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Essay

The Utility and Importance of the Inner Voice in Reading Comprehension

How “hearing yourself” improves self-education

Daniel Lehewych

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Oil Painting of Generic Scholar Reading and Smoking a Pipe: by DALL-E 3

In an era characterized by the rapid dissemination of information, reading techniques have evolved mainly to accommodate the urgency for quick assimilation of textual content.

The drive for speed often neglects one of the most crucial aspects of compelling reading — utilizing the inner voice.

Far from being a relic of elementary reading instruction, the inner voice is indispensable in facilitating nuanced comprehension and engagement with a text.

The Philosophical Debate on Inner Speech

The philosophical discourse surrounding inner speech is a rich tapestry of theories that further illuminates the instrumental role of the inner voice in reading comprehension.

A notable standpoint in the philosophy of mind is the contention that some episodes of inner speech are indeed forms of thinking or integral parts of thought processes, as argued by philosophers like Gauker.

Gauker’s premise posits that all conceptual thought unfolds in inner speech, which he defines as the neural activation of natural language items distinct from auditory-verbal…

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Daniel Lehewych
Daniel Lehewych

Written by Daniel Lehewych

Philosopher | Writer | Bylines: Big Think, Newsweek, PsychCentral

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