There seems to be a distinction of how thoughts unground a man from reality, I am seeing 2 different kinds, again with respect to contingencies: viz. an undisciplined habit of abstraction, and a malicious assault of bait and switch.
The first seems fairly straightforward to correct. Sometimes the mind wanders, this seems to be prevalent most especially in idleness. When this happen, distractions, useless curiosities, and an unhealthy sub-culture of scrolling seem to harbor a festering pit of useless abstractions to nowhere. To what end do I scroll and poke around on the browser? As if my gandering will make a difference in some far away event that is outside of my power to change. This also doesn’t classify as true studying either, for no growth comes from this; and, thus the intellect’s capacity for good, is left unhinged to float without direction, like a leaf being tossed by the wind. Aristotle offers the answer and solution to this problem: what cannot be reached and demonstrated through reason is mere speculation. To allow our intellects to spin out of control from mindless speculation is irresponsible and a waste of potentiality.
Yet, there is a far more sinister issue we encounter with this. All of humanity is being watched by incorporeal rational entities that possess intellects far more powerful than we could possibly imagine, and wage a terrible war for our demise. These are known as demons, led by Satan, all of whom were once angels, now fallen and destined for hellfire. Their ordinary and prolific way of communicating with us is through thoughts, mental images, etc. all of which are negative in nature, termed as temptations, and designed to bring about our destruction: not because they can impose their will on us, but because they are clever enough to persuade us to sin and stray from God.
Now, knowing this is not enough to contend with them. In fact, it seems impossible to fight against a malicious assault of bait and switching from their end. You could refute their initial contingent assertions, and then suddenly find yourself considering another syllogism, and then upon refuting that, you find yourself lured into another intellectual trap abstracting when you did not intend to do so. When it becomes this bad, or rather this obvious, that it’s sole purpose being to distract you from the present task at hand, or their favorite tactic being to deprive you of sleep, the only real answer to this is prayer. Specifically the Rosary or the Liturgy of the Hours. For their reasoning, or rather their sophistry, are dashed upon the face of the rock, the corner stone who is Jesus Christ. This seems to be the only way to reassert control over the intellect, and it is by appealing to the very One who is the divine authority over all things, including demons.
So then: avoid useless abstractions, refute that which is false, but when refutation leads to an endless devious entrapment, then it’s time to pray, for no intellect, no matter how sharp, can contend with the intellect of the evil one.
EAR