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Hello Friends, Let’s talk about curiosity and the importance of viewing knowledge as impermanent. There are of course many less moveable facts, but as we are human, there are also many ideas that have invariable nuances. At the very least, we must be able to discuss ALL things. If we do not, it cancels out curiosity. And without curiosity, we have no chance of progressing knowledge or intellect. Curiosity is the catalyst for critical thinking.
Critical thinking and the study of philosophy are intertwined. Philosophy is grounded beautifully in curiosity—as it is wonder which mentors us to seek answers. Good thinkers become critical thinkers who then become wise. Wisdom comes to those who know how to think. And mostly we need to experience more things to become wiser. Why should you do any of this? Because our relationship with our mind is the most important relationship we will EVER have. If you do not work on your mind, the dark side of the world will engulf it. I see evidence of this everywhere. PROVOCATION OF THOUGHT My Newsletters are written to purposefully provoke thought. Get ready to be uncomfortable. The re-thinking that comes after provocative thought is the best opportunity to practice our great potential for cognitive flexibility. You must actively and voluntarily work to fire up those sleeping synapses. Remember—good critical thinkers provoke thought, and critical thinkers allow provocation.
Provocation is NOT aggression. If you are able to control your reactions, and hold space for new ideas, you will be able to move from emotional reactivity to mind control. Many people believe they are critical thinkers already…they are usually not… You are NOT a critical thinker if your flexibility of thinking extends only within one field or idea you know best or have emotional allegiance to. Some examples of popular social issues which come with severely strong and polarised views, that is, they increase emotion, and therefore reduce critical thinking: The above are statements cause great divide but should be up for discussion. Intelligent thinkers are open to talk about anything, especially those issues which are unable to hold a single and unwavering truth. Where there is great divide, there is opportunity for great intellectual exploration.
Intelligent thinkers are curious, they do not behave in a rigid and resistant manner and they always allow diversity of reasonable thought. So, are you a critical thinker? Do you have firm beliefs about issues which others also have firm beliefs? Most of the time is it easier to believe what is easiest to believe. Think of the external world as the minds most threatening beast, but also as its most profound potential liberator.
Only you can decide how the world impacts and influences your mind. You can transform every experience you ever have into a meaningful lesson. Imagine becoming so interested in the way things are, that you use all information as knowledge to progress your intelligence? IMAGINE THAT. CURIOSITY To begin to change the way you think you must start with CURIOSITY. We are curious the moment we began to be aware of our surroundings as babies. Our depth of awareness is at a peak as a small child. The beauty of wanting to know with full presence, the way things work, and how we could best be accepted into this wonderful social world is remarkably powerful. The acute and sole purpose of childhood—to learn. This is the type of innocent, raw curiosity is required to become cognitively open. Why do we stop this then? What external phenomena stops this wonder? We should remain curious—about the capacity of our mind and its ability to be so much more that we let it be. Curiosity—my greatest teacher. Those who I see who are the most curious become the greatest thinkers. When we allow space for curiosity we allow space for: Innovation Creativity New ideas
Right now, we are in a dangerous place regarding knowledge. Online and off, risky new ideas or even traditional ones trigger aggressive reaction and a barrage of unconscious resistance. There is no opportunity for conversation. THIS IS BAD. Never ever has knowledge progressed with silence. To enable an intelligent society, we need to allow conversations and ideas which challenge our thinking. Stay away from people who do not allow curious conversation if you want to be an intelligent thinker. Find people who push you to think bravely, and deeply. The best leaders speak in a way which encourages outward exploration of ideas which includes risk-taking and experimentation with unconventional ideas. You can be that leader—in your life, your home, your office, or your world. And you do not need to be running a place, you just need access to your mind. THE IMPERMANENCE OF INFORMATION Today, the opportunity to access so much knowledge is going to enable you to be wiser than you ever have been able to be. But at the same time, the sheer volume of information available can also make you the least intelligent thinkers of all people in history. We need to remain curious about information— enter conversations to understand and learn, not to resist and reject. We are all preoccupied with winning. This does not mean you reject what is logical, rational and reasonable. It simply means that there is room for other ways of thinking where there are GREAT BIG variables such as culture, personality, history, biology. The only person who loses when you do not remain curious, IS YOU. If we vetoed every science that has had some lunatic exponents, we could quickly empty the libraries—Mary Midgely, 1973, in her article, The Concept of Beastliness.
The above quote brings attention to the importance of understanding how all information, no matter its apparent credibility, must be capable of withstanding discussion. In this information revolution, we have a collective intolerance for anyone who dares suggest the impermanence of information. All topics, ideas and thoughts should be able to be up for discussion. The more it challenges you, the better. When you have decided you know enough truth and become rigid and resist variances, it means your thinking is inflexible, unmoving and permanent. This state of mind is not critical thinking. This is not intelligent thinking. Critical thinking, is a tool, for the person, to question all which is questionable, and that should be by definition, all things. However, you cannot be a critical thinker if you persist to be: Aggressive Resistant and intolerant Rigid and unmoving Firm and inflexible Proud and egotistical
Know one thing— the biggest threat to knowledge, is that one person, organisation, system or institution who are rigid in their beliefs without room for discussion, nuance or debate. A good argument should be able to be won based on merit, logic, reason and articulative skill. Not by aggression, anger, disruption, resistance, bias, and ego. Where people use these characteristics to attempt to win, they are not attempting to progress knowledge at all. They are succumbing to the seductive allure of power. And, this beast called power is the one thing we are battling with our entire lives. ' An irresistible temptation. In my role as a social scientist, I have studied power for many years. It is an exciting beast to study. It has shown me, that we all have the capacity to succumb to its allure. As I watch interaction online and offline, I very much see the war for power in almost every single interaction. When you become a critical thinker, you become empowered with confidence to think through problems thoughtfully, resisting the temptation to win through cheap aggressive tactics. And at this point, you arrive at the most powerful cognitive place you can ever be. You can immediately recognise those who have tamed the allure of power, and those are the people you should hope to be or use as mentors. They have: Intellectual humility Intellectual empathy Intellectual curiosity Intellectual liberation
It is better to allow the opportunity to be wrong, than have the right to learn from being wrong be taken away.
INTELLECTUAL HUMILITY Intellectual humility compliments curiosity. It means that in the pursuit of learning and gaining wisdom, we are humble and do not think we know best. We are aware that for complicated cultural issues there can be an invariable amount of potential truths depending on context, situation, personality, culture, sex, gender, age…the list goes on. We do not assume that one truth is representative for all. So, remain humble when speaking to others. It is powerful to be so self-controlled. How: Wait and allow the other person to speak fully Remain curious and humble Ask questions and gain information Speak when it is your turn Don’t be in a rush
Then watch how the conversation becomes a place of mutual meaning, and exploration. MY OATH My aim is to free the constraints in your mind. The more subjectively (selfishly) we think the more constrained we feel. The aim of the free education I give to you, is to help you go broad, outward, so that you are able to look at yourself from the outside in. As though you and all others are able to be viewed from a bird’s eye view. Imagine your ability to have that depth of self-awareness? But it takes time and work to be able to view yourself so objectively. That is a superpower. BUT when you will one day do this, you will be able to come up with the best solutions. This ability is a deep, close and powerful relationship with your consciousness. 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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