> In psychology and literature, this kind of mental rambling is called stream of consciousness, a metaphor we owe to William James. It’s not the metaphor I would have chosen. My own consciousness, as I experience it, does not flow smoothly from one topic to the next but seems to flit across a landscape of ideas, more like a butterfly than a river...
James’s term “stream of consciousness” in psychology has a different meaning than the mental rambling in literature that the author is experiencing here.
William James was using it simply to mean that while we often think of ourselves as having discrete thoughts, one after the other, they are in reality an ever-changing flow. Our attention is what flits about and focuses here or there, and still we are aware of where it last was and feel the pull of where it will land next—and even with sudden shifts it is not instantaneous.
James also spoke of the “fringe” of ideas that always surrounds whichever one we are currently focused on: a dim awarenesss of related things that our minds call up without our control. Not just ideas actually: feelings and sensations and maybe even actions also make up the fringe. But the continuous shifting of attention from one thing to another, or as he might have put it, the unbroken growth and movement of a thing from the fringe into the center of awareness, is what makes up the stream.
It’s useful to speak of “a train of thought,” but the “stream of consciousness” serves as a reminder that this is an abstraction. It’s especially useful for us particularly logical types to remember that going for a swim is also an option, and that the trains don’t always run to the same places the rivers go.
It’s been a while since I have read James, so my description won’t really do him justice. I just couldn’t let that bit pass without remark. I look forward to reading the rest of this piece.
> If you want a collection of ideas that resonate with your own experience, you’ll just have to create your own free-association diagram. I highly recommend it: You may discover something you didn’t know you knew.
Tried it out on paper. It wasn't as branched as his. My tree was a straight line for 9 levels, went back up to level 7, and then straight back down to level 16, before backtracking all the way back to level 9. Thinking of one thing would make me think of something else quickly, without backtracking.
> In psychology and literature, this kind of mental rambling is called stream of consciousness, a metaphor we owe to William James. It’s not the metaphor I would have chosen. My own consciousness, as I experience it, does not flow smoothly from one topic to the next but seems to flit across a landscape of ideas, more like a butterfly than a river...
James’s term “stream of consciousness” in psychology has a different meaning than the mental rambling in literature that the author is experiencing here.
William James was using it simply to mean that while we often think of ourselves as having discrete thoughts, one after the other, they are in reality an ever-changing flow. Our attention is what flits about and focuses here or there, and still we are aware of where it last was and feel the pull of where it will land next—and even with sudden shifts it is not instantaneous.
James also spoke of the “fringe” of ideas that always surrounds whichever one we are currently focused on: a dim awarenesss of related things that our minds call up without our control. Not just ideas actually: feelings and sensations and maybe even actions also make up the fringe. But the continuous shifting of attention from one thing to another, or as he might have put it, the unbroken growth and movement of a thing from the fringe into the center of awareness, is what makes up the stream.
It’s useful to speak of “a train of thought,” but the “stream of consciousness” serves as a reminder that this is an abstraction. It’s especially useful for us particularly logical types to remember that going for a swim is also an option, and that the trains don’t always run to the same places the rivers go.
It’s been a while since I have read James, so my description won’t really do him justice. I just couldn’t let that bit pass without remark. I look forward to reading the rest of this piece.
> If you want a collection of ideas that resonate with your own experience, you’ll just have to create your own free-association diagram. I highly recommend it: You may discover something you didn’t know you knew.
Tried it out on paper. It wasn't as branched as his. My tree was a straight line for 9 levels, went back up to level 7, and then straight back down to level 16, before backtracking all the way back to level 9. Thinking of one thing would make me think of something else quickly, without backtracking.