Author Description
At least since Locke, philosophers and psychologists have usually held that concepts arise out of sensory perceptions, thoughts are built from concepts, and language enables speakers to convey their thoughts to hearers. Christopher Gauker holds that this tradition is mistaken about both concepts and language. The mind cannot abstract the building blocks of thoughts from perceptual representations. More generally, we have no account of the origin of concepts that grants them the requisite independence from language. Gauker's alternative is to show that much of cognition consists in thinking by means of mental imagery, without the help of concepts, and that language is a tool by which interlocutors coordinate their actions in pursuit of shared goals. Imagistic cognition supports the acquisition and use of this tool, and when the use of this tool is internalized, it becomes the very medium of conceptual thought.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates the origin of concepts and the relationship between language and cognition, challenging the traditional Lockean view that concepts are derived from sensory perception. Christopher Gauker, a philosopher specializing in the philosophy of language and mind, argues against the notion that thoughts are constructed from pre-linguistic conceptual building blocks. Instead, he proposes a framework where cognition is largely driven by mental imagery, and language functions as a social tool for coordinating action, which eventually becomes the medium for conceptual thought through internalization.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A critique of the traditional empiricist account of concept formation.
- A theoretical model of imagistic cognition as a primary cognitive process.
- An analysis of language as a social coordination mechanism rather than a mere vehicle for thought.
- An explanation of how internalized linguistic tools facilitate conceptual development.
Scope Limits
- The text does not provide an exhaustive empirical study of neurobiological mechanisms.
- It does not focus on historical linguistic evolution, but rather on the philosophical and cognitive origins of ideas.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars in the fields of philosophy of mind and cognitive science frequently note the technical density of Gauker's prose. Experts highlight this work as a significant contribution to the debate regarding the independence of concepts from language, often citing it for its rigorous challenge to established cognitive paradigms.
Page Count:
288
Publication Date:
2011-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0191619019
ISBN-13:
9780191619014
Philosophy
Psychology
Epistemology
English & College Success
Knowledge Theory
Comprehension
Linguistics
Philosophy of
English