Thought: The Basics

Our heads buzz with them while we're awake. They can spur us to action and creativity, or to daydream. They can be opinionated or contemplative, fleeting or recurring. We couldn’t do without them. Yet it remains surprisingly difficult to explain even the rudiments of thought without confusion or philosophical controversy.

In clear, accessible and engaging style Thought: The Basics gets to grips with the nature of human thought, addressing important questions such as:

• What are the contents of thought?
• How does thought represent the world around us?
• How does language affect the thoughts we think?
• What causes thoughts in the first place?
• Is thought subject to bias, and is this always a bad thing?
• How are our bodies related to our thoughts?
• What is free thought?

With just the right balance of theory and illustrative examples, Thought: The Basics is ideal for anyone coming to this fascinating but deceptively difficult topic for the first time.

Léa Salje is an associate professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Leeds, UK, and Director of the Centre for Theoretical Philosophy at Leeds. She is Associate Editor of the journal MIND and a member of the Executive Committee at the Royal Institute of Philosophy.