, to try some thing.

Answer 7

Why bother to ask the question and lose five points.

You do not want an answer, however consider this..

Humans think in mind pictures not language, therefore the answer appears whole, without transference through an interpreter (within the brain). I look forward to telepathy, this will give full answers in picture form.

Answer 8

I too think "no", but philosophically this is no more than a vague feeling. I can't begin to substantiate it in any a priori way.

However I do have a good empirical demonstration of it. It was a piece of advice on how do clear your mind when trying to get to sleep. If you ever lie down and find your mind racing, perhaps with arguments and counter arguments of philosophy, try reciting "Mary had a little lamb" to yourself without moving your eyes, lips ot tongue. You'll find that its not possible, you can't form the words in your mind without moving. The upshot of denying yourself the words is that your mind will clear.

Answer 9

You don't need an oral language to think of certain concepts but you cannot live or think without your natural body language.

Even the most primitive animals have a language of sorts even if it's only "I'm big and brutal so stay away" or "I'm big and sexy come here" both of which are visual body language.

Answer 10

yes it is, i know this because i think mostly in art/pictures but getting them out is not without a language because the pictures i come up with can not be explained in a language