CRITICAL THINKING ABOUT CRITICAL THINKING

If there’s any kind of thinking that we all need— it is the ability to engage in what is called critical thinking. I have written several recent “Neuron” posts on critical thinking— using critical thinking to think through the real issues of various social, political, and psychological issues. More will be coming. But before they do, I want to write about critical thinking and, in fact, to do critical thinking about critical thinking.

First of all, then, what is critical thinking? What are we talking about when we use this phrase? The dictionary defines it as— “Disciplined thinking that’s clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence.”

“Informed by evidence” means that this thinking is empirical or sensory-based. It is founded upon what we can see, hear, sense, smell, taste or put to tests to demonstrate that something exists and can be identified, influenced, changed, monitored, etc. It is fact-based. Reasonable people can agree upon the facts or evidence even though they may draw different conclusions. So in critical thinking we first ask: What are the facts? What is the evidence? How do you know that? Where did you get that information from? This is intelligence gathering. Here we do “due diligence” to make sure that we are not missing any of the most critical information or data.

“Open-minded” next draws our attention to the fact that critical thinkers have not made-up-their minds before they explore and examine the evidence. They are open to various possibilities. So they question— they explore — they give other possible interpretations a chance to make their case. They are not prejudiced. That is, they have not pre-judged the case and have an agenda that they are trying to prove. Instead of trying to prove anything; they are exploring, testing, being skeptical about easy answers, etc.

“Rational” highlights that we are going to be using reasoning to figure things out. Rational here is not rationalization, it is not positing that human understanding knows, or can know, everything. It is simply that we will reason from X to Y and see if we can find the reasons, explanations, causation factors, etc. that will make clear what is happening and why. So while we do not make Reason our god, we also do not make it our devil. It is one of the ways that our brains work as we “think” ... and it is also one of our central faculties. It is the human faculty that has launched the age of science that has taken us out of the jungle and the dark ages and into the advances of medicine, architecture, technology, etc.

What does “rational” mean? The dictionary definition of rational: Agreeable to reason; reasonable; sensible; using reason or logic in thinking out a problem, in accordance with the principles of logic or reason; having or exercising reason, sound judgment, or good sense; being in or characterized by full possession of one's reason; sane; lucid. Synonyms of rational include: intelligent, wise, judicious, sagacious, enlighten. So, if something is rational then it makes sense. It is reasonable.

“Clear” is the immediate aim of critical thinking —to clarify the factors, elements, and component variables that comprise an experience or a phenomenon. Thinking that does not generate clarity brings confusion, convoluted thinking, confusions between factors, erroneous ideas that do not produce results. Such thinking gets seduced by illusions— visual and auditory illusions, deceptions based on cognitive biases and distortions. Clarity is the primary goal so that we can then know what to do, what steps to take, and how to be more effective and successful in reaching our objectives.

“Disciplined” refers to structuring our thinking so that it moves out step-by-step in a sequence so that we can achieve clarity of understanding. It refers to be strategic and orderly. With most experiences, if a person does not do things in the proper order, the undisciplined approach will lead to failure. The chief who mixes up the proper order of mixing ingredients, turning on the oven or stove, acting in the proper time-frame, etc. will not produce a delicious meal, but something that has to be thrown out.

Critical thinking is a tremendous resource if you are a Neuro-Semanticist. With it, you will question for precision, for indepth understanding, for recognizing and working with systems as systems. It will enable you to slow down so you don’t jump to conclusions or react to words and labels or over- generalize, but pause, think, reason through, look for evidence, etc. This will make you more reasonable, increase your wisdom, avoid word-traps, and see reality as it is which is also a definition of “enlightment.”

If, as a coach, you cannot think clearly with precision, not only do you have a problem, you will be ineffective in coaching others. If you cannot think through something in a clear way, then your thinking will be muddled, confused, and convoluted. Your thinking will probably be shallow, linear, and symptomatic. Then guess how you will be feeling or talking or acting?! That’s right, you won’t be able to effectively manage reality. After all, the mental maps that you create and the mental mapping processes (thinking–feeling) are your primary tools for navigating reality.

Interested? Colin Cox, Master Neuro-Semantic Trainer will be doing a Pre-Conference workshop on Critical Thinking Skills. June 24, 2015 – Hong Kong, Cityview Hotel. Write to Sherran — [email protected] or Ivan – [email protected] for more information.