Critical Thinking #2

  

Egocentric thinking.

In our first discussion on critical thinking, we established that  there are some serious flaws in our patterns of thinking.  We even  supported the idea that much of our non-assessed thinking is biased,  partial and prejudiced.   Consider some of the ramifications of this  reality…. Remember that our thinking affects every aspect of our life  including our personal relationships, level of success at work, and even  how we view the world, others and even ourselves.

Note on the bottom of the page titled, “Why Critical Thinking?”  in  the Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking that a higher level  of  thinking (i.e., critical thinking) is self-directed, self-disciplined,  self-monitored, and self-corrective.  In other words, each of us  individually becomes ultimately responsible for how we think!  We cannot  and should not allow others to do our thinking for us.  In addition, we  should often critique our thinking and try to improve it (some of the  ways we can do this are detailed in the bullets under the Result  section).

I believe critical thinking is not necessarily an easy thing to do.   Indeed, it can be very trying and difficult.  For example, how  comfortable are we admitting that we are potentially wrong in our ideas  and beliefs about self, others, or the world’s issues?   Most of us not  only want to believe we are right, we actually believe we are right  without question!

Let’s skip ahead a few pages in the Miniature guide to critical  thinking by going to the page titled, “The problem of egocentric  thinking.”   As before, please thoughtfully and thoroughly read this  page and provide us your thoughts and feelings.  Before responding in a  forum posting, consider if any of the “It’s true because…” statements  have or currently apply to YOU and your thinking?  If so, why?  Also,  what if anything will you do about it from this point forward?