Hello Thinkers,

Each week I present my letter as A Trilogy of Thoughts:

• Thought 1: Philosophical quote. Reflecting on philosophical ideas helps us become critical thinkers as they hold a profound depth of meaning just through a few words.

• Thought 2: Critical Thinking: Systems of Thinking the Intuitive Mind versus Logical Mind.

• Thought 3: CT actions to implement. You MUST put in the work to be a good thinker.

*Underlines are links that take you to view people, places, talks, and books I decide to include. Check them out now. If you do not do it at the time of peak interest, your chances of doing it later or remembering the content statistically reduce.

THOUGHT 1: A QUOTE

“Intelligence, the most plastic and at the same time the most durable structural equilibrium of behaviour, is essentially a system of living and acting operations.” (Jean Piaget).

Piaget, is a Swiss psychologist known for his pioneering work on child development, particularly his theory of cognitive development, which describes how children construct knowledge through stages of increasingly sophisticated thinking.

In the spirit of growing into a critical thinker, read a little about him right now.

The quote in my words: Piaget is describing intelligence as a flexible yet stable structure that shapes our behavior. He sees intelligence not as a fixed trait but as an adaptable system that develops through active engagement with the world. This means a balance between being adaptable (plastic) and maintaining stability (durable), driven by how we live and act, combining intuition and logic to think and solve problems effectively.

THOUGHT 2

Critical Thinking: Systems of Thinking the Intuitive Mind versus Logical Mind

As a social scientist, I pay particular attention to the patterns in the comments people make on my social posts.

Naturally, my intuition and biases draw me closer to certain comments.

As I write this, I remember a relevant sentence written by social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt in his book The Righteous Mind:

"People who devote their lives to studying something often come to believe that the object of their fascination is the key to understanding everything."

We see this everywhere online, as each person believes they are objectively able to know what is right. But as soon as you think you are right, and you are unwavering in that supposed "truth," you are already unconsciously enthralled in the intuitive human system of thinking.

Your allegiance to your way of thinking increases the chance of automatically, relying on gut feelings and quick judgments based on the belief of your rigid expertise. You may begin to stop pausing to question or examine the evidence critically.

Those of us who spend years reading only within a single discipline are particularly at risk of bias, as we haven't allowed ourselves to open up to the rich and diverse world of information. This also goes for any person who has been part of single institutions that have one method of thinking about all things, like religious or political topics.

Human beings are intuitively inclined to think in self-centered ways, so we must be especially diligent in using tools that challenge us to break out of this pattern.

Those of us who do this consciously, are the ones who are using the principles of intelligent thinking.

I do not care how many numbers and letters you put after your name, if you are entitled and rigid with what you think you know, you are not thinking with the ethics of intellectualism, you have fallen victim to the raw, emotive, primal, intuitive mind.

INTUITION VERSUS LOGIC

Today, I want to talk about intuition versus logic.

In the Western world, we are very obsessed with the science of absolute and correct thinking.

With the rise of internet communication as a primary source of our ‘social’ interaction, we gain a lot of information from there that is either logical or highly illogical. The obsession with finding out what is right and who is right is driving us bonkers.

But if we just slow down a little, we will realise that we are human, and therefore, we will never be able to be truly objective when we speak.

We are intuitive, we are biased, and we are reactive.

The sooner you recognise your flaws and nature, the sooner you will become the intelligent person in the room who speaks logically about the futility and susceptibility of the human mind.

When you view the mind this way, you do not act as though you are always right. You realise you could be wrong. This position makes you incredibly open to new information, and by default, you become smarter as you allow new insights in.

As we try to analyse information critically, our behaviour often falls on a spectrum of logic or illogic, fairness, or unfairness.

We might act in ways that are considered "good" by majority standards or "bad" by majority standards. In other words, we are either behaving in a socially inclusive way or acting in a manner that is antisocial and exclusionary, essentially, not playing fair.

But why is this? What causes humans to behave in these ways?

First of all, Jean Piaget, one of the greatest developmental psychologists, studied children extensively. He discovered that we cannot definitively say morality is innate or that children learn to be moral simply by being told to do so by adults. This may put us all to the test as we are all often telling our children how to be good. Piaget says this method will not work.

