We May Think of Ourselves as Thinking Creatures That Feel, Biologically We are Feeling Creatures That Think.®
Introduction:
Scientists agree that humans are feeling and thinking organisms, but they disagree on how exactly our brains operate. The belief that humans are feeling creatures has a biological foundation in the limbic system, which controls our behavior and emotional reactions. The human mind works backwards from the senses, with feelings coming first and then thoughts.
Reflective
The significance of these studies caught my attention because I have been considering why people have different understandings and opinions on a subject. This is your feeling, not fact is a phrase that occasionally appears in conversations on TV shows where people are debating social, political, or emotional issues. I am aware that people's ideas and their opinion are related through education and experience. However, I was unable to articulate the reasons behind our divergent opinions. This research's conclusion is that "we are feeling creatures who think" is the solution. Mark (Solms, 2015) claims that "thinking is a way of dealing with feelings." This subject now clarifies why we have various viewpoints. It implies that, depending on each person's particular experiences and emotional responses, emotions play a significant role in influencing their thoughts and opinions, which can differ greatly from person to person. Therefore, it's critical to take into account both our thoughts and feelings when attempting to comprehend why people may have varying opinions.
Interpretive
According to Taylor (Jill Bolte, 2009), our brain activities can be classified as either conscious or unconscious. such as thinking and breathing. For instance, it is impossible for us to hold our breath while thinking. She thinks that our thoughts are influenced by our feelings. Our senses create our thoughts in a parallel universe. She provides evidence for this claim by describing how, when we are experiencing fear and losing our focus, the limbic system can activate our brain, put it in a state of self-preservation, and shut down the hippocampus, the area of the brain that regulates our thoughts and behaviors. The sensory system is in charge of taking in and analyzing data from the environment as it is perceived by our senses, including touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing. It is essential to our capacity to take in the environment around us and react appropriately to various stimuli.
In his book "emotion machine," Marvin (Minsky, 2007) makes the case that thinking, and emotion are related. According to him, the use (or lack thereof) of specific brain resources determines emotions and thought patterns. In other words, "critics, which are specialized in recognizing certain conditions" activate or deactivate specific resources to produce thoughts. Since the moment we are born, critics have been formed based on our emotions and experiences. Critics influence how a resource or set of resources is used to generate a thought, and they do have the following direct impact on our sensory system: Therefore, it's critical to recognize our own internal critics and how they influence our ideas and behavior. We can enhance our capacity for decision-making and general well-being by comprehending and managing our internal critics.
Figure 1
The Relationship Between Feeling and Thinking.
Note: This model was produced by Marvin 2007 in “Emotion Machin” book, summarizing the relationship between the feeling and thinking. Minsky. (2007, July 28). PART V. LEVELS OF MENTAL ACTIVITIES 1. In Emotion Machin (p. 180). https://web.media.mit.edu/~minsky/eb5.html
He provides an explanation of why our cognitive and emotion systems are both important in making decisions. Since each sense or collection of senses contains certain critics, and because specific critics with a combination of other nerve systems will activate or deactivate a specific resource, this will lead the brain to produce a specific thinking. In order to comprehend how specific ideas are generated and how they affect our decisions, it is crucial to take into account all of the senses and neural systems that are involved in the decision-making process. We can then make more intelligent and sensible judgements.
I now fully understand why people have various opinions. In reality, their critics and the resources developed since their birth promote them to hold certain opinions and attitudes. Also, their cultural background and personal experiences have a big impact on how they see the world and how they form their beliefs.
Melissa (Heisler, 2014) explains that” we can consciously choose to activate our higher mind. I am thinking in terms of the past, the future, and emotions. “She believes that we” can train our mind to work for us and achieve our goals through training, such as meditation.”
In support of Dr. Julie's hypothesis that "humans are feeling animals who think," Jane (Pike, 2001) the train mentality coach demonstrates how "the nervous system's function, and how adjusting nervous system function, influences our ideas and emotions. “She asserts that "controlling our senses in the first place is the finest practice in modifying our ideas" since it is our nervous system that causes our thoughts to react to our senses. For instance, if we are unable to regulate our senses and emotions, positive thinking will not be effective. As a result, it's important to be aware of our environment and the triggers for unfavorable feelings. We may prevent or regulate these triggers by being aware of them, which will help us develop a more optimistic outlook.
Decisional
The results of this study might have benefits in both schools and the field of psychology, namely in the areas of training and therapy for individuals as well as the development of more thoughtful and original ideas. How our mind processes information and forms judgements about the world around us is no longer a mystery.
Educators should place special emphasis on cultivating "critics," or critical thinkers, as the input to their students' intellectual systems. “Each critic is trained to identify the specific circumstances in which our brain will store a wide variety of ideas” (Minsky, 2007). In reality, it is our responsibility as educators to ensure that students have access to the kind of logical resultin inputs (critics) that will stimulate meaningful consideration of several hypotheses and conclusions. If, for instance, in the course material for a building's security alert system, students are taught that there are many reasons to activate the alert system, including fire, earthquake, storm, flood, and so on, then, when they hear the alert, they may not automatically assume that it was caused by a flood or an earthquake.
This idea may be integrated into many different school curricula and methods of instruction to help students develop their critical thinking, analytical skills, and open worldview.
We, as feeling, thinking creatures, also need to pay more attention to the ways and techniques that address our sensory function in order to assist create the correct conditions for our brains in the field of psychological research, where concepts like positive thinking are prevalent. The outcomes, which are our thoughts, may be controlled as well if we could alter the functioning of our nervous system from the ground up, namely the sensation sensors, which play the important role. (Solms, 2015)
This will have far reaching effects on how we understand human brain function in medicine and psychology. This means that by understanding and manipulating our sensory experiences, we could potentially improve our mental health and cognitive abilities. This could lead to new treatments for conditions such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD.
References
Heisler, M. (2014, July 25). Feeling Creatures Who Think. From Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140725170900-4216166-feeling-creatures-who-think/
Jill Bolte, T. (May 2009). My Stroke of Insight :A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey Paperback. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Plume (Jan. 1 1640).
Minsky, M. (2007). The Emotion Machine. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Pike, J. (2001, Nov 4). We are feeling creatures that think. From Art of The HoreseMan: https://confidentrider.online/we-are-feeling-creatures-that-think/
Solms, M. (2015, Oct 6). Thinking and feeling: what’s the difference? From Future Learn: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/thinking-and-feeling-whats-the-difference
