How do we know our thoughts are our own?

[Chris the 4th]

I asked a few questions before about if the government used Psychology to control the masses and 100% of the answerer's said YES. So if this is true how do we know our thoughts are our own?

[asdf]

that's a bullshit question.

[steephose538]

You don't. nuff said

[Gerry Mander]

No. It is an excellent question. An interesting book, by an esteemed author (George H. Mead), explores just this issue. See - Mind, Self, & Society.

The answer, to your question, however, is, the government does not really control your thoughts; those around you (1) may have thoughts similar to yours as we are all hardwired in basically the same manner, thus we get the impression others are aware of our every move (and bureaucracy is based upon procedure which in turn is based upon human behavior (to make things simple)), (2) your thoughts may have been thought before (the deja vu experience) and codified by some author thus placing them in the public venue, (3) oneself, ones mind, is actually determined by those with whom you interact, therefore, it "seems" as if someone outside of self is dictating terms, i.e., the "other" has thoughts similar to yours, (4) the mass media, e.g., newspapers, magazines, TV, movies, the internet, billboards, are the resultant of many marketing experts. Most of these individuals sell "soap", that is, their job is to know you better than you know yourself. Given that they have access, like the government, to very highly regarded statistical techniques, time proven surveys of social and individual behavior, and substantial amounts of funds to field the behavioral and social surveys, it is not unusual to believe that psychological control on a mass scale is possible. In fact, it is and has been done for some time. However, the individual cannot be controlled completely. And here is why. If one analyzes a group of people it is possible to find average sets of behavior, e.g., if free beer is provided people will drink it. Thus, one can conclude that the same will occur in any situation. However, if free beer is given to a single individual one cannot conclude what the entire group will do. It is a one way vector, from group to individual but never from individual to group.

[Sweetie Pie]

I think our thoughts are manipulated by the media. Music and popular shows on vh1 and mtv and talk shows, like tyra banks, tell us what we should like whats pretty and whats not. Like tyras show is the perfect example. She tells us what is acceptable and whats not. People don't want to think for themselves. All the things we learn in has limits. MAth is kind of BS to me. The only things I find worth living is social studies and science, other than that, that could be corrupted too.

[Spiritualseeker]

When we say Government, even that consists of our own people. We have created a source for our own thought, when we elected them.
They do not really 'control' but they influence us. For that matter, our thoughts are nothing but an influence of what happens around us, and how we perceive them through our sense organs. What ever we 'know' has come through these sense organs. And what comes in next is known by comparing with what we already know.
We really do not know if our thoughts are our own. That is why meditative people step out of the very thought process, and then 'experience' life. That way, we are not available to thought process, and therefore, not available to influence of others too. Yet we have the choice to receive, perceive, empathise others (and every thing around), and act according to the situation.