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Hello Readers, This week, I want to discuss the importance of critical thinking (CT) and how it can enhance social resilience in our lives. Why? Well, achieving social resilience is the entire reason why I teach CT in this way. What to expect in today’s letter: The Trilogy of Thought: Thought 1: Philosophical quote/idea: Reflecting on philosophical ideas helps us become critical thinkers. Thought 2: A critical thinking (CT) idea discussed originally. Today’s topic: Critical Thinking: Everyday Life and Social Resilience Thought 3: CT actions to implement. You must put in the work. **Click on underlined words for links
THOUGHT 1: A QUOTE “He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.” (John Stuart Mill, British philosopher, political economist, and civil servant). Before reading my thoughts below, reflect on this and attempt to comprehend what John Mill might be saying. Think about the definition of each word, then each word as it may mean connected to the next, and then think about the meaning in its entirety. Do this slowly. There is no rush. Critical thinkers become so because they try to think carefully. My thoughts: Mill brings attention to our inability to truly understand an issue we need to be able to know that there are other sides. This means different perspectives on the same issue. If you are talking a lot about an issue that you have not explored the other oppositional side, you know very little despite your confidence. True understanding comes from engaging with opposing views. At the same time, we must bravely remain open to find out if there are strengths and weaknesses in our own arguments. There usually are always weaknesses. THOUGHT 2 TOPIC: Critical Thinking: Everyday Life and Social Resilience We must be able to understand the reason and meaning of the daily issues we encounter and we must be able to see it for what it is. Many of us do not. Most of us do not assess or comprehend regular issues well. Our minds are geared perfectly to throw out every bias placing it in the way of more beneficial thoughts. We also project our insecurities onto the phenomena we engage with. We do this subconsciously. That is not our fault, as our parents, schools, and society may not have equipped us well. Unless we are lucky, CT is not at the forefront of many of our life experiences. Now as we are in the information revolution, it is not only a must, but a matter of social and psychological life or death. Critical thinking helps you bring the subconscious into the conscious. This is why I like to refer to CT as conscious thinking or clear thinking. How we see the world connects inextricably to the quality of our life. This is why, those of us who have had difficult childhoods, experiences, or histories which we have not healed from can become triggered by events in the present time. Our lens is affected by our history. There is no way to positively move forward except to learn how to manage ourselves in the world that we are in. After all, the main point of our lives is to live it and live it to the best of our ability. Is it not? The Decline of Social Resilience Right now we are seeing a rise in economic privilege, and a rise in mental ill health but a decline in social resilience. This is happening in some of the most prosperous democratic societies. In many democratic societies, there is a growing tendency to avoid the necessary social engagement that builds resilience. As a sociologist, this is a catastrophe. Sociologists/social scientists do what we do because we want to make the social lives of people better not worse. Right now things are not going well. I ask myself why every day and I observe very closely. I believe it is a lack of firstly understanding of how to practically read and then apply research produced by social science to the world (a topic I presented at the International Critical Thinking Conference last week), a failure to understand how to interact with the social world, and a lack of how to analyse the value of social interaction. The better you are at recognising the right things to engage with, why, and the consequences of either doing it or not doing it, the better your social and psychological health becomes. The worse you are at doing this the worse your experience becomes. You must continue to engage with the world even if it makes you uncomfortable and as you do it you will learn how to improve yourself. You have a responsibility to yourself and those who love you and need you to take the actions that will improve your life step by step. Internal and External Locus of Control I teach students about the concepts of 'internal and external locus of control,' just as I did when I worked as a therapist with clients. These concepts aim to empower individuals. An internal locus of control is when people believe they have the power to influence their own lives through their actions, while an external locus of control means they feel their lives are largely shaped by external factors beyond their control. We always encourage people to take responsibility internally, for their own lives and for what they can control. External locus instead can make you bitter, blaming, resentful, nihilistic, and hopeless. We witness this lack of internal locus of control in the modern world. Critical Thinking and Social Resilience We often will resist and reject anything that makes us feel discomfort. While this is natural and quite normal, critical thinkers know that they also have to face emotional discomfort. Emotional discomfort serves a purpose and there are often two reasons: It is a trigger reminding us that what we have heard or felt is hitting a spot in us that is open, raw, and unhealed. We have been purposefully insulted.
