A thought experiment

What's that, you may be asking. Is this an experiment to see if thinking is going on? Well, not completely, but sort of. No, a thought experiment is when you try to think about a proposed situation (that is, a particular configuration of events or circumstances) to determine what are the consequences or the results that come of it. A thought experiment is a chance to not only think about something in a particular way, but it is also an opportunity to reflect on how our own minds work. OK? Everything clear? All right, let's give it a go. Imagine you overhear someone near you make the following statement:

"These illegal immigrants are getting out of hand ... coming in here like that ... no one asked them to come, that's for sure. And now they're acting like they own the place, running around with their weird customs and speaking that foreign language nobody can understand. They're just spreading out and taking over everything. Using up all of our stuff. Why doesn't somebody do something about it? Why don't they just round them all up and send them back where they came from. This is our country, not theirs."

Now, take a moment and reflect on your reaction: did you agree (whereby agreeing is relative; it's a sliding scale from "not at all" to "absolutely!")? Did you think the speaker was maybe overgeneralizing? Did you think perhaps that the speaker was being too emotional? Did you think that perhaps s/he had a point and there was food for thought there? That's what I'm talking about. Go ahead, take a few minutes to reflect. I'll just wait here till you're done ...

So, how did it turn out? What does that tell you about how you view a topic such as illegal immigration? Did you think about why you might feel the way you do about certain aspects of the statement? I think you will agree, though, that thought experiments can be interesting, maybe even fun (within limits, of course), even though some of you are patting yourselves on the back for how tolerant you are and others are praising themselves for their principled position.

OK, great, now let me add just one little tidbit of information that I left out when presenting the statement: it was made by a Mexican in what we now call Texas in the year 1834.

What are you thinking now? The same? Something else? Did you feel that little twinge of hey-wait-a-minute? The only one who needs to know the reaction is you, of course, but the additional bit of information – the context – I think you will agree, plays an important role in what we think and why.