An elegant explanation of language and thought and how they relate to each other.

This is the sort of paper you either read and understand in its entirety or you translate into just three sentences and then understand. The latter approach attest to the theory’s elegance. There are two types of language. We use one to talk to each other. We use the other unconsciously to perform the myriad of tasks ranged under the heading of thought. This is the language of thought and, to reiterate, it is unconscious. The language of thought blends symbolism and probability, thereby leavening the latter with a healthy dose of inference and causal reasoning. The brain translates between the two languages, thereby enabling us to exchange thoughts with others in a common currency. Now you have it.

Link to paper: https://web.stanford.edu/~ngoodman/papers/ConceptsChapter-final.pdf

You may also like to browse other language posts: https://www.thesentientrobot.com/category/language/