Most of us are not what we could be. We are not as much of
We should have. We have great
competence. But most of it is inactive; most is
undeveloped. Improvement in thinking is like improvement in basketball, in
ballet, or in playing the saxophone. It is unlikely to take place in the
absence of a conscious commitment to learn. As long as we take our thinking for
granted, we don’t do the work required for improvement.
Development in thinking requires a gradual process requiring
plateaus of learning and just plain hard work. It is not possible to become an
excellent thinker simply because one wills it. Changing one’s habits of thought
is a long-range project, happening over years, not weeks or months. The
essential traits of a critical thinker require an extended period of
development.
How, then, can we develop as critical thinkers? How can we
help ourselves and our students to practice better thinking in everyday life?
In this article, we will explain 9 strategies that any
motivated person can use to develop as a thinker. As we explain the strategy,
we will describe it as if we were talking directly to such a person. Further
details to our descriptions may need to be added for those who know little
about critical thinking. Here are the 9:
1. Use “Wasted” Time.
2. A Problem A Day.
3. Internalize Intellectual Standards.
4. Keep An Intellectual Journal.
5. Reshape Your Character.
6. Deal with Your Ego.
7. Redefine the Way You See Things.
8. Get in touch with your emotions.
9. Analyze group influences on your life.
There is nothing magical about our ideas. No one of them is
essential. Nevertheless, each represents a plausible way to begin to do
something concrete to improve thinking in a regular way. Though you probably
can’t do all of these at the same time, we recommend an approach in which you
experiment with all of these over an extended period of time.
First Strategy: Use “Wasted” Time.
All humans waste some time; that is, fail to use all of
their time productively or even pleasurably. Sometimes we jump from one
diversion to another, without enjoying any of them. Sometimes we become
irritated about matters beyond our control. Sometimes we fail to plan well
causing us negative consequences we could easily have avoided (for example, we
spend time unnecessarily trapped in traffic — though we could have left a half
hour earlier and avoided the rush). Sometimes we worry unproductively.
Sometimes we spend time regretting what is past. Sometimes we just stare off
blankly into space.
The key is that the time is “gone” even though, if we had
thought about it and considered our options, we would never have deliberately
spent our time in the way we did. So why not take advantage of the time you
normally waste by practicing your critical thinking during that otherwise
wasted time? For example, instead of sitting in front of the TV at the end of
the day flicking from channel to channel in a vain search for a program worth
watching, spend that time, or at least part of it, thinking back over your day
and evaluating your strengths and weaknesses. For example, you might ask
yourself questions like these:
When did I do my worst thinking today? When did I do my
best? What in fact did I think about today? Did I figure anything out? Did I
allow any negative thinking to frustrate me unnecessarily? If I had to repeat
today what would I do differently? Why? Did I do anything today to further my
long-term goals? Did I act in accordance with my own expressed values? If I
spent every day this way for 10 years, would I at the end have accomplished
something worthy of that time?
It would be important of course to take a little time with
each question. It would also be useful to record your observations so that you
are forced to spell out details and be explicit in what you recognize and see.
As time passes, you will notice patterns in your thinking.
Second Strategy: A Problem A Day.
At the beginning of each day (perhaps driving to work or
going to school) choose a problem to work on when you have free moments. Figure
out the logic of the problem by identifying its elements. In other words,
systematically think through the questions: What exactly is the problem? How
can I put it into the form of a question. How does it relate to my goals,
purposes, and needs?
1) Wherever possible take problems
one by one. State the problem as clearly and precisely as you can.
2) Study the problem to make clear the “kind” of problem you
are dealing with. Figure out, for example, what sorts of things you are going
to have to do to solve it. Distinguish Problems over which you have some
control from problems over which you have no control. Set aside the problems
over which you have no control, concentrating your efforts on those problems
you can potentially solve.
3) Figure out the information you need and actively seek
that information.
4) Carefully analyze and interpret the information you
collect, drawing what reasonable inferences you can.
5) Figure out your options for action. What can you do in
the short term? In the long term? Distinguish problems under your control from
problems beyond your control. Recognize explicitly your limitations as far as
money, time, and power.
6) Evaluate your options, taking into account their
advantages and disadvantages in the situation you are in.
