# Mind-wandering- A philosophical guide **Abstract:** Philosophers have long been fascinated by the stream of Correspondence Zachary C. Irving, Corcoran Department of consciousness – thoughts, images, and bits of inner speech Philosophy, University of Virginia, Cocke Hall that dance across the inner stage. Yet for centuries, such Room 102, Charlottesville, VA. ‘mind-wandering’ was deemed private and thus resistant to Email: [email protected] Funding information 3 Cavaliers, University of Virginia empirical investigation. Recent developments in psychology and neuroscience have reinvigorated scientific interest in the stream of thought. Despite this flurry of progress, scientists have stressed that mind-wandering research requires firmer philosophical foundations. The time is therefore ripe for the philosophy of mind-wandering. Our review begins with a foundational question: What is mind-wandering? We then investigate the significance of mind-wandering for general philosophical topics, namely, mental action, introspection, and the norms of thinking and attention. **Authors:** [[Zachary C. Irving |]]