Language and Mind: Inner Speech

In this seminar, we will investigate inner speech from philosophical and interdisciplinary perspectives, focusing on its nature, functions, and role in mental life. We will explore historical and contemporary accounts of inner speech in philosophy and psychology, examining its relation to thought, imagination, self-knowledge, and action. Central questions include: Is inner speech a form of internalized outer speech, an expression of thought, or identical with thinking itself? How does inner speech contribute to conscious reasoning, self-awareness, and agency? What can atypical cases tell us about its nature? Along the way, we will also address methodological issues concerning introspection, conceptual analysis, and the interaction between philosophical and empirical approaches.