7) Adopt a strategic approach to the problem and follow
through on that strategy. This may involve direct action or a carefully
thought-through wait-and-see strategy.
8) When you act, monitor the implications of your action as
they begin to emerge. Be ready at a moment’s notice to revise your strategy if
the situation requires it. Be prepared to shift your strategy or your analysis
or statement of the problem, or all three, as more information about the
problem becomes available to you.
Third Strategy: Internalize Intellectual Standards.
Each week, develop a heightened awareness of one of the
universal intellectual standards (clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance,
depth, breadth, logicalness, significance). Focus one week on clarity, the next
on accuracy, etc. For example, if you are focusing on clarity for the week, try
to notice when you are being unclear in communicating with others. Notice when
others are unclear in what they are saying.
When you are reading, notice whether you are clear about
what you are reading. When you orally express or write out your views (for
whatever reason), ask yourself whether you are clear about what you are trying
to say. In doing this, of course, focus on four techniques of clarification :
1) Stating what you are sayingexplicitly and precisely (with careful
consideration given to your choice of words), 2) Elaborating on your meaning in
other words, 3) Giving examples of what you mean from experiences you have had,
and 4)Using analogies, metaphors, pictures, or diagrams to illustrate what you
mean. In other words, you will frequently STATE, ELABORATE, ILLUSTRATE, AND
EXEMPLIFY your points. You will regularly ask others to do the same.
Fourth Strategy: Keep An Intellectual Journal.
Each week, write out a certain number of journal entries.
Use the following format (keeping each numbered stage separate):
1. Situation. Describe a situation that is, or was,
emotionally significant to you (that is, that you deeply care about). Focus on
one situation at a time.
2. Your Response. Describe what you did in response to that
situation. Be specific and exact.
3. Analysis. Then analyze, in the light of what you have
written, what precisely was going on in the situation. Dig beneath the surface.
4. Assessment. Assess the implications of your analysis.
What did you learn about yourself? What would you do differently if you could
re-live the situation?
Strategy Five: Reshape Your Character.
Choose one intellectual trait---intellectual perseverance,
autonomy, empathy, courage, humility, etc.--- to strive for each month,
focusing on how you can develop that trait in yourself. For example,
concentrating on intellectual humility, begin to notice when you admit you are
wrong. Notice when you refuse to admit you are wrong, even in the face of
glaring evidence that you are in fact wrong. Notice when you become defensive when
another person tries to point out a deficiency in your work, or your thinking.
Notice when your intellectual arrogance keeps you from learning, for example,
when you say to yourself “I already know everything I need to know about this
subject.” Or, “I know as much as he does. Who does he think he is forcing his
opinions on me?” By owning your “ignorance,” you can begin to deal with it.
Strategy Six: Deal with Your Egocentrism.
Egocentric thinking is found in the disposition in human
nature to think with an automatic subconscious bias in favor of oneself. On a
daily basis, you can begin to observe your egocentric thinking in action by
contemplating questions like these: Under what circumstances do I think with a
bias in favor of myself? Did I ever become irritable over small things? Did I
do or say anything “irrational” to get my way? Did I try to impose my will upon
others? Did I ever fail to speak my mind when I felt strongly about something,
and then later feel resentment? Once you identify egocentric thinking in
operation, you can then work to replace it with more rational thought through
systematic self-reflection, thinking along the lines of: What would a rational
person feel in this or that situation? What would a rational person do? How
does that compare with what I want to do? (Hint: If you find that you
continually conclude that a rational person would behave just as you behaved
you are probably engaging in self-deception.)
Strategy Seven: Redefine the Way You See Things.
We live in a world,
both personal and social, in which every situation is “defined,” that is, given
a meaning. How a situation is defined determines not only how we feel about it,
but also how we act in it, and what implications it has for us. However,
virtually every situation can be defined in more than one way. This fact
carries with it tremendous opportunities. In principle, it lies within your
power and mine to make our lives more happy and fulfilling than they are. Many
of the negative definitions that we give to situations in our lives could in
principle be transformed into positive ones. We can be happy when otherwise we
would have been sad.
