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Inner Speech: Philosophical and Psychological Investigations

Patel, Shivam (2020) Inner Speech: Philosophical and Psychological Investigations. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

This project investigates philosophical and psychological aspects of “that little voice in our head”, or inner speech. Research on inner speech has been guided by the assumption that it is essentially a speech phenomenon. This dissertation argues against this assumption from three independent angles. In Chapter 2, I consider the idea that the content of inner speech is speech-specific. After arguing against this position, I go on to claim that the content of inner speech is vocalic. In Chapter 3, I examine models that treat inner speech as a prediction. I show that these models are problematic on both empirical and theoretical grounds. In their place, I argue for a model on which inner speech is treated as a goal state. In Chapter 4, I consider the popular idea that breakdowns in inner speech processing explain auditory verbal hallucination. I argue that inner speech-based explanations of AVH belong to a problematic class of psychological explanations, which confuse phenomenological and scientific understanding. My discussion of inner speech has implications for a wide range of topics, including metacognition, imagery, and the explanation of pathological mental states.


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Details

Item Type: University of Pittsburgh ETD
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Patel, Shivamsmp119@pitt.edusmp119
ETD Committee:
TitleMemberEmail AddressPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairMachery, Edouardmachery@pitt.edu
Committee MemberShaw, Jamesjrs164@pitt.edu
Committee MemberWilson, Markmawilson@pitt.edu
Committee MemberWu, Waynewaynewu@andrew.cmu.edu
Date: 16 September 2020
Date Type: Publication
Defense Date: 26 June 2020
Approval Date: 16 September 2020
Submission Date: 15 July 2020
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Number of Pages: 142
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Philosophy
Degree: PhD - Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Type: Doctoral Dissertation
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: Inner speech; prediction; auditory verbal hallucination
Date Deposited: 16 Sep 2020 14:44
Last Modified: 16 Sep 2020 14:44
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/39365

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