Exploring External Influences on Our Thinking: Are Your Thoughts Truly Your Own?

It's a common human experience to find oneself adopting ideas, thoughts, and behaviors that do not necessarily originate from within. This can be attributed to a myriad of influences, including advertisements, films, television programs, music, and social media. These external forces bombard us with messages that shape our perceptions, often without our realizing it. We live according to these often subtle yet powerful suggestions, believing that they reflect our true beliefs and values.

Examples of Thoughts Not Our Own

Consider the following statements:

You need to lose weight/get ‘ripped’. Those people hate you because of your race. These clothes will win you admiration. This jewelry will prove your love/win someone else's love. This group/public figure is evil. Only uneducated/stupid people think/believe/do that. This physical feature is the prettiest. Your value as a human being depends on what you do for a living. Lust is love, and love justifies any behavior. Reality is whatever you think. Sex is life. Physical beauty is the supreme human attribute. Aging is not acceptable. God is evil. The demonic and occult is cool. This food will make you happy. ‘Authenticity’ means the crudest form of behavior. Behaving that way is virtuous.

These and similar assertions often come from external sources, whether through media consumption or social interactions. We may adopt these ideas without critically examining their validity, believing them to be our own judgments and convictions.

Origins of External Influences

The question arises: are these thoughts truly our own, or are they implanted by external factors? To answer this, we must first understand the nature of our own thinking and consciousness.

External Factors Impacting Thought

Our thoughts are not isolated phenomena. They are influenced by a myriad of external factors, including media, social interactions, and personal experiences. Advertisements, for instance, can shape our desires and behaviors. Films and television programs can affect our moral and ethical viewpoints. Music can influence our emotions and attitudes.

Neurosociological Perspectives

From a neuroscientific standpoint, our thoughts are often the result of complex neural processes that are heavily influenced by external stimuli. These stimuli can alter our neural pathways, making us more likely to think and feel in certain ways. For example, the constant bombardment of fitness advertisements can lead to a preoccupation with physical appearance and weight loss.

Conscious Awareness and Split-Brain Syndrome

While it's true that thoughts can originate from external sources, the brain's structure and function provide a compelling explanation for how these thoughts become integrated into our subjective experience. In some cases, individuals can experience rare conditions such as split-brain syndrome, where different parts of the brain process information independently. However, even in these cases, the conscious individual remains the same person, processing and integrating external information.

Split-Brain Syndrome: A Neurological Insight

In conditions like split-brain syndrome, the corpus callosum, a bundle of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain, is often severed. This can result in two independent streams of consciousness. Each hemisphere processes information separately, and there may be instances where the dominant hemisphere (typically the left) does not recognize the thoughts processed by the other hemisphere.

For example, a person might see an image presented to their left visual field (processed by the right hemisphere), but have no conscious awareness of it. In such cases, the right hemisphere might process the image independently, and the left hemisphere, which is responsible for speech and language, might not recognize or respond to it. However, this does not mean that the person has two separate identities; they remain the same individual, experiencing a split in conscious awareness.

Legitimacy and Controversy

The legitimacy of split-brain syndrome and multiple personalities is still a matter of debate in the scientific community. Some researchers argue that the condition is a result of different sets of neuronal groups reporting to consciousness independently, effectively splitting the conscious function. Other researchers argue that split-brain syndrome is better understood as two distinct neural processes rather than two separate identities.

Conclusion

While external influences can shape our thoughts and behaviors, it is important to recognize that our conscious awareness and personal identity remain intact. Our thoughts and beliefs are the result of a complex interplay between our internal neural processes and external stimuli. By being mindful of these influences and questioning the validity of the information we consume, we can better discern our true thoughts and values.