Thought, Language, and Reality: A Philosophical Analysis

Thought and Language

The following positions can be held about the relationship between thought and language:

• Thought is based on and depends on language: Language allows thought to flow, shaping and limiting it. Thinking about nothing is easier than thinking about something concrete.
• Thought is language: Language is a system of signs, which do not necessarily have to be spoken or written.
• Language is based on thought: Thinking is an innate faculty that can be developed and perfected. Language is not innate; it is learned. No one is born knowing how to speak; therefore, thought precedes language.

Language and Reality

Relations between language and reality:

• Human language is conventional. Words do not emerge naturally from things; instead, "all our languages are works of art", authentic artifacts. Not even onomatopoeic words have a direct relationship with reality (e.g., sounds of roosters).
• Human language is symbolic because it uses signs rather than the things signified.
• Language is subjective. Words express realities through conventions accepted by all, but the words are spoken by a person, depending on how that person understands the reality presented. Language does not express pure ideas but realities, though it sometimes confuses one reality with another.

The Philosophy of Language

The first philosophers inquired about the cosmos and the reality around them. In the modern era, philosophers wanted to know about knowledge and how it is produced. This shift was called the linguistic turn, and the philosophical approach, analytical philosophy.

The analytic movement developed in three stages:

• Logical Atomism: This approach took logic as an ideal model of scientific language. Its chief representative is Russell (1872-1970).
• Logical Positivism: This stage developed logical analysis of language and its implementation. It was caused by the "Vienna Circle".
• Analytic Philosophy: The role of philosophy is the clarification of language. The outstanding representative is Wittgenstein.

Wittgenstein and Analytic Philosophy

Wittgenstein asks, what is the condition that makes a priori conditions possible? Language.

Thought is possible through language. Thought can only be expressed to the extent that language allows it to have meaning. When language loses its meaning, it expresses nothing. Therefore, language determines thought and makes it possible.