Category: Critical Thinking

I was ‘trained’ to be a believer – not necessarily a monotheist, but a believer nevertheless. I married into a family of believers as well. So whenever I found myself questioning these beliefs I lacked the mental space to do so. FS provided that space, and how!

And now, I am scared; terribly scared that there may not be a God. The emptiness that accompanies this fear is all-consuming at times. If there is no God, who is responsible for placing me here and giving me all that I have (or worse, keeping from me all that I don’t, perhaps)?

With regards religious beliefs, I have felt for the longest of time that these are may be ‘well-thought out’ ideologies in the context in which they were made. But the arbitrary manner in which we follow some of them, unquestioningly, is something that we need to re-think.

Right now I feel like I am in pendulum zone – swinging between faith and disbelief; the intersections are confusing and the poles seem to be maniacal obsessions with opposing conspiracy theories; the crisis either way is pressing.

 

What did you believe about God & Religion?
Growing up in place where festivals are a reason to meet relatives, wear new clothes, eat good food and of course get presents from elders, I had a very beautiful image of religion. The arrival of Diwali filled my heart with much glee. It was only later I realized that religion is not limited to and defined by these celebrations. It plays a larger role and shaping who we are and conditioning what we do. Questioning anything only leads unpleasantness and emotional dramatic reactions. These unanswered questions further made me read books, try out prohibited tasks and come to a conclusion that such things do not exist.

If there were any god, it would give me strength and not cripple me. At present I have no doubts about the absence of a revengeful god. With every passing experience, my belief in myself and my actions has grown stronger.

I firmly believe that the peace that we seek in temples and prayers can be achieved through focus towards our work and well being of our family.

My beliefs:

a) One should work with honesty to the best of his/her ability.

b) I firmly believe in being positive and instilling this belief in everyone I meet. Each of us has the power to turn around things. WE DO NOT NEED AND INVISIBLE UNIDENTIFIABLE POWER.

c) Love your family and be true to your friends as much as you can.

What questions do you still have?

I do not really have questions. However, I would like to understand the reasons behind some rituals. I am fascinated by new places, people and traditions and I’d like to keep this fascination alive by trying to read about different religions.

Regarding religious beliefs, what do you see people grappling with?

I see people not willing and being too afraid to question. This has not really worked in our favour. Time and again rulers & political parties (which by the way, are extremely secular and have NO religion whatsoever) have taken advantage and created situations that have further deteriorated us as individuals. It is like that dystopian society that does not allow the growth of its citizens.

Vagisha

My beliefs about religion have changed over the years. I believed in God for sure, visited temples sometimes, bribed him for good marks, fasted etc.  Not that any of it was imposed on me, but mainly acquired and  influenced by people around me. One of the main reasons I was doing all this,  I would say was due to fear or avoiding trouble; looking at God as a savior.  I later started questioning myself  that if there is a God, he has to be kind and can’t punish us for our errors. After observing a number of instances in my life, I realized that what is going to happen, will happen. I should do the best I can in a given situation. I was able to overcome the fear.

All the rituals that I followed earlier, blindly, out of fear or because everyone else did, or asked me to do, I stopped doing all of it. I also understood that I am responsible for my actions and any repercussions that follow and it is me who should learn to deal with it, rather than counting on some external entity to help me out of the situation. I believed in karma, and doing the right thing. But I want to do the right thing, not because I will have to pay for it, or it will come back to me, but that is the way of life for me. I definitely question the existence of so many gods and religions. Stories have always intrigued me, and that’s how I have read and heard  all the Hindu mythology stories since childhood. Now, I want to explore the other religious scriptures also, in detail. I believed then and even now I think, there is some superior power that drives the world, though I am still not sure 🙂 We do not have enough evidences about the big bang theory or evolution, so I still wonder that how did everything come into existence and where are we heading towards? But should there be an answer to all the questions?

Today, there are so many top notch actors, celebrities, sportsmen, politicians’ who visit some temple or dargah (under tight security). Some of them have had humble beginnings and they accredit all their success to the almighty God. Most of them are well educated and so-called role models of the society. The common man sees yet another hope that by worshiping God, he will be able to fulfill his dreams. This is something that we all have been brought up to believe, but if we are able to  empower the next generation to at least question and find out for themselves, not only about God, but anything they are brought up to believe, they will do what they do with their own conviction.

 

 

Whenever I conduct a session on Life Skills – Finance with any grade, I mostly observe boys taking active part in the discussion and learning but not all girls participate. I thought initially may be it is only in one section and then may be only in one grade. But no it was consistent almost all places.

Do we have a gender bias or any paradigm here? Why there are few topics from which we refrain to participate? Why there are so many mental blocks, which stop us from being the part of discussions? Why we think it is okay to ignore or at times to accept?

