Quotes About Thought

may exist mathematical laws of thought in principle derivable from physic/chemistry. Such laws would have to be probabilistic.

Immanuel Kant: "Human reason is by nature architectonic

The central goals of Piaget's theory were to describe and explain the fecundity and rigor of thought (Piaget, 1936/1952, pp. 417–419; see Chapman, 1988, p. 144). Fecundity refers to the continuous construction of novel forms of thought in the course of development. Rigor refers to the reversibility (i.e., systemic coordination) and deductive necessity of thought (see Chapter 3, this volume).

In Piaget's developmental epistemology, sensorimotor intelligence serves as a bridge between biological functioning and rational thought.

Furthermore, biological functioning, sensorimotor intelligence, and rational thought are based on the same self-organizing processes (i.e., functional invariants).

Because Piaget used mathematical models to describe the organization of thought, this change in emphasis is reflected in his use of different mathematical formalizations.

First, higher mental functions are grounded in and emerge out of a practical, prereflective form of intelligence.

It is no coincidence that he referred to Kant as "the father of us all" (Piaget, 1965/1971, p. 220).

Chapman, M. (1988). Constructive evolution: Origins and development of Piaget's thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapman, M. (1992). Equilibration and the dialectics of organization. In H. Beilin & P. B. Pufall (Eds.), Piaget's theory: Prospects and possibilities (pp. 39–59). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

the main problem of any epistemology is in fact to understand how the mind succeeds in constructing necessary relationships, which appear to be independent of time, if the instruments of thought are merely psychological operations that are subject to evolution and are constituted in time (Piaget, 1950, p. 23);

I only knew what was in my mind, and I wished to express it clearly

When someone says, That's a good question. You can be sure it's a lot better than the answer you're going to get.

A prudent question is one half the wisdom.

Think all you speak, but speak not all you think.

Some people use language to express thought, some to conceal thought, and others instead of thought.

are not truly real in the consciousness of human experience until they are unraveled and correlated, until their relevant facts actually become meaning through encircuitment in the thought streams of mind.

A thought came to her that had insisted on settling with her for some time now, a thought that would anger Michel if she ever told him. Given a choice, she would rather be the one who was persecuted than the one who did the persecuting-- both had a terrible price to pay, but she would rather endure humiliation and fear than grow numb to what it was to be human.

Rabbit, thought Harriet. Giant Lop, I think, which would make sense. Problem is that once they get to this size, they stop wanting to eat just vegetables

Look, boys, it ever strike you that the world not real at all? It ever strike you that we have the only mind in the world and you just thinking up everything else? Like me here, having the only mind in the world, and thinking up you people here, thinking up the war and all the houses and the ships and them in the harbour. That ever cross your mind?

How does language interact with thought? Does language enable us to think, or does thinking enable us to talk?

How does language interact with thought? Does language enable us to think, or does thinking enable us to talk? Can we think in a sophisticated manner without silent internal speech? And lastly, how did this extraordinarily complex, multicomponent system originally come into existence in our hominin ancestors?

words his answer made. "High, high thy thought

Raghu's race. Well has he planned and bravely fought, And with due care my lady sought. But of the sea I sadly think

Kuhn, Feyerband, Polanyi, and others have convincingly argued that modern science is not practised according to a well defined and stable scientific method; all that can be granted it is that it is a single mode of thought, among many.