“I think, therefore I am” or should it be “I am, therefore I think?”

And what does “thinking” mean?

The original Descartes “I think, therefore I am” [Cognito, ergo sum] statement, is allegedly, a significant philosophical moment in the history of mankind. Perhaps, at the time he wrote it [circa 1637], there was some doubt or confusion about our very existence. In truth, I have not got a clue but, let me tell you, without a doubt, I believe that “I am” and also hold that almost without exception, so does 99.9% of the human race!

To think that I do not “exist” and that this is all some sort of cosmic dream, some sort of delusion is, in itself, delusional. I sometimes wonder how philosophers and other gurus get away with the bullshit they feed us!

I know, if we contemplate things, ad nauseum, particularly in this age of quantum physics, which says our universe is not actually real, it is possible to get carried away to the extent that we can pretend that we are not real but, get a grip, we are “real”. We exist. In the only universe that we know, the one we are in, this 3-dimensional inverse with both time and space.

I am not here because “I think” – I am “here”, in this physical universe and, as a result of my human existence, I “think”.

So, here am I, a mere peasant in the scheme of the philosophical universe, who calls them out with their bullshit!

I dare you to read this and disagree with it!

So, let’s take “thinking” to the next level/levels:

1. What is it?

So, what is “thinking”?

Good question.

When we are “thinking”, all sorts of things are happening, perhaps differently for some of us [or each of us]. If we sat down and recorded, word for word, every single thought that crossed our mind, what would it look like? For example, does the “thinking” [i.e. each word that crosses our mind] differ for the sequence of words that cross the mind of, say, an artist, a musician, a Buddhist monk, someone successful or an athlete? How could we ascertain this? As we cannot record our thoughts directly [as far as I know], how could ever actually work out what “thinking” looks like?

Furthermore, is “thinking” merely this sequence of words that flash across our mind or is it more than this? How we “feel”? The pictures we see in our mind? The reversion to earlier thoughts and/or feelings from childhood or previous experiences?

How does  Einstein or Hawking think? How does Elton John or Beethoven think? How did Michelangelo “think”? What do they think?

• Why do we do it?

Presumably, the fact that we “think” [as opposed to what dogs or apes do] has something to do with survival. Evolutionarily speaking, everything happens in an effort to help the species survive. For no other reason. That may not be correct but it is my understanding of evolution. So, if this is the case, “thinking” serves to help  our species survive – somehow, it makes us “fitter” [in the “survival of the fittest” sense].

So, please explain how my depressive thinking, my depressive/suicidal thoughts advance our species? Or am I one of those genetic failures, just a by-product of millions of genetic variations and others, without my depressive predisposition will survive and my line will fail? [Now, that is depressing?]

Or, does my predisposition to depressive thinking allow other variations in future thinking/genetic outcomes etc. so, in fact, even our sad, depressive thoughts actually contribute to positive evolutionary outcomes? As an example, some wonderful music, art and literature have come as a result of depressed individuals. Is there something significant here?

As an aside, you may find this article on creativity and addiction of interest: https://www.recoveryranch.com/?s=creativity+and+addiction

• What is its’ value to us, in an evolutionary sense?

Continuing from my observations above, what is thinking’s value to us? Apart for the evolutionary aspects briefly touched upon above, what are the benefits that we receive from “thinking”? Now, before we go any further here, let’s clarify, in this context what I mean by “thinking” as it applies to this question. I am not talking about just the repetition of words going through our minds as thinking. I actually think that just happens to all of us as a matter of course. In using the word “thinking”, I am referring to a “process” that includes observing the “words” that cross our mind, observing the “feelings” that these words create [by feelings I mean the feelings in our body – I suspect all “feelings” are “felt” in our body but am open at this stage as to whether that is actually correct in 100% of cases], our “ponderings about these words, our “questioning what they represent, why we are having them, their affect upon our feelings and, most importantly, whether I can change how they make me feel or what they mean. This is “thinking: in the sense that we are different than other animals.

Who thinks? [By that, I mean, “does everybody think?”] – I suspect that everybody thinks they “think”. Regurgitating my comments above, the question is ‘is all of this “thinking”? perhaps, it may be better to phrase it a different way – there are different types of thinking and, perhaps, if we think of it that way, we may be able to differentiate between thinking that does us no good and thinking that enhances/improves our about to have a better quality of life and/or survive better. For example, can we develop a type of thinking that gives us more or better answers to the questions and dilemmas of life? If so, then, of course, developing that type of thinking ability would be desirous. Perhaps, some of the “guru” stuff we read about or see on the internet encompasses techniques to help us do that. It would appear that meditation appears to help one to be less stressed and better able to cope with some of the challenges we face in our day-to-day life. Of course, what some of us see as challenges, others see as trivialities, so developing the type of thinking that sorts real challenges from trivialities would be useful as well.

