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Do we think by using words or do we think then use words?

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If a husband tells his wife “You look sick, maybe you should stay home,” words are helpful because those ideas are difficult to get across without them. ... A meta-analysis found improved performance for athletes who used self-talk, especially in sports with fine motor technique like golfing and gymnastics. read more

Thinking is an activity, and it is something we do. We are not always thinking. We can think in words because words too can be remembered and experienced, but we can think in imagery, sounds, flavors, emotions, etc. What you can imagine, you can think in. read more

We have the ability to analyze and interpret our environment, and we do this with words and sentences in a structured language. However, with thoughts of our own feelings and emotions, it may be completely different. read more

Language gives us symbols we can use to fix ideas, reflect on them and hold them up for observation. It allows for a level of abstract reasoning we wouldn't have otherwise. The philosopher Peter Carruthers has argued that there is a type of inner, explicitly linguistic thinking that allows us to bring our own thoughts into conscious awareness. We may be able to think without language, but language lets us know that we are thinking. read more

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