[emteycz]

I think more like moving your body. You can do it when you want to, you can do it on autopilot with varying degrees and axes of control, or do it while asleep. You don't need to subvocalize it, you think more about the result, next intentions, etc.

[cipherzero]

Thanks! That does make sense, and it’s entirely fascinating to think about!

Does anyone know what this area of study is called?

[hadlock]

Look into cognition vs consciousness.

A baby can feed themselves holding a spoon, but they lack object permanence (the ball went behind the couch, it's vanished from this universe forever), and certainly aren't aware of stuff like their own mortality, their favorite color, or if they even should have a favorite color, etc

Child development is a lot more studied than I thought it was, and opens a lot of doors to exploring the answers to some of these questions.