Language, Thought and Consciousness
An Essay in Philosophical Psychology

Peter Carruthers argues that much of human conscious thinking is conducted in the medium of natural language sentences.

Peter Carruthers (Author)

9780521639996, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 19 February 1998

308 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 2.1 cm, 0.505 kg

' … a book crammed with penetrating observations and good arguments. Few readers will fail to learn something from it, and none will be disappointed.' The Times Literary Supplement

Do we think in natural language? Or is language only for communication? Much recent work in philosophy and cognitive science assumes the latter. In contrast, Peter Carruthers argues that much of human conscious thinking is conducted in the medium of natural language sentences. However, this does not commit him to any sort of Whorfian linguistic relativism, and the view is developed within a framework that is broadly nativist and modularist. His study will be essential reading for all those interested in the nature and significance of natural language, whether they come from philosophy, psychology or linguistics.

Preface
Introduction
1. The geography of the issues
2. Which language do we think with? 3. Thought-based semantics
4. Holism and language
5. First steps towards a theory of consciousness
6. Second (-order) steps towards a theory of consciousness
7. A reflexive thinking theory of consciousness
8. The involvement of language in conscious thinking
Conclusion
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & political philosophy [HPS], Philosophy of language [CFA]