1887
Volume 23, Issue 2
  • ISSN 0929-0907
  • E-ISSN: 1569-9943
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Abstract

This paper assesses two different approaches to inner speech that can be found in the literature. One of them regards inner speech as a vehicle of conscious thought. The other holds that inner speech is better characterised as an activity derived from social uses of its outer counterpart. In this paper I focus on the explanatory power of each approach to account for the control of attention and behaviour in the context of executive tasks. I will argue that the vehicle view cannot capture some central cases of inner speech in executive tasks because they cannot be described as cases of bringing thought into consciousness. Then I will offer a revised version of the activity view and I will apply it to some examples so as to show that it is better posited to account for them. I end by considering two objections to the activity view and a possible way to address them.

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/content/journals/10.1075/pc.23.2.02cas
2017-07-10
2025-04-30
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/content/journals/10.1075/pc.23.2.02cas
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): activity view; attention; executive functions; inner speech; vehicle view
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