![]() ![]() Because social status is phenomenally important to humans, we are primed to increase our own dominance and reduce that of others. ![]() Human nature and social media have combined to make disclosing unwanted intrusive thoughts a dangerous endeavour. But disclosing an abhorrent unwanted intrusive thought, which you explicitly disavow, may be most likely to harm yourself. ![]() Speech has the potential to create a “ clear and present danger” and harm others. The legal protection for thoughts that are spoken is no longer absolute. This is not an entirely inaccurate description of social media. What’s more, if we criminalised every improper thought then, as was noted in the 1880s, “all mankind would be criminals, and most of their lives would be passed in trying and punishing each other”. The primary justification for this is that thoughts alone cannot harm others. Legally, we have an absolute right not to be penalised for our thoughts. But should people be punished for having them? Punishing the mind? Nevertheless, it appears that having unwanted intrusive thoughts you find repugnant is common. Much of it, for example, has been conducted with university students, which provides an incomplete picture. There are limitations to research in this area. However, cultural arguments can also be made, such as that patriarchy encourages hostile sexual thoughts against women. An evolutionary psychologist has argued that “all of us house in our large brain specific specialised psychological circuits that lead us to contemplate murder as a solution to specific adaptive problems”. Why they are often violent or sexual is also not clear. One theory is that they help problem solving by facilitating brainstorming. Why we experience unwanted intrusive thoughts is unclear. Someone who felt this way about intrusive sexual thoughts they had about children is a potential sexual offender. If the person does not find them repugnant, does not try to suppress or avoid them, does not try to avoid situations that trigger them, or is aroused or acts on them, then there is cause for concern. To be clear, we are talking here about such thoughts occurring in people who find them abhorrent. Also, 6% of men and women reported having such thoughts about sex with animals or non-human objects, 19% of men and 7% of women had them about a sexual act with a child or minor, and 38% of men and 22% of women had them about forcing another adult to have sex with them.Īround a quarter of us have had unwanted thoughts of fatally pushing a stranger. ![]() It was found that 60% of people reported such thoughts about running a car off the road, 46% had them about hurting family members, and 26% had them about fatally pushing a stranger. Later research discovered how common unwanted intrusive thoughts about violence and sex were. Most people who had such thoughts could easily dismiss these unwelcome visitors. A study published in 1978 found people reporting unwanted intrusive thoughts about acts of violence during sex, throwing a child out of a bus and jumping in front of a train. These most often involve themes of doubt, such as thinking you left the cooker on or a door unlocked.īut some unwanted intrusive thoughts will have content that goes against the person’s own values. Whether you ask people in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America or South America, you will typically find that more than 90% have recently experienced unwanted intrusive thoughts. This would not only be ridiculous, it would also have serious implications for our health. People will learn never to speak of having such thoughts.īut what if having such thoughts turns out to be normal? The human condition would become literally unspeakable. The Twittersphere will descend, claiming you are unfit to work and live in human society. If you make these thoughts public, perhaps tweeting in horror about them, you will quickly discover you are held responsible and will be punished. Are you responsible for what has fallen into your mind? These are unbidden, unwanted and in complete opposition to your values. Now imagine you’re lying in bed when murderous, violently sexual or discriminatory thoughts pop into your head. You are not responsible for things that fall into your house. You call the police who come round and arrest you for possession. Imagine you’re lying in bed when a sack of cocaine falls from a plane, crashes through your roof and lands next to you. ![]()
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