Mental event
From Wikinfo
A mental event is a particular occurrence of something going on in the mind.
Seed thoughts in the stream of consciousness
For example, if Mary is walking through a park and she sees City Hall, that instance of seeing City Hall is an instance of perception—something that is supposed to be going on in Mary's mind. That instance of seeing is a mental event. It is an event because it is something that happens, and it is mental because it happens in someone's mind. If Mary thinks to herself, "I am a human being," that thought is a mental event; if she feels happy after doing well on an exam, that is a mental event. And so on.
Examples of mental events
- One plus one equals two (calculation)
- I remember having toast for breakfast. (memory)
- I'll buy lumber before buying nails. (planing)
- Bob is a better friend than Bill is. (evaluation)
- By placing the axle first, the machine will be easier to construct. (mental image)
- Traffic will be heavy on the way home (prediction, based on memory and other factors)
See also: consciousness, quale, mental function, Yogacara
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Mental_event" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_event, used under the GNU Free Documentation License
