Our sense of justice depends on our sense of time. Justice is a phenomenon only of consciousness, because time spread out in a spatial succession is its very essence. And this is possible only in a spatial metaphor of time.
Julian JaynesRead
One does one's thinking before one knows what one is to think about.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Thinking precedes our awareness of what we are supposed to think about.
This quote by Julian Jaynes suggests that our cognitive processes often function unconsciously before we consciously recognize the subject matter we should contemplate. It emphasizes the complexity of thought and how our decision-making processes are sometimes initiated without our full awareness of the context or the content we are engaging with.
Themes
ThinkingAwarenessCognitionThoughtPhilosophy
In practice
Example use cases
During a seminar on cognitive science, this quote could illustrate how our thoughts are formed.
More from Julian Jaynes
All quotes βCivilization is the art of living in towns of such size the everyone does not know everyone else.
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Abstract words are ancient coins whose concrete images in the give and take of talk have worn away with use.
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