Do You Control Your Thoughts? Or Are Your Thoughts Controlling You?

Free AI web copilot to create summaries, insights and extended knowledge, download it at here

735

Abstract

can do what you decide to do — but you cannot decide what you will decide to do.</i>” ― Sam Harris</p><p id="283a">Do you control your thoughts? Or do your thoughts control you?</p><p id="f4e8">If you’ve never thought about this, ask yourself: did you <i>choose</i> not to think about it? If you <i>have</i> thought about this before, where did that thought come from?</p><p id="22e2">There’s a popular philosophy these days — that our thoughts create our reality and we have control over what we think. But is this true?</p><p id="b1ee">Think about it (or don’t, if you can stop yourself). To be able to choose your thoughts would mean knowing what your thoughts are going to be before you think them. That’s impossible. By the time y

Options

ou know what your next thought is going to be, you’ve already thought about it.</p><div id="8104" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/do-we-have-free-will-almost-certainly-not-4ef11c73ebce"> <div> <div> <h2>Do We Have Free Will? Almost Certainly Not</h2> <div><h3>You didn’t create yourself, or the things that make you what you are</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*1YoUmCeSfpmwlw9M95Rowg.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

Just one of the many reasons why “free will” doesn’t make any sense

“You can do what you decide to do — but you cannot decide what you will decide to do.” ― Sam Harris

Do you control your thoughts? Or do your thoughts control you?

If you’ve never thought about this, ask yourself: did you choose not to think about it? If you have thought about this before, where did that thought come from?

There’s a popular philosophy these days — that our thoughts create our reality and we have control over what we think. But is this true?

Think about it (or don’t, if you can stop yourself). To be able to choose your thoughts would mean knowing what your thoughts are going to be before you think them. That’s impossible. By the time you know what your next thought is going to be, you’ve already thought about it.