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Originally Posted by sadavis00  \ Does anyone have an inner monologue that is silent, and not articulated? Does anyone think without speaking to themselves? Can anyone think logically without explicitly talking to oneself? I can understand simple processes like deciding where to go can be accomplished without saying "I want to go to the park", but about the more complex ones?
Also, if you have an articulated inner monologue, is how you write/converse similar to how you have your inner monologue, in terms of grammar, idioms, accent? Or is the way you conduct your inner monologue markedly different from the way you actually write/converse? |
This thread is fascinating to me.
Unlike most who've replied in this thread, I rarely ever have an articulated inner monologue in my head. And yes, almost all of my logical thinking is conducted without explicitly talking to myself.
When I think, I consciously juggle discrete concepts or beliefs (some of which are blurry, others are clear) in my mind. My concepts/beliefs are not consciously represented as words or images. Rather, they are represented as something else. However, these representations are fundamental (irreducible) in my conscious experience and they are unlike anything else, so I have no idea how to describe the representations other than with the words "concepts", "beliefs" or maybe "ideas" (which I'm sure is not very informative).
Perhaps not surprisingly, when I talk to people, I have great difficulty in expressing my thoughts with words - i.e. I'm somewhat inarticulate (writing is different, though, as I have plenty of time to choose the right words. This post has taken me about 15 minutes to write so far). Consequently, many people assume I'm less intelligent than I am when they first meet me. Also, my way of thinking has a strong influence over the way in which I like to interact with people. I generally dislike engaging in small-talk (I'm not good at it and I find it boring), but I love having deep conversations about general or abstract notions.
I envy people who can express their thoughts verbally with clarity, so I've tried in the past to practice thinking with words. However, I find that this forced way of thinking is slow and hence frustrating. Recently, though, I discovered that, if I read a book out-loud to myself for several hours, I can maintain a natural articulated inner-monologue for several more hours without any effort at all, and when I converse with people in this time period I can speak much more articulately than usual. I sometimes now read out-loud to myself before I attend a social event so that I find talking to people easier and more enjoyable. It would be interesting to pinpoint the neurological reason behind this.
On the plus side, I have a natural talent for rapid comprehension of abstract ideas in, for example, mathematics, computer science and philosophy, and I find mastery of such ideas deeply satisfying. I have a particular interest in philosophy-of-mind because I'm so fascinated by the way in which my own mind works.