You must know how to recognise between the two. If it is 2 which has occurred, well then someone has crossed an often symbolic yet universally understood line. You are well within your rights to challenge this person, assertively respond, stand up for yourself, and push back. This is actually important for social resilience. However, number 1 is the muddy one in our modern world. Right now people with a lot of social power and little personal and social responsibility are avoiding dealing with number 1 in the way they should. Instead, they are shouting at the world for bringing up number 1. This is a terrible strategy. The social world is the best reminder we have to know what we need to improve. This is how people have learned to improve for millennia. They participate in the world, something does not go well, they feel bad about it, work it out, and return stronger and better for it. This is self-therapy, it is a built-in tool. No one can take it from us and it is FREE. Our psychological selves are supposed to fit with our social world. If it is not fitting, the world will tell us, and then we need to attend to that. If you do not do this, you have nowhere else to go. This does not mean conforming to things you think are wrong (though please use CT to assess what you consider is wrong), it means being the change you want to see on issues that matter to you but also balancing this with fitting into your world as a civil human. The purpose of our entire life is to improve and survive. If we want happiness in the society we live in then we listen carefully, observe fully, and use the triggers to bring attention to what we need to fix to improve the cohesion with our environment. We can use CT to analyse all of our daily problems. Next time the world triggers you, before reacting you must ask yourself a few questions: Did this person/idea/event purposely try to insult me? Is the topic something that I have insecurities about already? Why did this issue make me emotional (angry, upset, sad, nervous, anxious)? Does it warrant a response now? Did the person know that they would hurt me? What might have been the person’s intention? What are the consequences if you choose to react outwardly and negatively to this? What are the consequences if you do nothing?
Every time we feel emotionally uncomfortable we have an unbelievable opportunity to add to our cognitive strength. It is incredibly hard to think objectively about subjective emotion. Given this, it is therefore important to take time to reflect and not react in the moment. Be careful to remove all of the people and things that push you to reflect. The people who tell us the truth are better there because your character improves only when it is tested. This does not mean keeping toxic people around, but it does mean keeping people around you who think differently from you and who hold your thinking accountable. We reflect deeply only after ideas that challenge us and we need to learn to understand ourselves. Nothing else deepens our relationship with our consciousness than self-awareness. Critical thinking is not a rigid framework; it is a flexible tool that helps us fairly assess the issues around us. When we engage in CT repeatedly, it becomes second nature. We learn to cognitively compartmentalise what is beneficial for us, what may be harmful, and the potential consequences of our choices. This ongoing practice empowers us to make informed decisions about whether to engage with, withdraw from, or delay involvement in various issues. The relationship between thinking critically about things and building social resilience and mental health is undeniable. Start today. THOUGHT 3 Activities Practical Application: Questions for Critical and Objective Thinking To help you apply CT in everyday life, consider these questions when engaging with an issue, problem, or idea. Do it silently not outwardly. This is what it means to reflect and the best thinkers become reflective thinkers. Context and Perspective Who is this person or source, and what might be their perspective? What context might be influencing their viewpoint? What is their background?
Emotional Response Why do I feel this way about the issue? What personal experiences, events, or grievances in my history might be developing my biases which are influencing my reaction?
Objective Assessment What are the strengths and weaknesses of this argument? What evidence supports or refutes it?
Consequences and Actions What are the potential outcomes of engaging, moving away, or delaying engagement? How will my response impact my social resilience and relationships?
Remember to ask the above informally, you are not a robot and you are not writing a scientific paper. Act human. Think slowly, thoughtfully, and with patience. 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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