Is it possible to have an original thought?

Many of our thoughts are reactions to a singular external stimuli e.g. You see a flower and you might think "pink" or "beautiful." You see the ocean and might think "vast" or "moving."
Some thoughts are more complex and are reactions to memories of external stimuli and combined with other memories e.g. "Imagine an ocean made up entirely of undulating flowers."
But what about an original thought? A thought that's not a reaction to any external event or object. Is it possible to form a thought from nothing?

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mic11225 · 26-30, M

I don't believe so. I believe everything we do is a reaction to stimulus, even if that stimulus is not something immediately physical. This topic is why I'm convinced free will actually does not exist, because our brain is physical and it is made to act a certain way, and it could be argued that everything we've done or chose to do was predetermined because of the way our brain has developed.

Magnolia · 31-35, F

I never thought of this actually connecting to free will... Interesting. I'll have to think about it some more. Thanks for your answer.

mic11225 · 26-30, M

@Magnolia: 😬👍 even if free will turns out to not exist the illusion of it still works just fine. We make choices, and the important part is we don't know what our own choices or anyone's choices will be, that's what creates the illusion.