To date, I have not come across a lot of material that focuses on this or any material with scientific validation about “better thinking” [by “better” I mean that it serves us better, allows us to adapt and lead better, happier lives].

• What different types of thinking are there?

These questions do overlap it appears but, nonetheless, worth exploring individually, I hope.

So, what “types” of “thinking” are there? I don’t want to get into any type of judgement here, just trying to determine if there are different ways to “think” and how I may develop the skills necessarily to develop how I think so that I can lead a happier life. Pretty straightforward really but, of course, it’s not that simple, is it? Or we would all learn to think more clearly and we would all be “jump over the moon happy” most of the time. I suppose, at this stage, the other question that pops up is “How do we learn to think in the first place?” Presumably, genetics and environment play a part in this but how much? Is it measurable and, more importantly, can it be changed? One assumes that Hitler thought differently than Gandhi? So, why? And, how?” And, can I learn to think more like Gandhi? Or Michelangelo?

According to various sources on the internet, there are 8 types of thinking:

• Creative
• Analytical
• Convergent
• Divergent
• Concrete
• Abstract
• Sequential
• Holistic

When I started thinking about this blog article, I was not thinking about an academic treatise on the various types of thinking – all I was thinking about was “Can I find a different way to think that serves me and makes me happy?” Nothing more. And here we are – all sorts of things come out of the woodwork!

I don’t really want to explore all of the above types of thinking to work out if any of them allow me to live a better life. I was hoping for something simpler!

• Can we “control” our thinking?

So this is really the only question, isn’t it? Can we “control” our thinking? Let me explain. Sometimes, when there are thoughts running amuck in my head – things like:

• “I am a dickhead, I fucked that up”
• “I am a waste of space”
• “I should have done this; I should have done that”
• Reviewing past events which I cannot change

And then I say to myself “These thoughts are in MY head, surely I am in control here!” But I am not, I am unable to stop these runaway thoughts! Surely, this cannot be true! So, here is the dilemma – are we in “control” of our thoughts? And, if not, how do we gain control? I am not prepared to live my life answering to God knows who! Where the fuck do these thoughts come from and, more importantly, how the fuck do I stop them and create more empowering thoughts?

• Is it totally involuntary?

This is a continuation of the above question. Do we have the ability to control which thoughts we follow and which we discard? Do we have the ability to determine where these thoughts came from in the first place? Are these thoughts “mine”? Of course they are but what does “mine” mean? Does my subconscious create them from memories of past events and how those events interact with today’s activities? Why would my subconscious create thoughts that damage me, cripple me, rather than help me deal with today’s events and challenges? This is the crux of this whole blog piece, how to control my thinking so that I get the best out of it.

• Can we change the way we think?

So, can we change the way we think? So that we may live better lives? Be happier. That is all that really matters, isn’t it?

• If “yes”, what does this mean?

Let’s begin here. If “yes”, what does this mean? It means, notwithstanding the thoughts that pop into our head, can we learn to react differently to them?

Or, perhaps, the “yes” may actually mean that, somehow, we can learn to attach different “meanings” to outcomes/events and, as a result, the thoughts that are created after a later event are actually different and that means that we do think differently! If only it were so. I have read hundreds of self-help and personal development books and attended dozens of personal development/spiritual seminars and, whilst they all seem to claim that they can help me change this, so far, my thinking does not seem to have changed much!

So, can we change how we think? And, more importantly, if so, how?

The million-dollar question! And, for me. No answer yet. More reading, research required.

• Does “thinking” control how we “feel”?

I think that the answer to this is “yes” and that is why the whole issue about thinking is so important to me. If thinking actually controls how we feel, then the quality of our life which, in my view, is simply about how we “feel”, then, obviously, if thinking controls how we feel, nothing much else matters apart from learning how to think differently.

If the answer is “no”, then I need to be educated as to what it is that creates our feelings. Any suggestions out there?

• Does how we “feel” control how we “act”?
  • If yes, what does this mean?

It appears to me, that how we “feel” is the primary driver of how we “act” and, therefore, if that is true, who we are, how we behave it and our actions are all driven by how we “think”. Therefore, there can be no greater task in life than learning how to “think” differently.

So, despite simple beginnings, this blog led me nowhere largely, almost back to where I started with no concrete answers to anything. Now, that is the challenge of “thinking”!