Abstract
It has been argued that natural language, in the form of inner speech, plays a central role in self-consciousness. However, it is not quite clear why. In this paper, we present a novel answer to the why question. According to the thesis presented in this paper, the brain as a physical system is limited in observing itself and relies on the mediation of natural language for the reconstruction of its phase space trajectory. Drawing on knowledge gathered on the measurement of dynamical systems, we detail the unique properties of natural language that may support this reconstruction.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 37-48 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | New Ideas in Psychology |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Apr 2010 |
Keywords
- Dynamical systems
- Inner speech
- Interdisciplinary research
- Natural language
- Phase space trajectory reconstruction
- Self-consciousness
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychology (miscellaneous)
- General Psychology