All living things undergo the seven life processes and also have a brain that enable them to think, and think very well. Man is a thinking being. All the manifestations of his activity, thought and behaviour, which are either profitable or harmful, had been worked out in his mind. No wonder some people argue that the life force of man is in the mind. If this is true, then our mental faculty is, indeed, very powerful.
Thanks to this mind energy we’re able to freely think, and at other times reason more critically. Now, my emphasis would be on the latter, that is, what makes one a critical thinker. Defining who a critical thinker is a huge subject matter. Its definition could be lengthy and short based on one’s own volition and understanding. But briefly, who is a critical thinker? To my mind, a critical thinker is an individual whose reasoning over social events is devoid of biases and prejudices, but stems from an objective and passionate assessment of things around him. He tackles issues with a balanced mindset and his insights are simple and spot on.
Now, let me introduce some five critical thinking attitudes. They are: Open- mindedness; Healthy skepticism; Intellectual humility; Free thinking and; High Motivation. These attitudes of the critical thinker translate in his deliberations and arguments over issues he may be called upon to explain.
The first two attitudes (open- mindedness and healthy skepticism) may appear contradictory, but they’re not. The critical thinker must be willing to investigate viewpoints in order to seek for the facts, information sources, in maintaining the goal of getting at the truth, rather than pleasing or finding faults with others views. Too much skepticism, will lead one to doubt everything and commit oneself to nothing. Conversely, too little of it will lead to gullibility and credulousness.
Secondly, having intellectual humility, means adhering tentatively (hesitantly) to recently acquired opinions; being prepared to examine new evidence and arguments even if such examination leads one to discover flaws in one’s own cherished beliefs; Sometimes ‘I don’t know’ can be the wisest position to take on an issue as Socrates noted: ‘Arrogance does not befit the critical thinker.’
The critical thinker must also have an independent mind, that is, free thinking. To think freely, one must restrain one’s desire to believe because of social pressures to conform. One must be willing to ask if conformity is motivating one’s belief or opinion, and if so, have the strength and courage to at least temporarily abandon one’s position until he/she can complete a more objective and thorough evaluation.
The last attitude which is high motivation, simply explains that, the critical thinker must have a natural curiosity to further his/her understanding so as to put in the necessary work sufficient enough to evaluate the multiple sides of an issue. This motivation will keep you going. It is the energy that propels the critical thinker to delve deeper into the core of even sensitive matters.
Those who have eternalized their names through their inventions and achievements, in part or all their lives, have been critical thinkers. However, some people see critical thinkers to be irritating. They perceive them to be scoffers and fault finders and who behave as if they aren’t with weaknesses. The truth is, they do have faults and so is everyone. But, for the sake of an objective and fair assessment of national and international issues, critical thinkers would always be called upon to unearth the hard truth. Are you a Critical Thinker?
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