Thought

Thought generally refers to any mental or intellectual activity involving an individual's subjective consciousness. It can refer either to the act of thinking or the resulting ideas or arrangements of ideas. Similar concepts include cognition, sentience, consciousness, and imagination. Because thought underlies almost all human actions and interactions, understanding its physical and metaphysical origins, processes, and effects has been a longstanding goal of many academic disciplines including, among others, biology, philosophy, psychology, and sociology.

Famous quotes containing the word thought:

“The essence of spirit, he thought to himself, was to choose the thing which did not better one’s position but made it more perilous. That was why the world he knew was poor, for it insisted morality and caution were identical.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)

“There are certain stereotypes that are offensive. Some of them don’t worry me, though. For instance, I have always thought that Mammy character in Gone with the Wind was mighty funny. And I just loved “Amos ‘n’ Andy” on the radio. So you see, I have enough confidence in myself that those things did not bother me. I could laugh.”
—Annie Elizabeth Delany (b. 1891)

“I thought of a mound in sweet Auburn
Where a little headstone stood;
How the flakes were folding it gently,
As did robins the babes in the wood.

Up spoke our own little Mabel,
Saying, “Father, who makes it snow?”
And I told of the good All-father
Who cares for us here below.”
—James Russell Lowell (1819–1891)