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Does Language Create and Shape our Thoughts?

Posted by Bonnie Bright on November 5, 2010 at 5:00pm
"Charlemagne is reputed to have said that to speak another language is to possess another soul,"says the co-author of a recent Harvard study which suggests people's opinions and preferences toward ethnic groups vary depending on which language they use to express their thoughts. This suggests language is not only a tool for communication, but also actually serves to create and shape our thoughts and feelings.

Since implicit attitudes lead to outward social behaviors, all this leads to a bigger question as to whether we might actually change our likes and dislikes based on the language we use. Results of the IAT, the Implicit Association Test indicated preferences undeniably differed for test subjects who first took the test in one language, then took the same test again in another language with which they were already familiar.

It was the 1930s when Linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf first suggested language can determine thought. Now, the question of whether or not our attitudes are fixed or can actually shift based on the language we choose and use may open a significant door to reconsideration of how we see and judge the archetypal Other in our everyday ways of being.

Read the article at http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/206742.php
Tags: Other, archetypal, language, preferences
Posted by Bonnie Bright

ABOUT THE HOSTS/PRESENTERS
BONNIE BRIGHT, Ph.D.,(Founder of Depth Psychology Alliance), is a Transpersonal Soul-Centered Coach certified via Alef Trust/Middlesex University, and a certified Archetypal Pattern Analyst®, and has trained extensively in Holotropic Breathwork™ and the Enneagram. She has trained with African elder, Malidoma Some'; with Transpersonal Pioneer Stan Grof; and with Jungian analyst, Jerome Bernstein, among others.Her dissertation focused on a symbolic look at Colony Collapse Disorder and what the mass vanishing of honeybees means to us both personally and as a collective. Bonnie’s path to soul began with a spontaneous mystical experience in 2006, and she continues her quest for awakening each day with a sense of joy, freedom, and gratitude at the magic afoot in the world.

DR. CHRISTOPHE MORIN holds a Ph.D. in Media Psychology with a focus on Neuropsychology, pioneering the integration of brain science with emotional resilience, spiritual growth, and personal transformation. As adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University, he teaches neuroscience and AI, making cutting-edge research practical and empowering. He’s the author of OPEN: The Neurospiritual Guide to the Self-Healing Power of your Brain; OPEN UP: The Neurospiritual Guide to Your Enneagram Type (2025), and The Serenity Code (2021).
In OPEN and OPEN UP, Christophe explores how neuroplasticity, personality, and spirituality intersect to rewire consciousness and foster joy. With decades of experience leading transformative retreats across 40+ countries, Christophe blends neuroscience with spiritual traditions to guide others in releasing limiting beliefs and embodying change. His mission: to help people unlock their highest potential and live with balance, purpose, and flow.