Language, acquiring language and using it for mutual communication is what distinguishes humans from animals. Language is also an indispensable medium of thinking and therefore also a limitation of thinking. It is therefore not surprising that the relationship between language and thought is one of the main themes in philosophy. Language and thinking are inextricably linked. Without language there is no thinking, no thinking without language.
Philosophy and language
Since ancient times, philosophers have thought and written about language. Since the second half of the 18th century, the idea has been put forward that language plays a key role in the development of knowledge. From this period onwards, the question is not exclusively: what is reason? But also the question: what is language? Because without language we have no reason. The work of Wittgenstein (1889-1951) in particular has made an important contribution to the connection between language and thinking in philosophy. His thinking has ensured that today we speak of a linguistic turn. Questions regarding the nature of language and its central role in thought and action play an important role after this linguistic turn.
Influence of language on thinking
Language is a system of rules and principles by which words, phrases and sentences are formed. The system of any language is used as a tool to express ideas. Ideas can also be created through this system. Language plays a major role in processing impressions, interpreting reality and organizing thoughts. It is therefore assumed that the words a language user has available influence his/her thinking in one way or another. With the specific use of language and the associated thoughts, an individual describes or refers to the reality surrounding him.
The influence of language on thinking can be illustrated, among other things, by the Chinese language and Chinese writing , which in terms of structure are far removed from all modern languages of Europe. It is assumed that a scientific logic, such as that which developed in Greece in the West, could not develop in China. Western logic arose in relation to the grammar of the Indo-European languages, which makes a strict distinction between noun, adjective and verb, and between subject, object and predicate. As a result, a society with a language structure such as the Chinese language must think differently than any Western society.
Conceptual frameworks and worldviews
The ideas that have been formulated in Europe over the centuries on various subjects of human life cannot be reconciled in an unambiguous way. This is also called incommensurability.
Over the centuries, scientists have used different conceptual frameworks, this is the set of coherent concepts or concepts with which people think at that time. This means that in a certain period it is simply not possible to formulate a hypothesis about a certain subject, because there is no room for it in the then available conceptual frameworks. It is simply unthinkable.
The question, however, is whether man’s thinking and worldview are determined by language, in which case language guides the language user in an unavoidable way. Or is there a major influence of language on people’s thinking and worldview? In the latter case, the role of language is not so compelling and all-consuming. This question has occupied several scientists from different disciplines for generations and the question has still not been fully and unanimously answered. What is certain is that thinking is also partly non-verbal. Painting, composing and solving arithmetic problems are often not done through verbal reasoning. In any case, it can be concluded from this that language does not determine thinking, but that at most it influences it.