Why did he reach this conclusion?

Because no matter how many times you tell a two- or three-year-old to be fair, they won’t necessarily comply. Instead, they begin to develop fairness through their own experiences, by having to negotiate with other children/people socially.

They learn there are consequences for their actions and that they need to be flexible in their thinking to be accepted. His work suggests that our ability to be logical and fair grows out of our interactions with others in society.

We can observe that many of the social conditions necessary for positive, flexible social behaviour are lost in the online world of communication.

In our increasingly isolated spaces, without the need to be logical and fair for social advancement, we are more likely to react with intuition and emotion, resulting in the chaotic behaviour we often see online.

To become better critical thinkers, we need community, people, interaction, ideas, diversity, conversation, consequences, and peer (friends, family, community) review. We can not grow into better social beings interacting on the internet.

SYSTEMS OF THINKING: THE INTUITIVE AND LOGICAL MINDS

Ok, so to be a better thinker, today’s letter focuses on the two systems of thinking introduced by cognitive psychologist Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking Fast and Slow. You can go to my booklist by clicking on this link and see what I have said about this book, make up your own mind, and order it. It is instrumental for learning CT.

He states there are two cognitive systems of thinking we use.

• System 1: Fast thinking, or the intuitive system

• System 2: Slow thinking, or the deliberate system

He talks about how we humans jump between these two systems to interpret the world around us. They are intrinsically different approaches.

SYSTEM 1

This is our intuition, based on emotion and primal needs. It is always on standby, ready to jump in.

It’s the part of our mind that makes us run from danger or gives us a gut feeling about someone within seconds of meeting them. It relies on mental shortcuts, quick, instinctive rules, and biases, which are our automatic leanings based on what’s already in our heads.

This is important to understand about our thinking: we are constantly making summaries in our minds based on our history of knowledge.

The decisions we make using System 1 are shaped by what has happened to us, our experiences, fears, triggers, and more.

This is the “fast thinking” that Kahneman talks about.

SYSTEM 2

This mode of thinking, on the other hand, is the opposite, it is slow thinking.

This type of thinking is what many people often call critical thinking.

However, I believe it’s important to ensure that awareness of our biases is also part of critical thinking.

System 2 doesn’t just happen instinctively or intuitively; in fact, it is not intuitive at all.

It takes conscious effort to activate, depending on our level of personal awareness and our use of intellectual faculties. It demands focus and energy, which means it can’t be sustained for long without burning out.

System 1 can be exhausting and emotionally draining as we are not activating a slow faculty at all. We are just leaving everything on auto-pilot. This is cognitively tiring and leads to mental ill health and other social and psychological problems. This is precisely why I often discuss the fact that CT leads to mental health and social sanity.

We switch to System 2 when we need to work through a difficult problem or tackle an exam question.

Often, we don’t use it effectively when we are interacting with others. If we bring any emotion into the discussion, which often happens when we discuss something that means a lot to us, the chances of using System 2 thinking are drastically reduced.

It might seem like we should always rely on the logical, rational System 2, but the truth is, that System 2 also will get tired eventually because it is so deliberate. That is why sometimes the most deliberate thinkers will just switch off and watch or read something highly entertaining and void of the need for deliberate thinking.

For example, in my free time when I want to relax, I love to listen to soft, slow piano. When I do this I know my System 1 thinking is on fire. I am emotive, emotional, and raw as I listen. I feel incredibly human, emotional, and incredibly satisfied.

So, whether we like it or not, we end up depending on System 1 much more than we realise.

System 1 helps us make decisions about life and death, and we rely on it in situations where we lack information.

SYSTEM 1 IS PRONE TO ERROR

However, intuitive thinking is prone to error because it is based on our biases and subjective feelings.

Faulty thinking occurs in nearly every part of our lives whether we are experts, lay people, or people teaching people about thinking HA!

This doesn’t mean it is wrong to use intuition, how can something so natural be wrong? I mean to be wrong would mean it needs to be eliminated and not done. But as we can see this is not possible.

So let’s be logical about it, and infer that it just means we need to stop being so certain.

We need to make sure we ask ourselves the best question we can about each and every issue we encounter before we react.

Why do I think this way?

We can be flawed, personal, and opinionated, but we need to recognise these are our own thoughts.

