Meaning of mentalese | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A hypothetical non-verbal language in which concepts are represented in the mind.
   uncountable, usually
2. Alternative letter-case form of mentalese.
   alt-of, uncountable, usually

Equivalents

Examples

“The concept of a proposition as something that can be expressed by sentences in both Mentalese and, say⟳, English is an analogical extension of the concept of a proposition as something that can be expressed by sentences in both English and German.”

“Translationists are said to treat⟳ the coding of thoughts in ‘Mentalese’, whose structure⟳ is already known, into a natural language, just like⟳ translating a natural language, say⟳ Russian, in terms of another known language, say⟳ English (G 282). Incorporationists point⟳ out the circularity of (36b) because Mentalese, supposed to be intrinsically intelligible, is just English or some other variety of a natural language, and the translation maneuver only postpones the problem, [...]”

“But where does mentalese come⟳ from? If it is learned, then what is it related to in the preceding mentaleses? To avoid⟳ endless regress, [Jerry] Fodor postulates an internal language that is innate, a claim⟳ that he himself calls "horrendous" and "scandalous," yet inescapable.”

“[A]re natural languages merely vehicles for the communication of mentalese? Or does language itself play⟳ a role in the formation of our thought? The question⟳ is called critical, since a positive response to the latter (language does play⟳ a role) would call⟳ into question⟳ the assumption that all meaning is reducible to mentalese.”

“One suggestion is that there is a de facto correlation between words or sentences of natural language and expressions of mentalese and between the logical relations among the former and the causal relations among the latter. This is a curious idea. The alleged correlation is not empirically grounded.”

“[I]t is probably misleading to talk⟳ about the language of thought, or to talk⟳ about ‘Mentalese’, as if it were a single representational system. We should more properly, in the context of a thesis of massive mental modularity, talk⟳ about languages of thought, or Mentaleses.”

“[Jerry] Fodor's position stems from his theory, first articulated in The Language of Thought, that there is a type⟳ of internal system of representation contained within the human mind⟳ out of which thoughts are formed, similarly to the way sentences are formed out of individual words, a "language" which he refers to as "mentalese." Our concepts are the units out of which mentalese constructs thoughts. [...] Importantly, mentalese must be sufficiently rich to enable us to utilize it to learn⟳ the natural language of our birth, and we must have⟳ this type⟳ of system of representation prior to any development of natural language.”

“The concept of a proposition as something that can be expressed by sentences in both Mentalese and, say⟳, English is an analogical extension of the concept of a proposition as something that can be expressed by sentences in both English and German.”

“Translationists are said to treat⟳ the coding of thoughts in ‘Mentalese’, whose structure⟳ is already known, into a natural language, just like⟳ translating a natural language, say⟳ Russian, in terms of another known language, say⟳ English (G 282). Incorporationists point⟳ out the circularity of (36b) because Mentalese, supposed to be intrinsically intelligible, is just English or some other variety of a natural language, and the translation maneuver only postpones the problem, […]”

“[I]t is probably misleading to talk⟳ about the language of thought, or to talk⟳ about ‘Mentalese’, as if it were a single representational system. We should more properly, in the context of a thesis of massive mental modularity, talk⟳ about languages of thought, or Mentaleses.”

CEFR level