Back in the early history of psychology, psychologists believed introspection was the key to discovering the attributes of the mind that could explain behavior, emotions, consciousness, and experience. The efforts were largely abandoned as new methods proved to to be more aligned with the scientific method.
Structuralism, the theory that advocated introspection, was thought to provide us with a first hand look at how our mind worked. It promised a way to see the mind objectively in action. Unfortunately, the mind has difficulty seeing itself and looking inward does not prove that our experience or our thoughts have a particular design or structure.
“Interpersonal neurobiology and cognitive neuroscience allow us to know how the major components of our brain construct our experience.”
We have come a long way since then in our technology and our theories to identify how our brain is structured. Interpersonal neurobiology and cognitive neuroscience allow us to know how the major components of our brain construct our experience. Certain parts of our brain, for example, light up when we think about our relationships or our memories or our identity.
Returning to the beginning
Let us now return to introspection armed with the knowledge of cognitive neuroscience and see how we can manage our experience, thoughts, and our consciousness with more precision. Introspect on our experience and from the map let's track our process.
Let's be more conscious about the integration of other parts of our mind, rather than letting our mind drift off on its own course. Let's redirect our connections to our body and our soul and find our presence.