PHIL 343 Language and Thought

Human beings are (as far as we know) the only species that uses language, and (as far as we can tell) the only species that engages in at least certain kinds of thinking. But how are the ability to think and the ability to use language related to each other? This class will examine the relationship between language and thought from a number of different perspectives. How does language affect thought? Are there kinds of thinking that are aided or made possible only by language? Does the language you speak affect how you think, or what you can think about? What can the tools and techniques that we use to study language tell us about the structure of thinking (and vice versa)?

This course fills the Mind and World distribution requirement for the Philosophy Major.
This course fills the Philosophy Distribution Requirement for the Cognitive Science Major.

Prerequisite

N/A

Corequisite

N/A