An article in the New York Times by Alex Rosenberg describes how the assumption that we know our own mind is a mistake.
As perplexing as that sounds, I have heard several times before that we can never truly know someone, because we can’t “get inside their heads,” but the ability to know our own minds isn’t as popular of a question.
Ever since Plato, many philosophers have shared common sense’s confidence about the nature of its own thoughts. However, research in cognitive and behavioral sciences has questioned statements proven to absolute by philosophers.
I know that I find myself very indecisive; truly not knowing what I want to do with myself. But, I question whether this is normal: Is it okay to not have a true sense of direction while searching through the complexity of your own mind?
Descartes’ insistence in his “Meditations” states how the knowledge of our own minds’ nature is more reliable than any other belief. Yet, we make mistakes as humans every day, even if we think it is the right decision. This is because our introspection and self-knowledge was not sufficient.
Descartes made another mistake when he denied that other animals have any mental lives at all.
Careful field observation by primatologists beginning with Jane Goodall revealed that apes have well developed “theories of mind.” They engage in “mind reading” to guesses about the future behavior of others.
Mind reading, even in our own hands, is a very imperfect tool: We have to go on others’ behavior. We can’t really tell with much precision exactly what others believe or want, because we can’t get inside their heads. Therefore our predictions are often pretty vague and frequently false.
Rosenberg discusses more compelling evidence that our own self-awareness is actually this same mind reading ability. “The resources of introspection are exactly the same as the resources our minds work with to explain and predict the actions of others: sensory data provided by sight, hearing, smell, touch (and sometimes taste, too).”
This comes from fMRI research that established the existence of a distinct mind-reading module, whose deficits in explaining and predicting the behavior of others come together with limitations on self-awareness and self-reporting of their own motivations
The significance of this is not just vital to philosophers and researchers, but for human beings as well. We have no first-person point of view.
“Our access to our own thoughts is just as indirect and fallible as our access to the thoughts of other people,” said Rosenberg. “If our thoughts give the real meaning of our actions, our words, our lives, then we can’t ever be sure what we say or do, or for that matter, what we think or why we think it.”
This theory helps me understand myself better; the way I think, and the way I process my thoughts. Although I consider myself intelligent, there are multiple times when it’s hard for me to make decisions because I truly have no idea what I want.
It happens to many young people; we question everything—even our own existence, what we want to do for the rest of our lives, who we want to be with, etc. The fact is we are just trying to read our own minds. We will continue to doubt our actions just the same way we doubt others, and we will continue to make mistakes by doing something we thought was best.
At the end of the day, our previous actions and experiences are prone to play a bigger role when determining your future. Therefore, no matter what you think your mind is telling you, don’t hesitate to take a leap of faith and jump at a new opportunity.
