Do thoughts exist? The only argument I have heard either way is "Of course, or else we wouldn't think them!" But that seems the same as saying "Of course they exist; if they didn't, they wouldn't exist!" And this bothers me.

I'm not asking for the absolute truth; I'm looking for what you think. That should be fairly obvious, but you never know with some of the people here...

I agree with clpo, more or less.

I would expand this question to ask: can thoughts exert an influence on anything? Do we need to think in order to act? Or is thinking something we do after-the-fact, under the impression that we decide upon our actions before carrying them out?

Of course, that would better fit under a free will board.

It's sort of one of those, take it on a limb sort of things, I think. See? I think thoughts exist, therefor, they do.

It's almost the same thing as, "Do we all really exist? Or is this a dream and only the fat guy in the third row exists?" That quote haunted me for a while about a year ago.

Thoughts are what you make of them. Some people's thoughts have texture, some pictures, some just a sense. Nothing else.

Yeah. If you can't tell, I haven't really decided myself yet if they do. But, again, I think they do.

quote:

It's kind of anticlimactic when you think about it.

Most things are. Thats why I prefer not to think

quote:

Thoughts exist as electrical impulses firing in the neurons in our brain. Without the proper electrical impulses, we would be vegetables.

Well I knew that. Hm, why didn't I say that?

Oh well. Well good one Clpo.

Thoughts exist as electrical impulses firing in the neurons in our brain. Without the proper electrical impulses, we would be vegetables. Or dead. I'm not an expert in neuroscience, so that's all I've got.

It's kind of anticlimactic when you think about it.

Your question goes hand in hand with, do animals think? I mean how many times had you heard of animals having feelings? There not supposed to, but i think everybody has some sort of meditated feelings, or thoughts. That question really got me thinking. I would wonder if there aren't some of those everything-has-a-reason scientist who are trying to find the roots of thinking and thoughts. Any ofcorse there is the pshycology of the whole thing, so my answer to you is, research. Look on the internet for studies, you might just come out smarter in the end.

Thank you.

And

I don't think it's really worrying...I just keep wondering about everything. (Like why my cat is obsessed with lamps. And whether or not the problem really is a choice, or if I'm just saying that to sound alright.) Since thesauri and dictionaries determine all that is true, it was just now helpful to me to look up synonyms or close-to-synonyms for "wonder." Which are: awe, admiration, wonderment, fascination, surprise, astonishment, stupefacation, amazement. That sounds enjoyable.

quote:

Kind of reminiscient(sp?) of Rent's theme.

I think you meant 'reminiscent.'

Hm, it is an interesting subject. But wondering and worrying about it on a daily basis must really be a drag. If you're too worried over if things actually happened or not or if the thoughts you had are real or not then you're really not enjoying life. That is my opinion.

quote:

Originally posted by YouthVoice:

And this is why the only thing we know or would know it's true is the present, what we think of here and now, what we feel here and now and what we see here and now.

Kind of reminiscient(sp?) of Rent's theme.

I've often spent my time that doesn't exist wondering whether what I think is so is really so. Like I'll place something somewhere and walk out of the room, and then I want to go back and see if it moved from where I thought it was because the universe changed without telling me.

Once I told my friend Squirrely this, and she said it was an awesome thing to worry about.
I felt cool.

RE: Do thoughts exist?

My opinion is NO. The things that people say or do are the ways that they express themselves and also how they feel about certain subjects or about certain people. The things that people say are also their opinions. Thoughts is merely a word, not an existing "thing". Now when people read this I want them to know that I am not the type of person who wants to believe one thing. If you have a opinion about what I wrote please feel free to e-mail me at kity_pony1212@yahoo.com. Anyways I am done for this subject for now. Thank you!

Signed,
opinonativegurl13

I sometimes wonder if what I'm remembering is actually what happened. Or if my mind somehow is making stuff up, or replaying it to me wrong.

I think thoughts do exist, because you realize them.

Well, I think so.

most of my belief on thoughts is everything going to be thought of, thought of and has been thought of is already there existing as energy waiting for our brain to "tune" (if you want to call it that)on to that energy waves.The more you think of an object the more you notice it not because there are more than there has been befor but because your mind is tuned to it and looking for it just as inventors in the same areas come up with the same idea at around the same time they both come to the same wave because it is amplified by people.ulitmatly everything is energy a idea come in to being the idea already existing in the beginningless beginning.The amount of energy contained being shown by the amount of people thinking on that wave.like Jesus was one of the strongest human energy theres been thats why hes talked about almost dayly his wave still resonates to this day, this theory is kinda based on Edgar Casey's thought if you like it read Casey you will love him

Hm, interesting. My oldest brother has told me that he has wondered sometimes whether this memories are a reality of something that happened or simply implanted memories by something or someone. I mean, who is to say it really happened...

And this is why the only thing we know or would know it's true is the present, what we think of here and now, what we feel here and now and what we see here and now. Perhaps I'm branching off in to a whole different subject, but this thread made me remember what he said.

Not that I believe in that myself, but it is something interesting to think about.

I believe that they do. I mean....that's just my thought :P. I think that they have to with all of the knowledge, emotions, and memory that we as human beings have.