Understanding the Nature of Thought

One of the problems that all men have is that of the concept of the conscience. We are designed, and indeed programmed, to contemplate the deep meanings of those things which have the greatest importance in our lives. We are taught, throughout our childhood, that the greatest tool man possesses is his mind, the power of the thought. In fact, it was a seventeenth century judge who declared us as being 'reasonable creatures in being'. As far as one can understand the term 'reasonable', this judge was, in fact, referring to the concept of the power of reason, to understand the difference between right and wrong. It was the power of thought that made us reasonable.

Throughout the centuries and more so in recent decades we have come to argue as to what the concept of thought is, how it is that we induce thought and stimulate thought. Are our thoughts all the same? Are our values and attitudes similar to one another, ingrained in us by societal standards? For one sociologist, this was the case. Durkheim stipulated that our thoughts and processes related to a 'collective conscience' which was expressed through a number of different functions within society. For example, our values on the sanctity of life, the value of property and so forth were dictated through a common set of values known as laws, enforced by the function of the judiciary. He argued that our values and beliefs on children and childhood were reinforced through the education system, by a commonly held system of beliefs that was shown through different functions.

According to Durkheim, this collective conscience stimulated the concept of reason and therefore allowed us to create a harmonious society that was indeed based on consensus values. Of course, this does not answer the question 'where does thought come from?', it merely postulates as to what thought is, or at least, a form of thought. For the formation of thought, we must look towards religious scripture. Indeed, the Judeo-Christian religion believes that thought, the knowledge of good and evil, comes not from ourselves but as a gift from God. It is stated in the Bible, more accurately the Old Testament, or the Torah for the Jewish, that thought was a creation of man's curiosity, a desire to be 'better' than perfection. Religious believers hold that evil thoughts come from the devil and that he is to blame for the error of our ways.

For many psychologists, and for the growing number of atheists, this is an inadequate explanation. Scientists continued to be baffled by the neuro-processes of the brain. Psychologists explain that thought is merely a phenomenon of the human body, of the brain. For the far and few who have tried to define thought, there has been little success. What do people truly believe is thought? What do you hold to be 'thought'? Do you hold religious convictions and therefore hold that thought is a gift from God? Are you an atheist and continue to seek an explanation for those small processes which make up the matter of the mind?