Introspection
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Introspection: looking inside (from the outside)
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Avondliedeke 3
't Is goed in 't eigen hart te kijken
Nog even voor het slapengaan
Of ik van dageraad tot avond
Geen enkel hart heb zeer gedaan
Alice Nahon
(Flemish poem)
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Is this well-intentioned intention possible?
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The human mind operates primarily out of sight of itself because that is the way it works best under many circumstances. It would not be easy to survive without such an efficient, powerful, and rapid means of understanding and acting upon the world. On the other hand, we cannot directly observe the workings of our minds. We experience a rich mental life, but that makes it difficult to acknowledge that the vast majority of our mental processes are not directly observable. (1)
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Internal Observation
A modern psychological definition of introspection can be found in Kurt Danziger's review article:
- The modern concept of introspection emerged out of the empiricist philosophers’ belief that self-knowledge was based on acts of internal observation that were closely analogous to the acts of observation by which we gain knowledge of the external world. (2)
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The foundation for this was laid by Descartes in the 17th century.
- In the Meditations*, Descartes worries that he might be deceived by an evil demon. As a result, all his beliefs about the external world might be false. But however powerful the demon, Descartes claims that it cannot deceive him about the contents of his own mind.
- While it may not be true that he sees, hears, and feels what he thinks he sees, it is nevertheless true, he says, that "I certainly seem to see, hear, and be warmed. This cannot be false."
This passage is often interpreted in terms of infallibility. As such, it provides one of the strongest claims philosophers have made about the epistemic peculiarity of our self-knowledge: You cannot falsely believe in your own mental states. In this way, I am in a privileged position to judge my mental states, because other people can hold false beliefs about my mental states. But, necessarily, if I believe that I am in a certain mental state, then I am in that mental state. (3)
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The fundamental criticism of Descartes comes down to the fact that there is a viewer (myself) who looks internally at something (perhaps the soul), and thus, a division arises between the viewer and what is being looked at (= dualism).
The logician Wittgenstein added the following criticism to this:
- If introspective error is excluded by logical necessity, what meaning can we attach to the concept of acquiring knowledge through introspection? We can only speak of acquiring knowledge in cases where it makes sense to speak of wrongly thinking that we have acquired knowledge. In other words: 'If you can't be wrong, then you can't be right either'. Or: 'If failure is logically impossible, then talking about success is pointless.' (3)
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Stepping away from dualism
At first glance, moving away from dualism toward 'dual process theory' seems like a strange step.
This terminology suggests that exactly two systems underlie the two forms of processing, a stronger assumption than most theorists wish to make.
Over two decades ago, Stanovich (1999) used the generic terms System 1 and System 2 to avoid favouring one particular theory when labelling the two sets of properties. It is essential to prevent confusion between dual types and dual modes of thinking.
Modes of processing are cognitive styles manifest within the domain of what we regard as Type 2 thinking. Unlike types, they typically represent two poles of a continuum of processing styles. The confusion between modes and types is at the core of one of the main criticisms of dual-process theories. (4)
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Emotions
Lisa Feldman Barrett is a professor of psychology at Northeastern University and a leading expert on emotions. She is the author of How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain. In her book, Barrett argues that emotions are not internal events but rather social constructs created by our thoughts, actions, and interactions with others. She argues that emotions are not in the head but in the body and that they are shaped by our experiences and our relationships with others.
Barrett's work has had a profound impact on our understanding of emotions. She has changed the way we think about emotions and developed new ways of examining and treating them. Her work has also led to new ways of thinking about the relationship between the mind and the body..
The key points of Barrett's work on introspection are:
- Emotions are social constructs. They are not made in the head, but in the body.
- Emotions are made by our thoughts, actions, and interactions with others.
- Emotions are not static. They are constantly changing.
- Emotions are not good or bad. They are simply information.
- Emotions can be used to help us learn and grow.
Barrett's work has shown us that emotions are much more than we thought. They are not just internal events but also social constructs shaped by our experiences and relationships with others. This insight has helped us to understand better and manage emotions. (5)
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Consciousness is a process
Daniel Dennett is also sceptical of standard views on introspection. According to Dennett, in many cases where we think we are introspecting, we are actually theorizing (Dennett - Consciousness explained - 1991). Moreover, because we are notoriously bad at theorising, our first-person access to our own mental states is considerably less privileged than is commonly thought. (3)
Daniel Dennett compares introspection to "looking at a television set from the inside"—we can only see the images being broadcast, not the mechanisms generating them.
Dennett also argues that introspection is often biased. We tend to focus on the things we are aware of and ignore the things we are unaware of, which can lead us to overestimate the importance of our conscious thoughts and feelings. Consciousness is not a single thing but rather a collection of different processes that constantly interact with each other. These processes include perception, attention, memory, and language. Introspection is one of these processes, which is not the most important.
Dennett's views on introspection have been controversial, but they have also been influential. His work has helped to shift the focus of consciousness research away from introspection and towards other methods, such as brain imaging and behavioural studies.
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Observing your thoughts
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It is almost impossible to think about the content of your thought processes through the thought processes by which that content is thought at that moment.
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Mirroring your thought processes can help you get to know yourself. The interaction between a patient and a psychologist or psychiatrist has been scientifically proven to be efficient. Writing down your thoughts, talking to others, gaining new experiences, or reading about different theories about human nature are also beneficial.
The core message here is that it always starts from a personal action from the inside out, which aligns with current knowledge about how your brain works.
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Sources
- (1) Timothy D. Wilson - The Unseen Mind - SCIENCE VOL 321- 2008
- (2) Kurt Danziger - Introspection: History of the Concept
- (3) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Introspection
- (4) Jonathan St. B. T. Evans and Keith E. Stanovich - Dual-Process Theories of Higher Cognition: Advancing the Debate
- (5) Lisa Feldman Barrett - How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain
- ̈* Full title: Meditations on First Philosophy, in Which the Existence of God and the Immortal Soul are Proved; Latin: Meditationes de prima philosophia, in qua Dei existentia et animae immortalitas demonstratur), written by the French philosopher René Descartes. The original work from 1641 was written in Latin, when Descartes lived in the United Netherlands; a French edition appeared in 1647.