Thought Bubbles and Ideas: More Philosophy from Inside Out

Last updated on: June 24, 2015 at 7:05 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

Thought Bubbles and Ideas: More Philosophy from Inside Out 2015-06-24T00:10:57-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Pixar is the most consistent film company in the United States. The company has mostly made excellent movies, has a few mediocre titles, (Cars series shout out), and no bad films. Inside Out is as good as the best of Pixar and that means it is funny, well written, and thoughtful.

Like all great films, Inside Out has images so powerful that they become part of us. A favorite image is the thought bubble that is formed whenever Riley “makes a memory.” The memory is a film clip that loops eternally inside the shell of the thought bubble. Is there a better icon for the relationship between mind and matter?

The bubble is not the light.

The bubble itself is the material structure that holds the ideas in the memory. Film, could be stored in a mind, on a Blu-Ray, or streamed from servers at Netflix. The thought bubble contains the memory, but is not the memory. The mind is able to extract the meaning from the storage medium and recreate the memory. Inside Out uses the spherical thought bubbles to capture both concepts: the medium that holds the idea in a form where we can retrieve it and the idea itself.

Ideas are a big problem for the simple minded crowd that thinks all that exists is matter and energy. You don’t want to believe in God, because you cannot grasp an immaterial being? What about numbers? Numbers exist, but they are not “made” of matter and energy. Doubt that numbers exist? What about the film Inside Out? It can be stored in many media, but the movie is the same wherever it is stored. Hope and I share a memory of seeing the fireworks at Disneyland, but you cannot find the memory by looking inside our brains. You could destroy our ability to retrieve the memory, interpret it, or understand it by messing with our bodies and brains, but the memory would endure in the other person’s mind. It could even be restored, since ideas endure!

People I love suffer from problems due to brain difficulties. The mind presses the proper button on the control panel, but it gets a wrong result. Joy means to send a smile to the world, but instead the console shorts and sends a frown. The mind endures, but the interface has failed. As the mind slips into eternity, a place where it will receive a better more enduring interface, the old system fails, but we, the idea of who we are, can endure.

I see my own aging body and know that this is real. This dying that is coming is part of me. I cannot escape it, but it is not all of me. There is a part of me, the ideal, that simply needs a new medium to live again. The promise of Scripture is that this day is coming. Just as Jesus received a new body and now lives forever, so I will receive a new body and live eternally with Him. We cannot be destroyed and God cannot forget us. If we choose not to change, we damn ourselves, but we need not choose badly.

I can allow myself to be “born again” and become fit for a new upgraded console, material interface, and retrieval system where nothing good, true, or beautiful is ever lost or forgotten.

Culture

Pop Culture

Previous Post

June 23, 2015

Inside Out: Brilliant Film, Helpful Philosophy

Next Post

June 25, 2015 Money is Made: Running for President and Making Christian Movies

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Apologetics Art Culture Education On Books On Education Philosophy Politics Pop Culture Spiritual Reflections Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 July 2025 June 2025 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 December 2023 June 2023 September 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What Christian group emphasizes "The Inner Light" as guidance from God?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Pentecostals Baptists Methodists Quakers

Books by This Author John Mark Reynolds

See All Titles »