OLYMPIANS

Mental Muscles

by Alex Hutchins

Geeks as well as jocks have both played prominent roles in the Olympics ever since the first events were held (we think) in 776 BCE. Sculptors and poets participated in artistic competitions alongside brawny wrestlers and statuesque discus throwers. Moreover, the ancient Greeks believed the cultivation of the mind, body and spirit should all be linked together, since that is the foundation for developing the moral character of citizens in a democracy.

Today, neuroscience has taught us what the Greeks intuitively understood. Human reasoning is not the product of a machine functioning independently. The brain is linked to the physical world because it has evolved to ensure the body's survival. According to behavioral neurobiologist Antonio Damasio, we have a brain in order to "run the economy of the body in a better way."

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Consciousness is how we know we exist . . .

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So, what is consciousness?

Consciousness refers to your individual awareness of your unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations and environment. Your conscious experiences are constantly shifting and changing. For example, in one moment you may be focused on reading this article. Your consciousness may then shift to the memory of a conversation you had earlier with a co-worker. Next, you might notice how uncomfortable your chair is or maybe you are mentally planning dinner. This ever-shifting stream of thoughts can change dramatically from one moment to the next, but your experience of it seems smooth and effortless.

The conscious experience was one of the first topics studied by early psychologists. Structuralists used a process known as introspection to analyze and report conscious sensations, thoughts, and experiences. American psychologist William James compared consciousness to a stream; unbroken and continuous despite constant shifts and changes.

Introspection, what a curious word . . .

So, what is introspection?

Introspection is generally regarded as a process by means of which we learn about our own currently ongoing, or very recently past, mental states or processes. Not all such processes are introspective, however: Few would say that you have introspected if you learn that you're angry by seeing your facial expression in the mirror. However, it's unclear and contentious exactly what more is required for a process to qualify as introspective. A relatively restrictive account of introspection might require the process to be of a type that can only yield knowledge of one's own currently ongoing mental states via attention to and direct detection of those states; but many philosophers think attention to or direct detection of mental states is impossible or at least not present in many paradigmatic instances of introspection.

To make a long story short,

introspection is knowing thyself.

‘Know Thyself’ was written on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Legend tells that the seven sages of ancient Greece, philosophers, statesmen and law-givers who laid the foundation for western culture, gathered in Delphi to inscribed ‘know thyself’ at the entry to its scared oracle. The adage subsequently became a touch-stone for western philosophers, and extended its reach as the influence of Greek philosophy expanded. This site gathers its most profound expressions and elaborates on their meaning.

It is usually Socrates who is credited with this notion of knowing thyself, however some of his quotes have been forever embedded in my mind and they are,

“The only truth is that there are no absolute truths;”

however,

“Wisdom does begin with wonder.”