I think you have to catch yourself off-guard. The minute you attend to what you are thinking you begin to translate it into language. Then you mistake the language for what you are thinking. I'm pretty sure thinking came before language. And I'm pretty sure William Golding had it near enough right in The Inheritors. What is a dream but pure thought, unsullied by the conscious mind's insidious desire to make everything look neat and tidy?
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Originally Posted by David Rosenthal
I am honestly not sure if I could tell the difference between what is happening in my mind when I am "thinking" as opposed to when I am "saying"
other than some obvious things about opening my mouth and making sounds, or typing, or whatever. Although, I often speak out loud when I am thinking alone aw well.
I seem to think in linguistic conventions all the time, by which I mean all of the time -- I cannot think of a counterexample.
Anyone ever read The Origin of Consciouness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind byt Julian Jaynes? It is a fun read.
David R.
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