Few instances from my life where I thought not to respond, but not sure if that was the right thing?!

— I was at a birthday party few days back. One of the females was discussing about how one CA – Mr. A is earning good because of his practice. To which my mom responded my daughter is also CA and the female’s immediate response was “Arre re then why are you a teacher?” not stopping for me to respond she concluded “Ya but for females, having own practice is not the right option, teaching is safe.” I ignored responding her then.

— In order to retaliate after the 18 September attack on the army base in Uri in Indian-administered Kashmir, MNS wanted to ban release of movies like Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and Raees because both movies had Pakistani actors in leading roles. In a heated argument at home where almost all believed that this is right, I wanted to say it was not logical to ban the movie. I had reasons too (a) the actors were not to be blamed for this and (b) even if you want to blame them/the entire Pakistan for this attack, still how’ll it create a loss to them. They did the movie, they got money and now if the movies are banned it is a loss to our people (Indian economy). But again I thought it is better not to respond.

Today I came across this very short video which talks about, how from childhood a girl is conditioned into what she can’t do and what she should do. If she is a leader she ll be labelled as bossy. Rather than supporting her to fulfil her ambitions she ll be asked to change them completely. This video made me think that is it possible to completely come out of these biases or will I pass it on further to others in future?

Also after watching the video I went to the site of Ignite, the organisation that made this video. Some interesting things they are doing, worth a look. This organisation aims at building a political ambition in young girls. They are into various activities, which you may like to explore. I liked one of their programs wherein they are making attempts to empower young girls along with their mothers, in politics. The program is for mother-daughter together.

(P.S. – I have used “we” but I know not all females specially in our CT group fall into this category, but then still there are many who I think ll be able to relate to this post)

 

Before starting the class- critical thinking- I always believed that  we all do our best by thinking rightly and making correct decisions- about our choices in life- whether it’s planning for career/ finance to the smallest thing like buying a soap.

So I wonder what will be there in this workshop- Are there types of thinker? Or guidelines about thinking in a correct manner.

In this complex world- I choose to lead a happy and simple life and during any problem or on taking decisions- I mostly prefer to choose things which are simple and quick.

Once the workshop started we were asked about our own definitions of critical thinking- For me- critical thinking is thinking by considering all the aspects like- impact whether positive or negative on my life and people associated with me.

I was happy with my answer as I believed I am doing pretty good job in taking decisions…

After attending the sessions- I was able to reflect that I too have many biases which do reflect in my thinking which eventually affects my decisions.
I realized that I have Bandwagon effect- which states- The tendency to do (or believe) things because many other people do (or believe) the same. I have always been told- You should respect your elders and never question their decisions- So many times I just do the things which they have done- whether choosing a restaurant for giving parties or going to the same doctor or investing in fixed deposits. I even realized that many time I feel it’s safe and why to waste time in searching.
I also have- Duration neglect- I believe I have lots of time in the world. So I tend to delay things- There are many things but majorly I feel I neglected my health thinking I have lots of time for which I do feel guilty after realizing.
After the session, I have started keeping a check on my decisions and doing my best to avoid these biases.

After 4 sessions there has been a small change in my thinking- now I try to evaluate things and take decisions- Like planning a holiday- considering all factors- seeing through a different lens- moving out of my comfort zone- trying to read reviews as well as cross questioning my beliefs.
I try not to be judgmental- instead, I try to find out- try to understand/ experience and then decide.
I started prioritizing things by changing my mindset and understanding value of time.

I understood in life choices can be simple but while making a choice one must be a critical thinker!!

 

Thank you 🙂

After critical Thinking workshop. I had many thoughts on where I apply CT or where I think I apply but I actually don’t. All these thoughts had to be put to rest or atleast penned down for future reference. So Thank God for the blog!

Did I say God?

My takeaway from the workshop is that critical thinking does not really ask us to “not believe” in what we want, it just requires us to think before we blindly give ourselves to our instincts. (Which according to the “Rosie Project” are stronger than reason)

Taking an example of Homeopathy or Therapeutic healing which works for some people and raises questions in the minds of others.

The enlightening Placebo effect states :

“a beneficial effect produced by a placebo drug or treatment, which cannot be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself, and must therefore be due to the patient’s belief in that treatment.”

The human will is extremely strong and has the power to fight diseases, mental, physical etc. However, sometimes due to external validating demotivations (eg: Migraine treatment not working) It needs something to sort of retrieve its faith. Therefore, when we believe that Homeopathy or therapeutic healing  is working, its not really the drug but our will which has found support in the promising narrative.

