The Objectivist view of the mind: The conscious mind as volitional, the subconscious (or brain) as automatic. Thinking as volitional and emotion as automatic.

What exactly is volitional in a thinking process?

What’s the importance of being able to choose to focus or not?

Do we have a single, volitional mind/self? Sam Harris’ deterministic, “modular mind” view (as revealed through introspection/meditation).

What grounds are there—if any—for deciding to focus?

How to decide between two hypotheses that both purport to explain how the mind works: Hypothesis 1 There’s no “why” that explains the primary choice to focus/think; Hypothesis 2 - There is a “why,” but it’s an unconscious occurrence in the brain. 1:47:28 Should one hypothesis be the default? The parallel to external world skepticism. Burden of proof and proving a negative.

Is free will at least an illusion—even if not real? Or is there not even an illusion of free will? Sam Harris.

My graduate research on free will and the philosophy of mind (aka the metaphysics of consciousness or the “mind-body problem”).

Discovering a new, mental force in nature.