The Way We Think
What are you thinking about right now? Hopefully the
intelligence of the
writer, but that's besides the point. This
writeup isn't intended to
explain or
suggest the
mechanics of the
physical act of
thoughts, but intended as a
psychological pondering about
human nature.
Let's think of an
example... I don't
believe in
capital punishment. This doesn't mean anything more than
if I was in charge of the world, there would be none. Of course, if one of my close
friends or
family members was
murdered by some
knife wielding psycho, I would be overcome with anger and my
instincts for
revenge would probably induce a feeling in me that would make me want the
killer dead.
I'm pretty sure it'd happen with most of you
readers, too. Even if you're for
capital punishment, if it was one of your
family members,
close friends, or even
someone you
absolutely knew was
innocent put to the
electric chair, you may have
reservations.
In a
sense, even our
beliefs can be easily changed by a small
event, which is what makes us so
dynamic as a
species.
The world is changing because
people are changing...
We are evolving, but to what cause?
The Matrix compared
humanity to a
virus because of our
destructive tendencies, but it is
correct in some ways.
For example,
we kill our own kind, not even for our
basic survival, but sometimes to
terrorise others to
promote their own beliefs. The two
aeroplanes which crashed into the
world trade centre on
11th September 2001 killed thousands of
people, who were
innocent victims, i.e. there was no direct reason for killing those people. Admittedly the
destructivity of humanity can probably be accounted to a very
small percentage of all of us, but that doesn't make it right. Even the smallest amount of
degradation in our societies could be
devastating. Again, calling on
fiction, (as with The Matrix, earlier), the species of
The Borg in
Star Trek aim for
perfection, which involves a
collective intelligence, and all
drones working in
cooperation. One has to wonder whether if a situation like the
film Independence Day occurred would bring our species together.
Psychology is classed as a
science by most
organisations, however surely, because there is no certain way of tackling each situation as a
psychologist, it is less of a science and more of an
art. We all think so individually to one another that our species'
problems and
solutions cannot all be written into a
textbook.
The way we think... well, to be honest, it's
weird, isn't it?
Descartes said '
I think therefore I am', implying that
self realisation is enough to prove to yourself that you
exist, but how do we gain self realisation?
Consciousness is something we all
take for granted, but do any of us know
how it works, where it goes when we
die or where it came from? No, but we have beliefs. Some people believe it was a gift from
God, and the consciousness remains after
death, and is '
promoted' to
heaven (or
hell if you weren't on
Santa's last
Christmas present list). It all comes down to the way we think but maybe down to our
evolution.
If there is a stage when
animals become
self aware, then humans must have evolved to become self aware, and hence, add in the consciousness, and beliefs in various
explanations of it all. If there is no level of evolution when animals become self aware, then all
living creatures have consciousness, and therefore beliefs and varying
thought patterns that make them as
individual and
dangerous to themselves as we are to our own kind. But does this mean that a
creature as
simple as an
ant could follow this (frankly
insane) thought process about the way we think?
The only real
conclusion to the idea comes in your own
opinion. You know yourself better than I know you. So how do you think?
What are you thinking about right now?