Editing Language of thought hypothesis (section)

{{Short description|Hypothesis of philosopher Jerry Fodor}}
The '''language of thought hypothesis''' ('''LOTH'''),<ref name="stanford">{{Cite book|title=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|chapter=The Language of Thought Hypothesis |date=2019 |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |chapter-url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/language-thought/}}</ref> sometimes known as '''thought ordered mental expression''' ('''TOME'''),<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Language as grist to the mill of cognition.|author=Tillas A.|journal=Cogn Process|volume=16|issue=3|pages=219–243|date=2015-08-16|doi=10.1007/s10339-015-0656-2|pmid=25976728|s2cid=18301424 }}</ref> is a view in [[linguistics]], [[philosophy of mind]] and [[cognitive science]], put forward by American philosopher [[Jerry Fodor]]. It describes the nature of thought as possessing "language-like" or compositional structure (sometimes known as ''mentalese''). On this view, simple [[concept]]s combine in systematic ways (akin to the rules of [[grammar]] in language) to build [[thought]]s. In its most basic form, the theory states that thought, like language, has [[syntax]].

Using empirical evidence drawn from linguistics and cognitive science to describe [[mental representation]] from a philosophical vantage-point, the hypothesis states that thinking takes place in a language of thought (LOT): [[cognition]] and cognitive processes are only 'remotely plausible' when expressed as a system of representations that is "tokened" by a linguistic or [[semantic]] structure and operated upon by means of a [[combinatorial]] syntax.<ref name="stanford" /> Linguistic tokens used in mental language describe elementary concepts which are operated upon by [[logic reasoning|logical rules]] establishing [[causal]] connections to allow for complex thought. Syntax as well as semantics have a causal effect on the properties of this system of mental representations.

These mental representations are not present in the [[Human brain|brain]] in the same way as [[symbol]]s are present on paper; rather, the LOT is supposed to exist at the cognitive level, the level of thoughts and concepts. The LOTH has wide-ranging significance for a number of domains in [[cognitive science]]. It relies on a version of functionalist materialism, which holds that mental representations are actualized and modified by the individual holding the propositional attitude, and it challenges [[eliminative materialism]] and [[connectionism]]. It implies a strongly [[rationalism|rationalist]] model of cognition in which many of the fundamentals of cognition are innate.<ref name="murataydede" /><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|title = The Language of Thought|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XZwGLBYLbg4C|publisher = Harvard University Press|date = 1975-01-01|isbn = 9780674510302|language = en|first = Jerry A.|last = Fodor}}</ref>