What is Thinking? - part 1 of 3
How I realized I had thoughts
Welcome to my comic on Philosophy! Every week, I will post a new instalment from my book Philosophy, a Discovery in Comics. To give you an idea of what to expect, here’s the Contents page:
So let’s start thinking about Thinking!
Transcript
Thinking - what is it really?
When I was 5 years old… (picture of me as a child, in a typically 1970s woollen skirt)
me at 5: (thought balloon) “I’m THINKING!”
me at 5, holding the above text balloon: “THIS is a THOUGHT! And so is THIS!”
me at 5, looking at the world (a house, a tree, a cat): “I am the only one looking at the world through these eyes and thinking these thoughts!”
These thoughts inevitably inspired more thinking
me at 5, looking at the grass: “The grass is green. Or IS it…?”
me at 5: “Maybe to others the grass is red, even though they call it green! How could you ever test that?”
me at 5, looking startled: “Maybe the whole world is fake! How can I be sure other people aren’t really robots?”
me at 5, asking my dad: “Dad, are you a robot…?”
me at 5, looking up at the stars: “How big is SPACE? The say it’s endless…”
me at 5, bouncing a ball: “What is INFINITY? It’s when something has no end… Maybe it’s like this ball… Its surface has no beginning and no end…”
me at 5: “And what is THINKING anyway?”
Original page
Oh, I ADORE this. It really hits a lot of very familiar concepts I grew up getting stuck pondering at length. 💜💜💜💜
It really remind me of my young brain, but I definitely still ask myself these questions today. Well put! And happy birthday !