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Gidday Friends, Welcome to this week's Sunday Synapse. Let’s trigger our synapses with fresh thoughts. This week's ‘Trilogy of Thought’ covers: Thought 1: Philosophical quote or idea: Reflecting on philosophy will help us become critical thinkers. Thought 2: A new critical thinking (CT) idea discussed in an original way. Thought 3: CT actions to implement: You can not get anywhere without doing the work.
THOUGHT 1: A QUOTE “Thoughts without content are empty, intuitions without concepts are blind”. —Immanuel Kant in Critique of Pure Reason, 1781. Kant is stating that our sensory experiences (intuition) and rational concepts (facts) are both essential for knowledge. Intuition provides us with raw data (which arranges our perceptions) while concepts (universal or objective facts) organise and interpret this raw data. Without the thoughtful combination of both, our understanding is incomplete. This is why I stress the importance of learning the art of balancing emotion and logic. Those who become good at this, work out life’s problems with more efficiency. THOUGHT 2 TOPIC: What is your point of view or what is the point of your view? Today we will talk about how there is always a point of view (POV) to our thoughts, ideas, or opinions. The POV is the literal spot or place where you are looking at something from. To find that spot ask: To change your point of view ask: Where do other people look at this from? Why do they look at it from there while I look at it from here? Is it reasonable that this person views it from there?
POV is not passive, it’s an active element that shapes our understanding, our reasoning, and most importantly, the quality of our interactions with the world and the people in it! CONSCIOUSNESS Being conscious of POV is fundamental to critical thinking(CT) because it makes us think deeply about any subject/idea/opinion/perspective. Most people do not know their POV, and thus risk acting and speaking without fully understanding why we are doing so. This lack of awareness means we are likely to base our thoughts and subsequent actions on unconscious assumptions, biases, and incomplete information. Being conscious is the aim of the CT game! Becoming conscious of your consciousness is the AIM! I won’t tell you yet what may happen as that’s a long story, but the journey is worth it nonetheless! I am currently writing about it in my book. REASON There is no thought without a reason. Whether it is influenced by our experiences, emotions, personality, biology, or other external factors. By consistently examining the reasons behind our thoughts/POV we solve some pretty cool unknown answers that surprise us! These practices allow us to challenge our assumptions, refine our beliefs, and make better decisions. This self-work is what makes the wise, wiser. CT is about becoming intentional with our thoughts and understanding the context in which they arise. And believe me, once you have this type of mind control with practice, it doesn’t make you more uptight about your thought processes, in fact, it does the opposite. As you learn how thoughts work you become tolerant, flexible, and likeable at parties again! When we actively engage with our POV, we enhance our emotional awareness (this practice repeated is how we improve our emotional intelligence BTW). We also enhance our logical analysis. In intelligence practice, this awareness becomes even more crucial. It begins to help us engage with and dissect complex pieces of information, identify truth from misinformation, and develop strategies grounded in comprehension and a comprehensive understanding of different perspectives. The result: Information becomes less threatening and less capable of confusing or stressing you out. The more you do this, the less you focus on unnecessary thoughts that waste your time. It is a way to filter out mind clutter and junk which clogs our sanity and clarity. This is the cognitive self-work I talk about so often. An author whose words bring so much attention to POV is Immanuel Kant. He is one of the important seminal authors on CT, so if you want to see what he makes you think about, buy his book ‘Critique of Pure Reason’. In the book, he talks about how our experiences are shaped by our perceptions (point of view) of the world. He believes our point of view (reason for perceptions) is essential to know when we try to understand the nature of the world or what we think is our reality. Another person I have written extensively about in my thesis and scientific articles is Michel Foucault. In his work ‘Archaeology of Knowledge’ he discusses how knowledge (points of view) are intertwined and influenced by social structures and controlled by those who have the most political power. His work stresses that we must critically evaluate (CT) the contexts of what contributes to what we believe to be reality. Thomas Nagel also explores a very interesting subject which is the tensions between our subjective and objective perspectives. In his book “View from Nowhere” he states to produce valuable universal knowledge we must view it from a totally independent place, or ‘view it from nowhere’, and as conscious beings that is very hard to do. All conscious creatures have a subjective POV of the world. Okay, let’s look at a couple of real-life examples: Example 1: Workplace interaction: Imagine you’re in a team meeting where a colleague presents a new idea. The idea is to use a new software tool. One team member, let’s call him Alex, quickly reacts negatively during the meeting, without taking time to consider the reasons behind his POV. Alex’s opposition is based on a previous negative experience with a different software tool. Consequences: Miscommunication: Lack of explanation leads to tension within the team. Missed opportunity: By not critically evaluating his POV, Alex fails to consider the potential benefits of the new software. Stifled innovation: Resistance and lack of open communication are barriers to innovation.
Solution: Encourage a culture of CT with open discussions. Alex should be encouraged to discuss openly potential problems explaining past issues constructively. This way team can ensure the same problems are not repeated but learned from. Example 2: Family Gathering A family dinner is in full swing and a sensitive topic comes up, let’s choose politics or religion. One family member, Jaxie expresses a strong opinion without considering the diverse viewpoints of others. Jaxie’s POV is heavily influenced by her social media echo chamber which she has never critically examined. Consequences: Conflict and tension: Heated arguments and conflict create an uncomfortable atmosphere and strained relationships. Lack of understanding: By not considering others’ perspectives, Jaxie misses an opportunity to understand other viewpoints which could bring the family together. Polarisation: People take sides rather than engage in meaningful dialogue. This deepens divisions among people who care about one another.
Solution: CT helps fuel a mindset of empathy and awareness of others. If Jaxie did this, members of the family are given the chance to explain reasons for beliefs and ideas which enables reflective thinking which also increases the chance of people being persuaded to think differently, which was Jaxie’s intention in the first place. THOUGHT 3 Activities to Implement to Improve Your Thinking Skills: Next time you have an opinion on something, think about your POV and where it comes from. Ask yourself the questions I gave as examples at the beginning of this letter. Buy one of the books I mentioned today. Read it like a short course. That is, take your time, reflect, jot notes in the margins, and look up new concepts and words.
Stay tuned for the Sunday Synapse, which will be delivered to your inbox every Sunday! Get ready to take on a new week better than you were last week! If it does not bring value to you, just hit the unsubscribe button below. Send me an email with feedback, what you like, don’t like, want more of, or just to say hi! Until next Sunday, take care. Dr. Esha.
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