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Language serves as a bridge between ideas and communication, influencing how individuals perceive and interact with the world. Psychologists have long debated whether language shapes thought or vice versa. This discussion gained grip with Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf in the 1940s, who proposed that language determines thought, a concept known as linguistic determinism. They suggested that the vocabulary and structure of a language influence how its speakers think and perceive reality.
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Using the sender-receiver framework to understand the evolution of languages-of-thought.

Ronald J Planer1

  • 1School of Liberal Arts, Faculty of Arts, the Social Science and Humanities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia rplaner@uow.edu.au https://scholars.uow.edu.au/display/ronald_planer.

The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

This commentary supports the psychological reality of languages-of-thought (LoTs). It highlights their reduced physical demands and frames LoT research within the evolution of cognition.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • The debate on the psychological reality of languages-of-thought (LoTs) is ongoing.
  • Existing research often focuses on the representational capacity of LoTs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To supplement the argument for the psychological reality of LoTs.
  • To highlight the reduced physical demands of LoT architectures.
  • To contextualize LoT research within the evolution of cognitive systems.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of LoT architectures.
  • Comparative analysis of cognitive architectures.
  • Evolutionary framework integration.

Main Results:

  • LoT architectures often exhibit reduced physical demands compared to alternatives.
  • LoT research can be situated within a broader evolutionary framework.
  • This perspective enhances understanding of cognitive evolution.

Conclusions:

  • The reduced physical demands of LoTs support their psychological reality.
  • An evolutionary perspective enriches the study of LoTs and cognition.
  • Further research integrating LoTs and evolutionary theory is warranted.