Bloom (2000) 提供了我們一些語言決定論的想法:
請想像一個水平線,最左邊三分之一的部分我們叫它「zoop」,剩下的部分則是「moop」。一開始,我們對這條水平線沒有任何想法,但是經過上面的過程後我們對這條水平線有了結構。這就是認知的結果。例如:你可以知道這條線被平均地分為三等分,然後可以概據這樣子的線索,知道兩個zoop就和一個moop是一樣的。
或者再想像有人在你面前放在50個不同顏色、不同材質的小東西,然後有個人指著所有紅色、則質地柔軟的東西叫作「doops」。這會使你將紅色、柔軟的東西通通視為一個特殊的類別,而且這個類別會影響你看待事物的方式,而且使你回想其它物品的組合,即使這並不是在一個要求溝通的情境下。
也可以想像看到一個亂七八糟的房間,東西散落在各個角落。人們透過語言,可以描述當時所看到的情景;但是,對於沒有語言的動物而言,這樣子的景象,只有視覺輸入的記憶。兩者在儲存資訊上就存在很大的差異。
從邏輯上,有了語言似乎使我們的想法更有結構。那麼,在沒有語言前,人們就沒有任何想法了嗎?
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