Thought
Thought or
thinking is a
mental process which allows beings to
model the world, and so to deal with it effectively according to their goals, plans, ends and desires. Words referring to similar concepts and processes in the English language include
cognition,
sentience,
consciousness,
idea, and
imagination.
Thinking involves manipulation of
information, as when we form
concepts, engage in
problem solving,
reason and make
decisions. Thinking is a higher
cognitive function and the analysis of thinking processes is part of
cognitive psychology.
The basic mechanics of the human
mind reflect a process of
pattern matching or rather
recognition. In a "moment of
reflection", new situations and new
experiences are judged against
recalled ones and
judgements are made. In order to make these judgements, the
intellect maintains present experience and sorts relevant past experience. It does this while keeping present and past experience distinct and separate. The intellect can mix, match, merge, sift, and sort concepts, perceptions, and experience. This process is called
reasoning.
Logic is the science of reasoning. The awareness of this process of reasoning is access consciousness (see philosopher
Ned Block).
The
imagination performs a different function. It combines the reasoning intellect with your
feelings,
intuitions and
emotions, especially
hope. This is magical or
irrational thinking, depending on your point of view. Thinking can be modeled by a field (like a mathematical representation of an electro-magnetic field, but with each point in the field a point of
consciousness) .
Patterns are
formed and judgements are made within the field. Some philosophers (
panpsychists/panexperientialists - see
wikibook on consciousness) believe the entire field is conscious in and of itself, a consciousness field. They say consciousness creates thinking, thinking and other brain processes do not create consciousness. Other scientists (for ex.
Bernard Baars) think of it as a workspace. Some philosophers (ex.
Thomas Nagel) have said they do not have a clue as to how we are
aware of our thinking.
#Use of
models,
symbols,
diagrams and
pictures.#Use of
abstraction to simplify the effort of thinking.#Use of
metasyntactic variables to simplify the effort of naming.#Use of
iteration and
recursion to converge on a
concept.#Limitation of
attention to aid
concentration and focus on a concept. Use of peace and quiet to aid concentration.#Goal setting and goal revision. Simply letting the concept percolate in the subconscious, and waiting for the concept to re-surface.#Talking with like-minded people. Resorting to
communication with others, if this is allowed.#
Working backward from the goal.#
Fashion of thinking.#Desire for
learning.
*
List of thinking-related topics*
Abstract thinking*
Critical thinking*
Cognitive science*
Creative thinking*
Imagination*
Introspection*
Lateral thinking*
Memory-prediction framework*
Memory*
Self-reflection*
Visual thinking*
Eric Baum (2004).
What is Thought, Chapter Two: The Mind is a Computer Program. MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-02548-5
* Holyoak, K.J., & Morrison, R.G. (Eds.) (2005).
The Cambridge Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521531012
