ABSTRACT: Inner speech is often explained by drawing an analogy with outer speech. In various views, inner speech is functionally, developmentally and mechanistically continuous with outer speech. In this paper, I present the aspects in which inner speech is discontinuous with respect to outer speech. These are condensation, agency, and imagery. I then argue for the agency discontinuity and show that inner speech is agentially diminished. I show how this is supported by relevant strands of the philosophical and psychological literature. I finish by proposing two paths the explanation of this agential impoverishment can take.
Activities > Seminar > Why inner speech is agentially diminished
