that have never happened, like, suppose the time starts moving backwards, what would happen?, If we had no zero?, etc. Be aware of your own defenses concerning the problem. When we feel threatened by a problem we are less likely to think of creative ideas. Last but not the least, be self-confident and positive.
Never undermine your creative potential. Experience the joy of your creation. T HOUGHT AND L ANGUAGE Till now, we have discussed the nature and meaning of thinking and how thinking is based on images and concepts. We have also discussed the various processes of thought.
Throughout the discussion did you feel that words or language are essential to express what we think? This section examines the relationship between language and thought: that language determines thought, that thought determines language, and that thought and language have different origins. Let us examine these three viewpoints in some detail. Language as Determinant of Thought In Hindi and other Indian languages we use a number of different words for various kinship relationships.
We have different terms for mother’s brother, father’s elder brother, father’s younger brother, mother’s sister’s husband, father’s sister’s husband, and so on. An English person uses just one word uncle to describe all these kinship relationships. In the English language there are dozens of words for colours whereas some tribal languages have only two to four colour terms. Do such differences matter for how we think?
Does an Indian child find it easier to think about and differentiate between various kinship relationships compared to her English- speaking counterpart? Does our thinking process depend on how we describe it in our language? Benjamin Lee Whorf was of the view that language determines the contents of thought. This view is known as linguistic relativity hypothesis .
In its strong version, this hypothesis holds what and how individuals can possibly think is determined by the language and linguistic categories they use (linguistic determinism) . Experimental evidence, however, maintains that it is possible to have the same level or quality of thoughts in all languages depending upon the availability of linguistic