Critical Thinking

This morning I read an entry in Stephen Shapiro’s Blog (the author of Goal-Free Living) in his post Skeptical about Scepticism. His thoughts here:

To me, skepticism should mean “critical thinking.” It implies remaining open to any possibility, while not accepting things at face value. It is about applying science and reasoning, recognizing the limitations of those disciplines. To do this, you must avoid both dogmatism and blind faith - two opposite ends of the spectrum. What is the difference between dogmatism, blind faith, and critical thinking?

If you are in a conversation with someone and you are dogmatic, you will immediately shoot down any perspective that is contrary to your own belief. Your knee-jerk response is, “No.” You go on the offensive and put the other person on the defensive. This does not help further the conversation.

Conversely, if you blindly accept what others say, your immediate response is “Yes.” You become a sheep following the herd. You don’t question the other person’s perspective. Again, this does not help further the conversation.

The critical thinker would ask, “Why?” “Why do you believe that to be true?” Try this with friends, colleagues and family. You will find it opens up a whole new level of conversation. This is where true learning and dialogue take place.

This is the behavior I find so irritating among some Christians and some Christian Bush supporters. They are so dogmatic and self-assured that there is no room for discussion. I feel like if I even tried to suggest looking at things from a different angle I would be blasted.

Is it that they must convince themselves so loudly so that there is no room in their head for that little voice of reason or doubt or possibility? Perhaps it is a subconscious thing - to shout it out to conceal the doubt.

I liked Stephen Shapiro’s definitions and suggestions. I have been reading The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey (the son of 7 Habits Stephen Covey). Here are some quotes from his book:

“Am I open to the possibility of learning new truths that may cause me to rethink issues or even redefine my values?”

“Openness is vital to integrity. It takes both humility and courage - humility to acknowledge that there are principles out there you may not currently be aware of, and courage to follow them once you discover them.”

I adopted my Theme for 2007 after being influenced by the strength of his words.

“Be Integrated - I have integrity. I walk my talk. I am congruent inside and out. I have the courage to act in accordance with my values and beliefs. I am honest, not only telling the truth, but also leaving the right impression.

I genuinely try to be honest in my interactions with others. I am open to the possibility of learning new truths that may cause me to rethink issues or even redefine my values.”

I never want to go back to that state of mind that convinces me that I am 100% right about anything. I don’t want to be what some people are terming a dogmatic or militant atheist. Maybe if everybody was agnostic about their beliefs it would be an easier place to live. What if we could say,

“I am not 100% sure about this or that but I think that there is enough evidence to support my beliefs and therefore I will believe this, however I will be open to any evidence that comes along that might give me greater insight.”

Or in the case of an a-something (a-theist, a-santa-ist, a-alienist) we could say,

“I am not 100% sure about this but I don’t think there is enough evidence to support my belief in this, so for now and until more evidence comes along - I do not believe.”

It would be easier to have authenitc, two way discussions with people of opposing beliefs, opinions, or world views. I am going to practice Stephen Shapiro’s method of critical thinking - asking both myself, those who agree with me, and those who disagrees with me: “Why?” “Why do you believe that to be true?”


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7 Responses to “Critical Thinking”

  1. heissailing Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 2:09 pm

    Lately, I have a growing fascination in other’s religious beliefs. It is not that I want to convert them to mine, it is just that people are complex creatures, and the reasons for their traditions and beliefs turn them into interesting people to me. I love discussions of this type, or at least I would love to HAVE discussions of this type. Most people, when asked about their beliefs, either get defensive as if being attacked, don’t want to talk about it, or have no idea why they believe what they believe. How do we break down these walls?

  2. Beth Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 6:17 pm

    I think this post is right on the money. The world would be a much better place if everyone would take the time to step back and view the world, life, beliefs from a different angle with an open mind. If you still choose to belive (or not believe) whatever your beliefs are, then thats great, but at least you’ve taken the time to see life from someone elses point of view and we’d all understand each other a lot better.

  3. Theresa Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 7:59 pm

    heissailing - thanks for your comments here. I, too, was interested in other religions for a bit. Not because I wanted to change mine, but because I met some people of differing beliefs. In talking with them I realized that they were as sure they were right as I had been at one time and many of them were more open than I had been. I wondered how Christians could be right, and Jews be right, and Hindus be right and what about the Dalai Lama - what he said seemed to make sense, too.

    How could we all be right? Maybe there were many ways to God and no one was completely right, just trying the best they could, trying to make sense out of the whole thing.

  4. Theresa Says:
    February 11th, 2007 at 8:10 pm

    Beth - thanks for your comment. Would you ever consider doing a post detailing what it was like for you growing up and how you came to be where you are now?

  5. Gary McGath Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 6:55 am

    People who believe in an all-knowing God are at a disadvantage with regard to skeptical thinking. By their belief, God is constantly reading their thoughts, so they subjectively have no privacy to evaluate their beliefs. This must make it very hard to think calmly about any doubts; dogmatism is the only safe place. The way they respond to others is only a reflection of what they’ve done to themselves.

  6. Frasch Ideas—Examine, Inquire, Explore » Interwoven with Religion Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 11:00 am

    […] Like Stephen Shapiro said, “The critical thinker would ask, “Why?” “Why do you believe that to be true?” Try this with friends, colleagues and family. You will find it opens up a whole new level of conversation. This is where true learning and dialogue take place. […]

  7. Theresa Says:
    February 12th, 2007 at 11:13 am

    Gary you are right. I had to actively convince myself that a loving God wouldn’t condemn me for asking a few questions. My mindset was one commonly taken - questioning leads to doubt and why would you want to purposely put yourself in that place?

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