Exploring the Art of Thinking: A Psychological Perspective
The art of thinking is a fundamental aspect of human psychology, shaping our beliefs, behaviors, and perceptions.
Defining Thinking in Psychology
Thinking can be described as a set of attitudes and beliefs that we accept or reject as we grow. These sets of beliefs guide our logic, problem-solving, opinion-forming, concerns, memories, and the creation of ideas. At its core, thinking is a manifestation of an activated neural memory or associated neural memories, flowing through our brain via neural pathways.
The Nature of Thought
A thought is the result of reflection in the mind. This concept is integral to the functioning of the brain, as it forms the basis of our cognitive processes. Traditionally, 19th-century psychologists viewed thoughts and ideas as representations of memory and imagination.
The Process of Thinking: Cognition
In psychology, the process of thinking is known as Cognition. This involves the mind receiving impressions through the five senses and interpreting these images to form coherent thoughts and ideas. The verb form of this process is to cognize.
Comparing Thinking and Religion
My personal understanding of psychology is that it is akin to religion, but with different metaphors, fewer rituals, and less worship. Both attempt to define the 'why and how' of human behavior, including our thoughts. Therefore, both are belief systems, and psychology, like religion, encompasses various schools of thought with their own distinct methodologies.
Reasoning in psychological theories is similar to reasoning in religious theologies. Both look back into the past to view historic apparent causes leading to effects, and try to assign a 'reason' for different causes leading to different effects. Psychology does run experiments on both humans and animals, while I am not aware of any theology that conducts deliberate experiments, but this is not definitive evidence.
Psychology has gone deeper than theology in some areas, using experimental results to verify, refute, or refine theories. Despite this, I have not seen anything in psychology that contradicts the truths of monotheism. Instead, I observe that most psychologists, like religious scholars, have a strong allegiance to the founders of their respective schools of thought.
Theological Rationality and Human Behavior
The reasoning in psychology is very similar to that in monotheism. Their reasoning is based on 'what historic human behaviors' display as causes and effects. If the historic record of human behaviors does not align with a theory, that theory is clearly wrong. Conversely, the better human behaviors align with theories, the more logically and well-reasoned those theories are.
As with virtually all religions, the origins of psychology can be traced back to better reasoning. In much the same way, the origins of all sciences can be attributed to better reasoning. This indicates a continuous process of reflection and refinement in both domains.