Universal Grammar
Do we think in language, or does language influence thought?
Take the concept of love. All living beings, whether humans or animals, feel and express love in different ways. It is not bound by time or death and is such a complex phenomenon to fully understand. Yet, it is universally shared, almost like a universal grammar.
For us humans, does the language we speak shape how we see and understand the world? Does it set the limits of what we can think about, or does it simply give structure to thoughts that exist independently? Does language, as a tool, enable us to reflect on our existence, imagine alternate realities, and explore inner worlds?
Sometimes we think or feel in visuals or emotions, which don’t need words until we try to articulate them. It makes one wonder, do artists and scientists see solutions or breakthroughs before ever putting them into words or numbers?
Einstein himself described his thought process as being more visual than verbal. Perhaps this is similar to how babies and non-verbal humans show their ability to think and solve problems without a formal language system.
Yet, when thinking creatively, we often struggle to find the right words to express a thought, indicating that thoughts might exist before they are verbalized. However, the capacity of our thoughts goes beyond words, let it be abstract visuals, raw emotions, or intuition, our mind is incredible in exploring and expressing, sometimes even beyond the boundaries of the language that we so far comprehend.
Could the languages we know act as limitations on the scope of our cognitive abilities? If we were to unlock a new tool, maybe a language or a thought process, to perceive love differently, would we be able to truly understand it then?
P.S. Maybe “understand” isn’t the right word I’m looking for. What would you suggest?
