What vehicle does 'thought' take if there is no language?

Question

Theoretically speaking - if a person of average intelligence had no sight or sound or hearing ...... what would there 'thoughts' sound like in their minds?

Answer 1

Since my thoughts are my own and take on the tone of what I perceive to be my voice or vision or hearing, I can only imagine that thought for one so compromised of these senses would be that of tactile stimulation. Even through touch one will have a label for warm,cold,slimy,soft etc and that would be one form of thought.

Answer 2

Good Question! Perhaps just lighter shades of grey.

Answer 3

Any other senses they have gets stronger.

Answer 4

"I can see, and that is why I can be happy, in what you call the dark, but which to me is golden. I can see a God-made world, not a manmade world. "

Helen Keller

Answer 5

I have a deaf friend who loves the "feel" of music.  She will place her hand on the radio and her feet will dance to the vibrations.  She doesn't think "dance" because she doesn't know the sound of that word. I think that a person without sight, hearing, or speech would associate in terms of movement, touch, taste, and smell.  When we walk across a room, we don't actually think "walking, walking, walking" we just move. We don't think "sitting" or "kissing" or "hugging".  We just do it.  The pictures in our minds would be felt rather than actually seen.  The smell and feel of a baby, the touch of a lover's hand, the taste of cake.  Words, pictures, and sound are not needed there.  A very interesting question with lots to think about.

Answer 6

The Sound of Silence.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hUy9ePyo...

Answer 7

I would think that everything would be physical to them. Pleasure or Pain. How it would translate into everyday senses would be curious.

Answer 8

If you were deaf, dumb and blind the only other senses you would

have would be taste and touch.  Communication, ideas and thoughts

would all be felt and heard through vibration and tactile activities.

I wonder what water would feel like if you could not see or hear it

but you could feel it and taste it!!

Answer 9

I have always wondered that as my father was the Director of Special Education for Colorado when I was young.  

That is so interesting to me.  I can't wait to hear the answers that you get.

Terrie

Edit:  My dog had puppies once and before the pups eyes or ears opened, they had running dreams and it absolutely fascinated me.  What were they dreaming about and what where they chasing?  Was it instinct at work?  The mind is absolutely amazing.

Answer 10

We know the sound of two hands clapping, but what is the sound of one hand clapping.  I believe the best sense of this concept is conveyed in the film, "The Miracle Worker" with Patty Duke as Helen Keller, or the remake 17 years later when she portrayed Anne Sullivan.

Answer 11

I would just use telepathy, rather than be stuck for words.

Answer 12

That's kind of like asking what color is like in a blind person's mind.  If you ask someone with no sight, they will give you words that they associate with the colors.  If we had no sight or hearing, I suppose we'd develop our own internal language.  I wonder if Helen Keller ever addressed this question in her autobiography.

Answer 13

If we took the time to really look and listen to people we just might find that their own language buries them.

Is there really a way to gauge low, average or high intelligence?  

Answer 14

I have  no  idea.  

Answer 15

Silence.

Answer 16

As I understand it, we do not think in language, we think in images that are then translated to language. A person with no sight or hearing would be free to think in any images they "dreamed" up, but I suspect the images would become similar for similar feeling things, similar tasting things, etc. Our dreams are images, language is rarely applied to them.  

Answer 17

If you want to know ,this I would suggest you ask them.  But, wait, if they can't see or hear how would you communicate with them.  There must be a way.  Helen Keller couldn't see, speak, or hear but she was very intelligent and went to college.  I don't know how she did it  or how anyone could communicate with her but it did happen.  Miracles still happen.But you do have me curious now also, about this.

Answer 18

We can never know... we wudnt be able to communicate with the person would we?

and plus, i dont think the person would remember wat it was they were thinking. its like babies, they dont have a language, but around the time when infants learn to speak is when they start to remember (thats the point that memories go back to). weird theory i hav..

Answer 19

What do thoughts sound like in my mind? They reflect my personality(when I talk to myself) he he he. So they sound like me. On that note I would think it would reflect whatever that person feels.

I have an Autistic 26 yr old brother who is non verbal partial hearing lost and he definitely thinks. Babies have thoughts too. Think about that.

Answer 20

If you have enough time on your hands you will figure it out, just let us know.

Answer 21

Helen Keller could not speak or hear. However, this happened after the age of 19 months so she did know what sound and sight was like at first. You can read more about her at http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/pub...