Like the air around us; the hidden thoughts of our brain

There are many instances in which we react to a stimulus without the time to consider it; we comprehend it without the need for our conscious mind to behold it. This kind of behavior is attributed to a reflex or an instinct. In most cases, the stimulus and reaction occur in a visible or physical realm so that we can recognize or acknowledge their occurrence after they happen.

But there are other reactions to stimuli which remain solely cognitive with no physical component. An example is when we suddenly feel an emotion in response to events, words, sounds or smells. In these cases, our mind has generated a response that may not be accompanied by a physical reaction and is experienced solely in our subconscious. Of course, there are times that even with this lack of physical experience, an emotion will intrude on our consciousness resulting in our awareness of a reaction that resides entirely in our thoughts. However, this suggests other times when both our perception and registration can occur without a conscious knowing.

Given this capability for our minds to comprehend and react without any involvement by our conscious self, it seems likely there could be a range of cognitive activities over which we have no awareness at all. I believe this is a basis for human attitudes and behaviors which later are regarded as prejudiced or ignorant, but which hold sway among the contemporary mental collective. That is, we adopt beliefs or opinions for which we have no apparent conscious rendering. We are evidently capable of taking certain cues and reacting to them completely non-consciously.

How can this feature of the human brain undermine our ability to rid ourselves of ignorance and bias? It can do so because of how we learn and how we form the basis for conscious thought and decisions. That is, our minds most reliably adopt and store a concept through the repetitive hearing, seeing or other perception. And because so much of what we experience and process is done non-consciously, there can be ample opportunity for reinforcement of which we may not be aware and what ultimately may allow them to become ingrained without our awareness.

And when they reside in our brains in this way, we are not prone to examine or question them. They are there, like the air around us, not heeded but providing a foundation for our thoughts and decisions. In this state, they are most invidious because they can influence us in unexpected and unacknowledged ways. They also add nothing to any evidence we may attempt to collect to prove our faulty thinking. They stand guard around firmly held beliefs which we are not able to scrutinize.

How can we recognize that we have such thoughts? And what should we do when we do? Perhaps nothing; it could be these mental constructs are what "keep us together." Maybe our questioning would be too upsetting to our fragile structure of assumptions and beliefs. If we push unwanted cognitive perceptions out, it could be that something equally unsavory could take its place. But I do believe there is an alternative to the status quo.

One method for evaluating our deeply held thoughts is to compare them to those held by people of a generation ahead or, now that I am old enough, a generation behind. Our attitudes on race, opinions on the practices of other citizens and the perception of people in distant countries are all areas which can be examined.

Evaluation of older attitudes is possible by identifying them and then evaluating how they have fared over time. Knowing a person who worked in a nursing home provides some perspective on this class of thoughts. Other places which can be emblematic of ancient thoughts are media sources controlled by members of an older generation, congregations made up of a majority of aged people and politicians who represent those who profit from the way things are.

Some areas to examine are racial attitudes, willingness to explore new technologies, questioning of legal precepts and openness to new health practices. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but has provided some areas for examination of my own mental workings.

The evaluation of currently held views against those of a younger generation is fraught on two fronts. The first is that it might be difficult to recognize the newer attitudes since they may not have yet been codified in literature or structures of power. And the second arises from the fact that there may not be a definitive measure for either the newer views or even your own. However, there is still value in making this attempt and learning something more about ourselves and our society.

I have recently seen the cover of a book called Incognito, written by the neuroscientist David Eagleman (@davideagleman), which looks to explore this topic in more detail than what I can offer. I will one day read it and see how much I am missing. Despite my inexperience regarding this topic, I feel the implication that non-conscious thoughts hold sway over a portion of our behavior and beliefs is profound in two ways.

The first is that whatever is expressed as some kind of common knowledge or societal belief is actually made up of a collection of individual brains. This means it is both hard to change and somewhat self preserving. The other is how the nature of sub conscious thoughts make them hard to detect and prone to unexamined affirmation. It then becomes possible to hold attitudes or opinions that could be considered ignorant if exposed to conscious scrutiny.

We are, when it comes to whom others know and the place we fill in the larger collections of neighborhood, town, state and family, only as extraordinary, confounding, judgmental and loving as our brains can conjure. It may be we have no choice in the submission our personality has to our mind, but insofar as we do have a whit of self reflection, we owe it to ourselves and our consciousnesses, to do so.