Saturday, December 1, 2012

Language and Thought

So, it is pretty well assumed that our experiences and perceptions influence how we create our language, but could the reverse be so as well? Could our language influence the way we think? For example, Luce Irigaray claims that language is inherently sexist, and we think in language, and how we think influences our perceptions of reality. Therefore, we interpret reality with a sexist bent. Language can therefore be an influence on our perceptions, just as our perceptions can influence how we use language.

It seems to me that there is a dialectic occurring between language and perception. They play off of one another and continually alter and change one another. Reality then is filtered through our construction of language, which then changes our language in itself, which alters our perceptions yet again. It is a vicious cycle.

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