The language of thought hypothesis (LOTH),[1] sometimes known as thought ordered mental expression (TOME),[2] is a view in linguistics, philosophy of mind and cognitive science, forwarded by American philosopher Jerry Fodor. It describes the nature of thought as possessing "language-like" or compositional structure (sometimes known as mentalese). On this view, simple concepts combine in systematic ways (akin to the rules of grammar in language) to build thoughts. In its most basic form, the theory states that thought, like language, has syntax.
Using empirical evidence drawn from linguistics and cognitive science to describe mental representation from a philosophical vantage-point, the hypothesis states that thinking takes place in a language of thought (LOT): cognition and cognitive processes are only 'remotely plausible' when expressed as a system of representations that is "tokened" by a linguistic or semantic structure and operated upon by means of a combinatorial syntax.[1] Linguistic tokens used in mental language describe elementary concepts which are operated upon by logical rules establishing causal connections to allow for complex thought. Syntax as well as semantics have a causal effect on the properties of this system of mental representations.
These mental representations are not present in the brain in the same way as symbols are present on paper; rather, the LOT is supposed to exist at the cognitive level, the level of thoughts and concepts. The LOTH has wide-ranging significance for a number of domains in cognitive science. It relies on a version of functionalist materialism, which holds that mental representations are actualized and modified by the individual holding the propositional attitude, and it challenges eliminative materialism and connectionism. It implies a strongly rationalist model of cognition in which many of the fundamentals of cognition are innate.[3][4][5]
^ ab"The Language of Thought Hypothesis". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. 2019.
^Tillas A. (2015-08-16). "Language as grist to the mill of cognition". Cogn Process. 16 (3): 219–243. doi:10.1007/s10339-015-0656-2. PMID 25976728. S2CID 18301424.
^Cite error: The named reference murataydede was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Fodor, Jerry A. (1975-01-01). The Language of Thought. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674510302.
and 24 Related for: Language of thought hypothesis information
The languageofthoughthypothesis (LOTH), sometimes known as thought ordered mental expression (TOME), is a view in linguistics, philosophy of mind and...
One body ofthought stems from linguistics and is known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. There is a strong and a weak version of the hypothesis which argue...
a regular language, like English or French. The languageofthoughthypothesis, on the other hand, holds that this happens in the medium of a unique mental...
The idea of linguistic relativity, known also as the Whorf hypothesis, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis (/səˌpɪər ˈhwɔːrf/ sə-PEER WHORF), or Whorfianism, is...
associated with Jerry Fodor and his languageofthoughthypothesis. According to his argument, spoken and written language derive their intentionality and...
accepted hypothesis proposed for further research in a process beginning with an educated guess or thought. A different meaning of the term hypothesis is used...
in the mind. One form of this is the languageofthoughthypothesis, which claims that mental representations have a language-like structure, sometimes...
available. Chain-of-thought (CoT) prompting is a technique that allows large language models (LLMs) to solve a problem as a series of intermediate steps...
the symbol processing approach known as the "languageofthoughthypothesis" (LOTH) or "languageofthought" (LOT). Drawing on both computational neuroscience...
Celtic languages have sometimes been placed with the Italic languages in a common Italo-Celtic subfamily. This hypothesis fell somewhat out of favour...
The acronym LOTH can stand for: Languageofthoughthypothesis Liturgy of the Hours Loth (disambiguation) This disambiguation page lists articles associated...
same way that language is syntactically manipulated in order to produce thought. According to Fodor, the languageofthoughthypothesis explains the systematicity...
fiction is popularly known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis. The claim is that the structure of a language somehow affects the way its speakers perceive...
elaborated the first version of the contemporary form of the hypothesis during the 1960s. They expanded it to include additional language families. Illich-Svitych...
The critical period hypothesis is a theory within the field of linguistics and second language acquisition that claims a person can only achieve native-like...
11 May 2024. Rescorla, Michael (2023). "The LanguageofThoughtHypothesis". The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford...
(second language) learning hypothesis claims that pidgins are primarily the result of the imperfect L2 learning of the dominant lexifier language by the...
determinism is the concept that language and its structures limit and determine human knowledge or thought, as well as thought processes such as categorization...
applications in computing. The simulation hypothesis, as formulated by Nick Bostrom, is part of a long tradition of skeptical scenarios. It was presented...
The cognitive tradeoff hypothesis argues that in the cognitive evolution of humans, there was an evolutionary tradeoff between short-term working memory...
Global Information