A500.5.1.RB_CliffordMarc


Just Think About It!

Over the last four or five weeks as I have been engaged in studying the various aspects and the skills involved in critical thinking I have been able to see some changes in the way I think things through.  I believe that many experiences from the past have helped prepare me with a solid foundation to build on, preparing me to better understand and apply the Elements of Reasoning.  I believe I regularly applied many of the elements subconsciously, without even knowing they were parts of critical thought.  Experience has taught me the importance of walking a few steps in another’s shoes, especially when there is conflict.  I tend to be fairly analytical; I do not jump into a decision without considering different possible outcomes.  However, before learning about it, I had given little thought to other aspects of critical thinking.  I feel that over the last few weeks I have been able to recognize assumptions in my own thinking, as well as in others, which has helped me to understand better why we think the way we do.  Just in the last couple weeks there have been a couple times that I have had to deal with various issues, and I have caught myself pondering on the root cause, asking myself about the question at issue.  I feel that I have struggled to identify and distinguish between implications and conclusions, but I feel that I am now able to see that they exist with every decision and issue.  
I have been able to apply the critical thinking skills that I have learned in various settings.  A couple weeks ago as my family sat down for dinner my sixth grade daughter asked if I thought Pangea had actually existed.  As we discussed the theory of Pangea we were able to recognize and discuss assumptions that have to be accepted to believe the theory.  The primary assumption that we recognized was that for the theory to be true it would mean that geological conditions on earth must have remained unchanged for a very long time.  The tectonic plates need to have been moving in the same direction and at the same rate for millions of years.  This discussion helped open my daughter’s eyes to the reasons behind theories and beliefs.
Early last week after the news broke about the shooting which killed 26 people at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas (Andone, Hartung & Simon, 2017), my oldest daughter asked about my feelings on the death penalty.  She mentioned that in one of her classes at school they were going to be having a debate on that topic.  We discussed the implications of both sides of the question at issue.  We talked about the implications of abolishing capital punishment.  We discussed that someone would need to pay the expenses incurred over a life long prison sentence and whether or not we would be willing to live and work next door to a person that has committed violent and heinous crimes.  On the other hand we also discussed whether or not we were willing to accept the ethical implications of executing people, whether or not their rights were being violated, and even whether or not perpetrators of violent and heinous crimes have rights.  My daughter and I were able to have a mutually enlightening discussion about the topic as we applied the elements of critical thinking.
Just yesterday I lead a discussion with the ward council at church about a couple issues.  After the discussion I wondered if the points I was trying to make were understood.  As I applied the standards of reasoning to my comments I felt good about the discussion.  I felt that I had been sufficiently clear and accurate identifying the issues; I don’t believe there was any doubt in anybody’s mind regarding our topic of discussion.  However, as I reflected on the precision of the discussion I felt that I could have provided examples that would have helped others to see specifically what issues I was referring to.  
Critical thinking is a skill that has lifelong benefits.  Nosich says that critical thinking “can make your life richer” (2012).  My experience of learning to think critically has been like the advancement in technology of the television.  Twenty years ago HDTVs did not exist, and I thought I could see the images on the TV clearly.  As technology has advanced and high definition screens abound, I look back at old videos and wonder how I ever tolerated watching TV with such poor clarity and definition.  With critical thinking it feels like things are in “intellectual HD!”  It feels like the ideas are clearer and the reasoning is sharper.  I don’t know how I was ever able to think uncritically.
I believe that critical thinking needs to become a habit for the lifelong benefits to be realized.  Nosich says “It takes effort, especially before you get used to it” (2012).  Paul and Elder suggest that it is more of a marathon than a sprint: “Changing one’s habits of thought is a long-range project, happening over years, not weeks or months” (2001).  It seems to me that critical thinking is much like many other skills; once the effort is expended to develop the ability, it does not require nearly as much effort to maintain it.  What it takes is the intellectual perseverance, the willingness and desire to stick with it, to continue applying the principles and developing the ability.



References
Andone, D., Hartung, K., & Simon, D. (2017, November 6). At least 26 people killed in shooting at Texas church. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/us/texas-church-shooting/index.html
Nosich, G. M. (2012) Learning to think things through: A guide to critical thinking across the curriculum (4th edition). Boston, MA: Pearson.
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. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-in-everyday-life-9-strategies/512

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