Altered State Thinking ($)
If there are styles of thinking we cannot master, then there are kinds of thoughts we will not have.
“The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.”
— David Bohm, physicist
Episodic and Semantic, or Rational and Emotive
Thinking is commonly referred to as either episodic or semantic. Episodic thinking is the rational process of projecting past experiences into the future. Semantic thinking involves deduction and induction based on facts. These reasonable kinds of thinking offer us a somewhat illusory sense of control.
We suppose our thinking is based on common understandings, not reflexes and emotions. It seems reasonable to consider the future based on what has happened and what could happen (Schacter et al. 2013). However, our perception, understanding, and recollection is not objective and is not entirely under our control.
These two styles of thinking give us ways to assess and understand our future choices. Each is flexible in its own way, but I feel these two modes are insufficient. I find it unimportant to distinguish whether people are basing their conclusions on first or second hand experiences. I prefer to divide thinking into rational and emotional because these are the kinds of thoughts that motivate us.
Rational thinking involves building a chain of reasonable thoughts. It doesn’t have to be a chain, it can be a net, but it does have to involve thoughts. They don’t have to be particularly sane thoughts and, in truth, the sense in most of our thinking is questionable.
Emotions are feelings or things closely linked to them. We might provide reasons for our emotions, but reasons don’t make feelings; feelings are independent things. What’s more, it’s feelings that motivate us. Reasons may point us in a direction, but it’s feelings that make us act.
In contrast, dreams and similar psychotic experiences are considered irrational and dysfunctional. It’s been argued that dreams serve no purpose and are mental garbage or, more accurately, mental garbage collection (Hobson and McCarley 1977). This schism between endorsing the rational and appreciating the irrational is a fundamental source of misunderstanding and the main obstacle to the integration of psychology and the experience of altered states.
Associative Thinking
To explore your own altered states,
