From Thought to Action: Why We Do What We Do

We’re sitting on the sofa, thinking about a friend we haven’t heard from in a long time. Shortly afterward, we pick up the phone and call him. To us, the connection is obvious: We were thinking about him—and that’s why we called.

But from a scientific perspective, it’s not that simple. Because while we’re thinking, physical processes are taking place in our brains: nerve cells become active, electrical and chemical signals are transmitted, and information is processed. So what actually prompts us to pick up the phone—the processes in our brain or the content of our thoughts?

Prof. Dr. Jens Harbecke of Witten/Herdecke University (UW/H) and Prof. Dr. Oron Shagrir, President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, are exploring this fundamental question. Together, they have developed a new philosophical argument suggesting that our actions may be influenced not only by physical processes in the brain but also by the content of our thoughts. Their work has been published in the journal *Philosophy and Phenomenological Research*, which, according to a survey of academic philosophers, ranks among the top two most prestigious philosophical journals.

Same Process, Different Meaning

The human brain is often described as an information-processing system—similar to a computer. But if physical processes alone determine what we do, what role do the contents of our thoughts still play?

Harbecke and Shagrir argue that they can be relevant. One and the same physical process can fulfill different functions—depending on the meaning of the processed information in a given context. The content and the context play a decisive role in determining which actions and effects the physical process causes. A sensor, for example, can generate the same electrical signal regardless of whether it is installed in a battle tank or a swimming pool. Depending on the context, the signal means something completely different and triggers different effects. So we don’t just pick up the phone because certain processes are taking place in our brain, but also because these processes represent the thought of our friend in our world. In this way, thoughts and their environments jointly determine which processes are relevant to our behavior—in other words, that we pick up the phone. The scientists thus provide a new philosophical explanation for how thoughts and physical processes in the brain can interact.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence lends additional relevance to this philosophical question. This is because AI systems, too, are processing increasingly complex information. This makes it all the more important to understand the role that the meaning of this information plays—in human thought as well as in AI. Philosophers at Witten/Herdecke University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem explain why the meaning of our thoughts might play a role.