rational thinking and simplicity

my bookshelfAt first, it may seem wrong to claim that rational (or “critical”) thinking is part of simplifying life. Critical thinking is hard to do well and is quite time consuming– doesn’t sound very simple to me.

Everybody has an opinion on everything, right?  Think about the things that you believe.  Maybe that is in terms of politics, controversial social issues, religion or any other topic people disagree about.  Now, how many of your opinions did you come upon by actively researching, debating opposite viewpoints, and investigating for yourself?  Or, look at it another way; how many issues would you feel comfortable discussing or debating?  The topics you wouldn’t mind discussing with somebody are those that you know inside and out, not the topics where you have adopted a prepackaged position and have memorized the talking points.

Personally, I think it simplifies my life to know why I believe what I do instead of having a vague feeling that I’m supposed to believe one way or another. If I have conviction in my thoughts and beliefs because I know that I have arrived at my conclusion rationally, then it makes decisions and understanding the world much simpler.  Michael LeGault writes in Th!nk, “A life built around subjective feelings is usually filled with anxiety and unwarranted fears.”  By approaching issues objectively and critically, we can take steps toward removing those complications from our life.

I want to make sure that you do not leave this article thinking that I’m saying rational or critical thinking is easy.  “Simple” and “easy” are not synonyms.  Logical deduction and inference making can be very long and complex (just try reading Aristotle) but the end result and the system used to carry out each step is based on simple steps.

Rationality and personal responsibility are inherently linked.  Taking responsibility for the way you act and think is at the core of simplicity. Try taking one of your beliefs that you haven’t thought much about (political affiliation or a social issue, for example) and spend an hour researching it.  What are the core arguments against your position? Are they valid? Have you arrived at your conclusion logically?

Outside forces may affect you, but don’t let them dictate your thoughts or actions.

Photo by Sam Spurlin

Related Posts with Thumbnails

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under critical thinking, simplicity, values. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • I really like this article.... I felt it spoke directly to me. As I think back to the opinion and views that I have, I have to admit, it's because of the constant lecturing of my father. As a result, I would have to say that I am definitely the one that has "have adopted a prepackaged position and have memorized the talking points" and people can see that it is really my father that is talking and I hate that! I want to be able to think for myself (not to say that I have not in other things) in regards to politics and controversial issues. I think I have to just decide to actually put out the effort to do research on topics and develop a mindset of my own.
  • Good for you for recognizing that your opinions might not actually be your own. I've found that many people never even reach that step, so you're taking major strides in the right direction. I've only begun finding my own opinions in the past few years and it can be incredibly difficult to differentiate what I actually believe from what the people around me believe. There is very little I've done that has the same impact in terms of my mental health, though.

    Good luck and thanks for reading!
  • Axel
    I agree entirely though there is still one issue I haven't quite resolved yet, which is to do with the acceptance or tolerance in my personal life of irrationality, as in art or love or just taste, and not falling in a totally utilitarian perspective. For example I have a persistent conflict between my values of tolerance, compassion and love, and my political and social principles.
  • jonathan
    I agree, there is definitely a strong connection between simplicity and critical thinking. I know from experience that when I began starting to really th!nk about things it pushed me toward a simpler life. You kind of just figure things out but society is really pushing hard the other way.
blog comments powered by Disqus
 

Optimized by SEO Ultimate