History & The Arts
Language and thought: introducing representation
...English philosopher John Locke (1632–1704): Locke's question How is it that ‘the thoughts of men's minds [can] be conveyed from one to another’ (Locke [1706] 1997, III.1.2)? Locke's description of linguistic communication makes it sound like a kind of telepathy, and perhaps that is a useful comparison. By using language we are able to ‘read each other's minds’...