ABSTRACT
Most psychologists, when they think of thinking, speak of ‘cognition’, thanks to the seventeenth-century French philosopher René Descartes (1596-1650). Contemplating his wood-burning stove, Descartes came up with one of the sharpest slogans of all time (1634/1999):
Elegant as Descartes’ formula was, it makes just as much sense if you run it backwards:
Human beings cannot help thinking. You may be thinking rubbish, you may be thinking about nothing more than whether Lady Gaga really needed to have a dress made out of meat, but, even so, your brain isn’t totally empty.
