What does it mean if you act before you think? Is it even possible?

Question

It is impossible to act before thought or so I think. But if you do happen to act before the thought then is it really you that has acted?

Answer 1

Put simply, to say you "Acted without thinking" does not state that you acted without any brain or nerve function.

It is very possible to act "without thinking", when it is just a reflex response, but this kind of statement is useless, other than to describe a natural phenomenon.

The statement assumes that you understand that "thinking", in this case, means considering the consequences of your actions, not just on yourself (e.g., dying, because you drove a car off a cliff), but on others (e.g., the friend who was sitting next to you in the car), and possibly the environment around you (e.g., the dry, highly flammable forest floor at the base of the cliff).

It is usually used with a bad connotation, when describing careless or "thoughtless" behavior, though it can also be used to describe noble behavior (He "acted before thinking" by running into the burning building to save a stranger).

Answer 2

Reflex is not controlled by the brain in most cases. If it where we would be in much trouble. someone needs to do a little research here!

As for the question; well people do act without giving it much thought, but all actions, other than reflex, do need some thought, only to what level depends upon the individual. end off!

Answer 3

Act before you think consciously is possible in a case where, an action done many times by one and it is stored in the sub-conscious mind.
Some of the actions are by nature body will do with the help of sub-conscious mind. Example, when a dust particle comes towards your eyes, the eyes will automatically gets close.
In both the cases,we don't think consciously to act. But a command goes from either state of mind to the brain, and the action happens.

Answer 4

Yes it's you, although you couldn't act without first a thought to drive you, unless it was simply your body having a spasm, or some pre-impressioned response to certain things that require no decisive thought before doing them. But even then there would have been even the minutest brain to muscle transaction. So, you're right. It is impossible to act before thinking.

Answer 5

I interpret this as a figure of speech with some slightly altered definition of thinking. In true biological sense, thinking may be reactions in brain that aren't about an automated bodily control (like you don't think to make your heart beat, reflexes in my opinion isn't thinking).

Now, when you're drunk, you can do something with the influence of alcohol as it has confused the brain chemically; when you're in an emotional state, you could react to something without thinking *through* something clearly and act. In normal life, you can do something, often without thinking enough as you would.

Once again, biologically, I don't think you do act before thinking. And in few cases, you do react/act before thinking enough, but I would still say *you* acted, even if you don't think as the brain can already react to a predefined behavior, with a preconfigured response, kind of a like a pattern. So, it is still you doing someting.

Answer 6

It means being impulsive. Doing something before you think it through. Here's an example. A few weeks ago I saw something on Ebay that I just had to have. It was a very expensive item. Well, 10 seconds after I pushed the buy it now button I started to feel buyers remorse. I wanted to take back what I had just done but it was too late. I was stuck with it because I had committed to buy.

Answer 7

Simply stated it should be think HARD or LONG before you react..it just means we have a thought process in our brain first that is involuntary and then a voluntary act that comes out of our thoughts first...

IE
first thought
I hungry I should go to that new place to try out the sea food
second thought
I have food at home I should thaw out instead of spending money

Answer 8

Well, we usually make quick reactions to things in life, when people say think before you act they mean to consider the act in your head before actually automatically doing it. It is just a phrase used.

Answer 9

Acting before you think happens all the time.Most crimes are commited because of it.I believe everyone has an angle and a beast in themselves.Just a matter of how one balances both sides in a "bad",or "good" situation.

Answer 10

It is a proven scientific fact that the human brain cannot rationalize actions until they have already occurred. We can think about different outcomes to our actions before we do them but the truthful scientific truth is, our brain cannot process our actions until we have done them. The truth is we react to stimuli because of our subconcious. Our instincts make us react and then our thinking part of the brain rationalizes it.