Try to separate the facts - what actually happened - from the dicta - irrelevant detail, or coloring of fact. The easiest way to do this initially is to read about the same event from two different political sources - say Huffington Post and Fox News, or Mother Jones and the Heritage Foundation, or whatever you choose. How are they different? Can you pick out the "facts?" How is opinion inserted, and made to appear as fact or foregone conclusion (this happens all the time with rulings - you see judges write decisions in which they convey their logic which sometimes is clear, sometimes convoluted - and helps to determine whether the ruling is a one-off thing or something that should be applied to future similar cases in something called "stare decisis" (like cases should be determined alike). Read op-ed pieces, then reflect on them and actively consider whether you agree or disagree, and WHY. This last part is the most important part.
If you can't convey the reason for your opinion, you are likely not reaching a reasoned conclusion. That's fine - many people have opinions based on perceived social mores ("I don't like my dish, but I won't return it." "Why?" "Because it's rude." "Why?" "I don't know - IT JUST IS." It just is = nonreasoned conclusion.), based on religious mores ("I can't eat meat and milk" "why?" "I keep kosher. That's a rule." "why?" "It just is."), based on family/ personal mores ("I can't date anyone of that ethnicity." "why?" "my dad would kill me." "why?" "I don't know - he just would." same as It Just Is.), or based on superstition ("I broke that mirror - I'll have 7 years bad luck!" "why?" "because - you know - that's what happens!" Lots of people have these, actually - people who have lucky ties and lucky underwear (ugh.), people who "knock on wood," etc.). These aren't reasoned, though - they may have been at one point, or you may have a reason for your opinion - but unless you can articulate your position such that the opinion is a logical conclusion of your initial premise (if....(premise), then....(conclusion)), you haven't used your analytical skills.
If you're talking about creative thinking skills, I'd suggest opening your life and mind to as many new experiences and people as possible. Your thinking will always be limited to your own opinions and experience - no one can get in your head. So expand your worldview, experience and opinions as much as possible! Really listen to other people when they talk - even if you don't agree with their opinions. Air your opinions out, and see if they hold up in the light of day, and in comparison to others' opinions.
Meet people with completely different experiences, and really try to find out what it's like to be in their shoes. Try new things, read everything you can, go places you'd not think to go, really try to be in your world. Sing with the radio. Take an art class. Take an improv comedy class. Go to a concert of music you don't ordinarily listen to with someone who enjoys it, and really try to experience your friend's joy in the music. Taste different foods. Smell new flowers and plants - even the ones that don't smell good.
Mostly, don't fear bad things - sadness, pain, discomfort, itchiness, tiredness, hunger, thirst, bad taste, embarrassment, etc. There's not a single artist, writer, scientist, innovator - truly great thinkers in any society - who didn't experience a good portion of something terrible. People thought Tesla was crazy until the day he died (if only they knew what use alternating current was...). Marx dedicated his Communist Manifesto to his hero, Charles Darwin, who refused to see or acknowledge his existence. Van Gogh sold one painting in his life - to his brother.
Hume was a brilliant Scottish philosopher with few social skills - when he changed the nature of Western Philosophy by saying the underlying premise of all of it was faulty and wrong (ALL OF IT. thousands of years. all. of. it. and he was right.), he was pretty universally despised. The same year that Galileo was condemned by the Catholic Church for his heliocentric view, his friend and colleague Descartes had the first part of his work, Le Monde, backing up Galileo's view and offering additional support READY FOR PRESS - but he held off publication so he and his book wouldn't get condemned, also. Great thought doesn't mean great happiness - often quite the contrary. But that doesn't mean it's not worth pursuing. We owe our longevity, our connectivity, our equality, our vision, our ability to enable the disabled, the disenfranchised, the lonely, the voiceless, and our amazing possibilities to these thinkers who were brave enough to voice their thoughts.
There was an Ancient Greek philosophic group called the Epicureans: where we get the phrase "eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we all may die." I think people misunderstand this group, thinking they are just these sybaritic simpletons who staged constant orgies. I think they were just the opposite of the Stoics - they understood that most people aren't pleasure-seekers, they are fear-avoiders, and that the avoidance of fear limits your life, your contribution, your happiness, and your ability to engage in the world in any meaningful way. Fear-avoidance creates a loss of life, in that you lose your life to worry, to fear, and, ultimately, to stasis. Instead, they were pleasure-seekers - regardless of outcome, they would spend their time reveling in the moments they could enjoy.
Their worlds were so much larger and richer, because they could actually experience it. So, if you want to expand your ability to think, you need to expand your pool of available thoughts, which includes your available experiences and knowledge. Take a page from the Epicureans. Eat, drink and be merry. Form relationships. Be vulnerable. Meet people you wouldn't ordinarily meet. Read. Explore. Examine. Create. Opine. Share. Don't be afraid of the loss and pain that come with love and joy. BE in your life. And you'll be amazed what comes out of your brain from that.
Apologies for the length, and hopefully it had some answers. A wonderful question, and a wonderful goal!
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone from Etisalat. Enjoy high speed mobile broadband on any of our Easyblaze plans. Visit www.etisalat.com.ng for details.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment