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Just applying the thought experiment. If everything is imagination, then that includes language itself and other people. So your understanding of language, and
by jasonkostempski 10y ago
Just applying the thought experiment. If everything is imagination, then that includes language itself and other people. So your understanding of language, and your perception of other peoples understanding of language could all just be your imagination.
- _nalply 10y agoBut most probably it isn't, because language is too complex for imagination of a single, alone person.
- jasonkostempski 10y agoI think the "imagination" Descartes is imagining is something with the ability to create the thing we typically call "imagination". i.e. You're ability to "imagine" is just part of the imagination :)
- _nalply 10y agoYes I followed this thought too. Why not imagining that language is too complex to imagine? However you have finally to experience all these intricacies of language even those ones which exceed your capability to understand. It's similar to the problem of a moderately intelligent author inventing a super-intelligent character and describing their actions and the rationales thereof in plausible detail. Somehow the outcome is just mediocre and meh. But the complexity of language is just awesome. For example the German articles. They have only five endings but manage to capture sex, plurality and case in their 24 combinations exactly and people understand these fine nuances in split seconds. This is too awesome for my brains to imagine. Or in English the difference between ludicrous and ridiculous. The possibility to express this fine a nuance is just awesome.
- visarga 10y ago> If everything is imagination, then that includes language itself and other people That's a pretty powerful imagination. I'd say it is on par with God.