Does language influence thinking skills or cognition Essay

Does language influence thinking skills or cognition - Essay Example All these include some of the questions several philosophies within cognitive science are trying to answer. For a much longer period, the thought that language might influence thought was considered wrong. Several data analysis have been collected through most parts and the end results show that, individuals who speak diverse dialects do indeed think differently and that even grammar can intensely influence how most people perceive the world. To elucidate the stated thought, let us ask ourselves a simple question; how would our lives be if we had never learned any of the languages? Could we still have friends around us, hold any particular job, have a relationship or family, get an education, explore our gifting or maximize our potential? Language is thus essential and entirely part of our lives, that it’s even hard to imagine life without it. A four-year-old in one society can perform a task with much ease as opposed to an intellectual in another society. This is a huge difference in cognitive strength and the surprising answer to this cause is the language. This theory goes back to the centuries with philosophers Sapir and Whorf emphasizing that, variances in languages such as English and Hopi, lead to the difference in thinking (Eysenck & Keane, 2000, p. 122-24). This thought however was met with serious criticism over time as philosophers argued that, the theories were not supported by much proof. However, decades later, it is still evident that language shapes thinking. The results have had a great influence in law, education and even politics. Speakers of diverse languages also vary in how they define events and, as a result, how they can remember who did what and so forth. All events, even instant accidents, are complex and need us to interpret what happened. Take, for instance, former vice president Dick Cheney’s accident, in which he unintentionally shot Harry Whittington. One could say that it seemed as if