What is thinking
I distinguish between thinking and its foundational mental skills—the tools that enable the process, but do not constitute it. Some of those skills are:
- sustaining attention on an object
- logical reasoning
- describing what's is observed in the mind
- being aware of thoughts related to the object of thinking
- posing questions
- imagination
Firsthand experience with the world is essential as well, which sometimes can be substituted with books and other secondary sources—to an extent.
Thinking also requires a goal. Or a pull towards the unknown. There is either a well-defined destination or a direction.
With all of the above, and probably many more, faculties equipped, one then starts creating a model in their mind. This model is then being probed, questioned, modified so that it gets closer to the destination or moves further along in a desired direction.
That process of modeling the desired reality in ones mind is thinking.