I don"t think so: Pinker on the mentalese monopoly

Author: Cole D.

Source: Philosophical Psychology, Volume 12, Number 3, 1 September 1999 , pp. 283-295(13)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Stephen Pinker sets out over a dozen arguments in The language instinct (Morrow, New York, 1994) for his widely shared view that natural language is inadequate as a medium for thought. Thus he argues we must suppose that the primary medium of thought and inference is an innate propositional representation system, mentalese. I reply to the various arguments and so defend the view that some thought essentially involves natural language. I argue mentalese doesn"t solve any of the problems Pinker cites for the view that we think in natural language. So I don"t think I think the way he thinks I think.

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

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