Being able to think critically has absolutely nothing to do with modern scepticism. Most so-called sceptics I meet are close-minded; they lack authentic curiosity and if anything are cynics, not rational thinkers. The birth of science was in childlike curiosity for seeking answers to life’s riddles; not in dissension or ridicule.
Thinking critically means that you can rely on your common sense and gut instinct, because of your innate ability to comprehend (i.e. visualize) ANY rational argument or theory being presented, just like each clip in a movie must flow from scene to scene sequentially and logically, without any voodoo or missing frames. We’re not blindly accepting on faith the current opinion or mainstream orthodoxy. The Ivory Towers hold no power over a common pleb’s street reason!
Being critical means asking tough questions, while withholding assumptions – and listening. If you smell a rat, don’t let it escape. Anyone who can explain themselves should have nothing to hide, and no question is dumb or too simple. Trying to be objective (i.e. ruling out bias and subjectivity) does mean holding back on emotional prejudices until you’ve grasped the wider picture, then picking apart each detail to your complete satisfaction.
Critical thinking has nothing to do with knowledge, or proof, or fact. What’s proof to you is nonsense to your neighbour, and vice versa. Facts are consummated events, and can be debated or hypothesized (assumed at face value for the purpose of explaining a theory). Knowledge is just the confidence gained through an accrual of experiences, e.g. after successful predictions (“it often happens this way, so it must again”). But the long, winding cords of history loosen and untwist all the tangled knots of arrogance and doctrine.
Ignore the Intelligentsia! Banish the Ministerial Inquisition! Repudiate all Divine Sages, and renounce the Appointed Councils of Truth! Critical thinking is a continual process, a fluid verb – to think deeply; to question openly; to doubt reasonably; and inquire patiently. Dust collects upon aeons of unquestioned ideology, solidifying into an all-encompassing static noun: an unquestionable Truth. We are not looking for Truth! Reality is not axiomatic, it is complex and wild. We are seeking a method of elucidation, illumination – of uncovering new possibility. Indulge yourself fully in a joyful process of understanding all possibilities before passing final judgement; investigate details without cowing to authorities, peers, consensus or self-appointed experts.
Critical thinking means clinging stubbornly but not dogmatically to our individuality. Develop an unquenchable thirst for genuine answers to nature’s mysteries; strive honestly for rational explanations undaunted by lies and evasions. No one holds the Absolute Truth. We don’t have crystal balls or time machines. There are only rational and irrational interpretations that suggest to us mere mortals what might be or have been the case.
Gokuju 