We cannot push our ways of thinking onto others because this simply doesn’t work. It only triggers everyone to react defensively through subjective System 1 thinking.

We are so focused on telling everyone that what they think is wrong and that our own moral thinking is absolutely right, that we are not being conscious of all the errors of our own thinking.

As I read comments on my posts about critical thinking, I notice that those who see themselves as the most moral are often the most confident in their views.

No matter how moral you believe your thoughts are, if you are militant and forcefully demanding others accept your ideas, you are likely making many errors in judgment. You also risk missing important opportunities to question yourself and remain aware of potential flaws in your thinking.

THOSE USING SYSTEM 1 THINKING EXPECT SYSTEM 2 THINKING FROM OTHERS

Kahneman won a Nobel Prize for his Systems Thinking Theory. Let’s pay attention and stop assuming we know better than some of the greatest thinkers in history. It’s getting quite embarrassing guys.

As a CT educator and social scientist, it is my duty to teach you about how we think. If I want to teach you CT, you need to understand what is happening in your mind, biologically, psychologically, and socially.

While I am no expert on all things, I owe it to you to provide a balanced perspective on how to learn CT, as free from my own bias as humanly possible.

At the very least, this involves an awareness of the diverse bodies of knowledge that explain our thoughts and ideas across a spectrum of expertise.

As a sociologically trained thinker, it would be incredibly arrogant of me to assume that all our thoughts are solely shaped by our social and external world. Some of them are, but not all of them are.

The literature that informs my area of formal expertise, comes from social science and is based on evidence and robust methods. If I believe in the validity of social science methods, I must also respect the methods and conclusions of other sciences. It would be illogical not to!

Let’s aim to be more logical, fair, and systematic when thinking about diverse knowledge and its relationship to CT.

Right now, biologists are focused on proving everything is biological, psychologists on proving everything is psychological, and sociologists on proving everything is sociological. Each discipline tries to make others see the world as they do.

We tend to think in line with whatever we spend the most time thinking about.

What we need is a balanced and mutual respect for the diverse ideas that different fields bring to our understanding of the human experience.

Recognising the complex, interconnected factors that come together to make each of us the complex and wonderful beings we are, each individually trying to make meaning out of our lives, is the only place to start our thinking from.

THOUGHT 3: ACTIVITIES TO PRACTICE AWARENESS OF SYSTEMS OF THINKING

As a lecturer and teacher, we use certain tricks to get people to learn and remember and learn ideas.

If you are inexperienced with breaking down complicated new knowledge you will likely forget it soon after you read it.

There are a few ways to deep learn and recall new ideas. Everything I have written in this letter needs to be practiced to be learnt or you will forget it soon.

Activity 1: Read to understand not react or assume.

Read information slowly.

Re-read any parts that seem confusing, and really try to understand them. If something is unclear, break it down, read each part of the sentence, idea, or section separately, and then put them back together.

Ask someone else what they think about the idea and discuss it together. This kind of respect for ideas helps you become a critical thinker and remember what you've read.

Actions associated with reading, like discussing or writing, often lead to deeper learning. That's why I always suggest jotting down reflections and thoughts in the margins as you read.

Activity 2. Become aware of System 1 Intuitive Thinking: Notice Your Snap Judgments

This week, pay attention to moments when you make quick decisions or judgments. Reflect on these moments by asking yourself:

• What information did I rely on?

• Were emotions, past experiences, or assumptions influencing me?

• Did I notice any biases at play?

By becoming aware of these automatic thought patterns, you'll start recognising when System 1 thinking takes over and when you might need to slow down for a more thoughtful approach.

Activity 3: Practice Slow Thinking

This week, choose a problem or decision that requires careful thought, like planning a project or analysing an article or someone’s opinion or idea which deserves some thought.

Maybe do it with my Newsletter or choose a piece of writing that opposes what you already think. Take your time to work through it step-by-step, focusing on details and questioning assumptions.

Ask yourself:

• What are the facts, and what needs more information?

• What biases might affect my thinking?

• Are there alternative perspectives I should consider?

By deliberately engaging in this slow, thoughtful process, you'll strengthen your System 2 thinking skills.

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!

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Until next Sunday, take care.

Dr. Esha