We can be fulfilled when otherwise we would have been
frustrated. In this strategy, we practice redefining the way we see things, turning
negatives into positives, dead-ends into new beginnings, mistakes into
opportunities to learn. To make this strategy practical, we should create some
specific guidelines for ourselves. For example, we might make ourselves a list
of five to ten recurrent negative contexts in which we feel frustrated, angry,
unhappy, or worried. We could then identify the definition in each case that is
at the root of the negative emotion. We would then choose a plausible
alternative definition for each and then plan for our new responses as well as
new emotions. For example, if you tend to worry about all problems, both the
ones you can do something about and those that you can’t; you can review the
thinking in this nursery rhyme:
“For every problem under the sun, there is a solution or
there is none. If there be one, think til you find it. If there be none, then
never mind it.”
Let’s look at another example. You do not have to define
your initial approach to a member of the opposite sex in terms of the
definition “his/her response will determine whether or not I am an attractive
person.” Alternatively, you could define it in terms of the definition “let me
test to see if this person is initially drawn to me—given the way they perceive
me.” With the first definition in mind, you feel personally put down if the
person is not “interested” in you; with the second definition you explicitly
recognize that people respond not to the way a stranger is, but the way they
look to them subjectively. You therefore do not take a failure to show interest
in you (on the part of another) as a “defect” in you.
Strategy Eight: Get in touch with your emotions:
Whenever you feel
some negative emotion, systematically ask yourself: What, exactly, is the
thinking leading to this emotion? For example, if you are angry, ask yourself,
what is the thinking that is making me angry? What other ways could I think
about this situation? For example, can you think about the situation so as to
see the humor in it and what is pitiable in it? If you can, concentrate on that
thinking and your emotions will (eventually) shift to match it.
Strategy Nine: Analyze group influences on your life:
Closely analyze the behavior that is encouraged, and
discouraged, in the groups to which you belong. For any given group, what are
you "required" to believe? What are you "forbidden" to do?
Every group enforces some level of conformity. Most people live much too much
within the view of themselves projected by others. Discover what pressure you
are bowing to and think explicitly about whether or not to reject that
pressure.
Conclusion:
The key point to keep
in mind when devising strategies is that you are engaged in a personal
experiment. You are testing ideas in your everyday life. You are integrating
them, and building on them, in the light of your actual experience. For
example, suppose you find the strategy “Redefine the Way You See Things” to be
intuitive to you. So you use it to begin. Pretty soon you find yourself
noticing the social definitions that rule many situations in your life. You
recognize how your behavior is shaped and controlled by the definitions in use:
1. “I’m
giving a party,” (Everyone therefore knows to act in a “partying” way)
2. “The
funeral is Tuesday,” (There are specific social behaviors expected at a
funeral)
3. “Jack is
an acquaintance, not really a friend.” (We behave very differently in the two
cases)
You begin to see how important and pervasive social
definitions are. You begin to redefine situations in ways that run contrary to
some commonly accepted definitions. You notice then how redefining situations
(and relationships) enables you to “Get in Touch With Your Emotions.” You
recognize that the way you think (that is, define things) generates the
emotions you experience. When you think you are threatened (i.e., define a
situation as “threatening”), you feel fear. If you define a situation as a
“failure,” you may feel depressed. On the other hand, if you define that same
situation as a “lesson or opportunity to learn” you feel empowered to learn. When
you recognize this control that you are capable of exercising, the two
strategies begin to work together and reinforce each other.
Next consider how you could integrate strategy #9 (“Analyze
group influences on your life”) into your practice. One of the main things that
groups do is control us by controlling the definitions we are allowed to
operate with. When a group defines some things as “cool” and some as “dumb, ”
the members of the group try to appear “cool” and not appear “dumb.” When the
boss of a business says, “That makes a lot of sense,” his subordinates know
they are not to say, “No, it is ridiculous.” And they know this because
defining someone as the “boss” gives him/her special privileges to define
situations and relationships.
You now have three interwoven strategies: you “Redefine the
Way You See Things,” “Get in touch with your emotions,” and “Analyze group
influences on your life.” The three strategies are integrated into one. You can
now experiment with any of the other strategies, looking for opportunities to
integrate them into your thinking and your life. If you follow through on some
plan analogous to what we have described, you are developing as a thinker. More
precisely, you are becoming a “Practicing” Thinker. Your practice will bring
advancement. And with advancement, skilled and insightful thinking may become
more and more natural to you.
Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2001). Modified from the book by
Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2001). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of
Your Learning and Your Life.
