Doubting everything you hear or read isn’t thinking critically; it’s cynicism; it’s as wrong as accepting everything you hear and read.
Critical thinking is a complex process that (itself) requires a metacognitive commitment to thinking and all the mechanisms involved in forming ideas; it’s thinking about thinking.
By definition, critical thinking must be unbiased and free from specific agendas – it must overcome egocentric and socio-centric expectations. It needs to rely on FACTUAL information and evidence, not emotional, personal conjecture.
And a true critical thinker will navigate carefully between different political, social and ideological constructs knowing that there are limits to human understanding and, therefore, errors exist in all frameworks of knowledge.
A person who thinks critically can see that there are parts that can/need to improve even in robust scientific and philosophical formulations. And in that lies an acceptance of the features that work, the factors that are useful to the world.
Therefore, this conception is of utmost importance in these days of crisis when many aspects of life seem uncertain. Times when fear-mongers and conspiracy “theorists” will try to convince you this is a hoax, or that at the very least, it’s all blown out of proportion, that your evil government and media are attempting to control you.
These people aren’t being critical. A small portion of them are being deceitful for financial gain, and the majority are reacting in fear to systems they can’t understand.
Hope
But, there is hope. And for this hope, we must look to those who can balance the burden of belief and the responsibility of intellectual honesty. These are the people who will honour those factors that are useful to the world.
As an example of this balance, I offer you a conversation had on the Twittersphere with a religious man.
We all must do this. Christians, Muslims, Atheists, and all in between- must ponder their worldview in light of reality. If not, we engage in willfull indoctrination. If truth reveals falsehood, then I want to shift to truth.”
Michael Miller, AKA: @SGTbaldy
Here is the original Tweet:
Thank you for reading.
— The Devil Unbound
