Getting to the Truth of the Matter
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is not what most people think. It is both more simple and more complicated than the standard public concept.
Critical thinking is: Getting To The Truth Of The Matter
There are many factors involved in ferreting out the truth.
One aspect is the “highfalutin” ideas from people (so called “critical thinkers”) throughout history that are often pointed out. This is part of rhetoric. Part of persuasive speech and writing. These are examples of identifying general principles that have some truth in them. These help establish our beliefs.
Another aspect of critical thinking is being able to tell when something isn’t right, it has a fishy smell to it, when there is a shadow of doubt. This happens when you recognize a fallacy.
All of these use words and their definitions which are the foundation of critical thinking.
“ I know you think you understand what you thought I said but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant” ― Alan Greenspan
It’s not easy to detect a lie. Many people believe what they say. The real trick is to be able to evaluate the truth of the matter. Is it a lie? Is it the truth? Or do you need more information to decide. The vast majority of information you come across is in the category of needing more for evaluation.
Looking at the patterns of the words and at the actual truth values of statements reveals even more. This is logic, or more formally, propositional logic.
Putting it all in a nutshell, can you identify a lie when you see it?
That is thinking critically.
Critical thinking isn’t dry and boring. Most of it is fun and exciting. It may get exasperating when you try to point out where something isn’t right and only you are seeing it, but it’s very satisfying not having the wool pulled over your eyes.
Studying all of these will help. But there can be aspects of play to the mental exercise. There are many entertaining puzzles and games that can help sharpen the mind.
All of these will improve your problem solving abilities which are very valuable in your work and personal life.
This website explores all these areas. There is also a blog to share examples from daily life of the many types of wool in the world and how predominant it is. Take some of the twist out of that wool and straighten it out.
Unfortunately, lies outweigh the truth by a good margin, especially in the media and with public figures. Truth is only a small ember waiting to burst out in flame if ever the right tinder comes close.
Where are you on the path towards truth?
Ignorance ⇒ Belief ⇒ Knowing ⇒ Understanding
Protect yourself from the misinformation that our world is awash in. Become a living lie detector.
Become a critical thinker.