TOK
Marco Vitali
Is it possible to think without language? How does language facilitate, extend, direct or limit thinking?
Thinking is possible without language because expressing a thought is often limited by words. As the famous saying says “a picture is worth a thousand words” this may also mean an idea a though or a picture in your mind, is worth a thousand words. Many times, people would like to express something they are imagining in their minds but do not have or know the right words to do so. Languages can create perspectives and be a mean to express and receive thoughts; however, thinking does not always require language.
Language facilitates knowledge by not only giving us a way to express it but also providing us with a way of imagining something. It allows us to organize and simplify our ideas. For instance, it is easier to think in a table as the word "table" instead of imagining the entire three dimensional objects. A good example of this is a history book: through its words (language) it gives us a, sometimes clear, picture of a battle, a signing of a treaty or any historic event. Through its words the book is able to provide the reader with knowledge which is then transformed by the reader into an idea and a thought. The same can happen inversely, a though can be converted into language, as people do in everyday conversations. While this might be true, it does not mean that people cannot think, know, or have an idea without using language. A good example that proves this is a newborn; a baby that is hungry and wants milk, even though he does not know the words to express it, must be thinking “I am hungry” or “I want milk”. Some may argue that a baby’s hunger is an instinct, not a though, but in some cases kids do not learn how to speak until they are much older, does this mean they have lived on only instincts and not thoughts until they learned to speak. But children learn words little by little, not all at once which may lead the questions, where is the boundary? How much language must someone know to be able to think? Or, Can people only think the words you know? Is a baby’s first though “mommy” or “daddy”? Even though babies have not learnt any form of communication, they laugh think something is funny.
