Thinking About Critical Thinking

Becoming a fair-minded critical thinker is not something that happens overnight. Instead, it is something that requires dedication and perseverance, much like an art or a craft. It involves the growth and development of the mind, the fibers of what makes us who we are. They say a thought turned into an action becomes a habit which directly leads to who you are. With this being said, I have learned in the lectures that there is a list of what are known as intellectual traits that dictate or, rather, define how we live our lives. Therefore, it is so vital to be in touch with our intellectual character for this very reason. I work on my mind and soul on a daily basis, and it is one of the greatest pleasures I personally have in life is growth and development in these key aspects. From the interactions we have with others to the interactions we have within ourselves, our intellectual standards are key to being a fair minded critical thinking. For instance, being clear, accurate, relevant, and logical are all ways to ensure you are thinking critically and not letting irrational judgements cloud your mind. Moreover good critical thinkers use fair-mindedness and reasonability to dictate their actions/beliefs. Developing our intellectual character involves the habits and traits that make us who we are, such as intellectual integrity. This involves holding ourselves to the same standards to which we hold others. It is simply unreasonable to expect people to respect you if you do not show respect, and this is one of the values I carry highest with me is to show everyone the respect I believe I deserve. In addition, intellectual empathy involves understanding another person's viewpoints thoroughly. Understanding is to the soul what oxygen is to the lungs. This is especially helpful for diffusing arguments, especially unfounded ones as listening is twice as important as speaking when it comes to understanding. I feel as though being empathetic comes natural for some while it is something that others, like selfish critical thinkers, lack. This is a separate issue, although one I would like to touch on very briefly in this blog post. It is impossible for a self centered thinker to understand the thoughts and emotions of others, leaving them limited in understanding. Additionally, other short comings surrounding this self centeredness include: people who claim to know more than they do know, also known as intellectual arrogance; giving up quickly when faced with a challenge rather than intellectually persevering and working through complexity and frustration