One of the underlying statement of pseudo science is that “there are no side effects”. So logically as a protective parent, I would choose something that will cure without any side effects than choose something that might work adversely on the immunity of my child if given frequently.

If we do not think critically and believe in the unknown/ unseen then one day we might become slaves of something that works purely on belief and not on evidence. In which case emotions will overtake (Eg: blaming god for all that has gone wrong in our lives) and it will then be difficult to gather oneself and fight back.

Having said this, I guess there are moments in which the instinct is so strong that there is just no time to reason out. So which means that Critical thinking is an effort that has to be made till it becomes a habit.

I guess it will just make us identify tough spots and deal with them.

Life is critical with lots of problems, where we need to do critical thinking to find the solutions. We have to change with time and we make changes in life for the best. During the sessions, we got an opportunity to browse through a list of biases which revolves around an individual throughout his/her life, I came to know about my bias too. I do have confirmation bias, which means the tendency to search for, interpret, focus on and remember information in a way that confirms one’s preconceptions. Focusing effects which means the tendency to place too much importance on one aspect of an event.  My aim to join this workshop is to exploring  into new learning with new ideas . I am trying to apply and, now I am looking forward to  become a critical thinker and watch my thoughts and analyse my thinking so that it goes in the right direction. Keep thinking critically.  I have started thinking Critical in my thought while buying things and while making decision of life . I am positive about this workshop.

With regards

Jugnu Rajput

 

Some further information about Critical thinking from: http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/critical/ct.php

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe. It includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Someone with critical thinking skills is able to do the following :

• understand the logical connections between ideas
• identify, construct and evaluate arguments
• detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning
• solve problems systematically
• identify the relevance and importance of ideas
• reflect on the justification of one’s own beliefs and values

Why Critical Thinking?

The Problem

Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or downright prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.

Critical thinking. it’s too critical. What is it, how do we do it, why is it essential, and how can we get better at it?

The importance of critical thinking

Critical thinking is a domain-general thinking skill.

Critical thinking is very important in the new knowledge economy.

Critical thinking enhances language and presentation skills.

Critical thinking promotes creativity.

Critical thinking is crucial for self-reflection.

Good critical thinking is the foundation of science and democracy.

 

—

 

I felt fresh, learning something new, different and significant in the the Critical thinking workshop. While reading the list of biases, I could relate myself to a number of biases but was also happy in identifying a few that I couldn’t relate too. Phew!!
Accepting and challenging my own biases suddenly seemed necessary to me.I am sharing two examples where I could identify the biases in my thought process.

Recently, I bought a pack of muesli. I opened the pack to gave some to Dev and stapled it and kept it aside. Few days later , I saw a trail of red ants on the edge of the kitchen platform. Following the ants, I realized that they were feasting on the NEW muesli. I immediately opened the packet to see the intensity of damage. They were there!! Immediately I emptied my the packet in a tray and kept it in the balcony in sunlight.

I would check the tray every few minutes. Every time I would check, I would want to see the number of ants reducing. I was wanting to avoid feeling of the loss (muesli ) as the packet was bought just a few days back and to worsen that feeling, I hadn’t used it much. Just one time serving to Dev!!

To my surprise, I was able to critically evaluate that I was thinking out of “ aversion to loss bias” or “ Sunk cost fallacy”.

Before couple of months I was facing trouble with my old laptop.I was on verge of purchasing a new laptop which enables me to work efficiently. So I inquired few models of laptop as per my limitation of budget. So after communications with different friends, options were listed before me as per my budget. Apart from that I had few more reviews too which were based upon its features and performance. Also I saw few videos on you-tube where contrasting results for the different models which was followed by comments expressing their likes and dislikes which grades the products based on their prior experiences.Like I was inclined to go for few models of DELL or HP based on my visit to showroom where sales person was interested in sale of the certain products.As more and more information became easily accessible, my attention span became more narrow.But at last I called upon my brother-in-law for piece of advice.He asked me to go for ASUS zenbook UX305 which offers some competition to Mac book air.I was flooded with information with my confirmation bias for product with strong mind-set to not to buy ASUS laptops as such as reviews were concerned. But I made my view-point sharp by identifying few of my fundamental needs.It was really different experience as there was more mass to pull me over their biases.Hence this experience made me open-minded.It allowed me to think of few far-out alternatives too.

 

Krishna 🙂

For me, critical thinking is about objectively analyzing an issue or an argument based on its merits or demerits.  It is not about being judgmental or getting personal. Before attending this workshop, I had not realized the extent of impact of critical thinking on our everyday behavior and its consequences. I had always thought that critical thinking applies to larger issues and not to our day to day life. This workshop has made me realize that critical thinking is applicable everywhere whether it is buying dove for us or the kind of milk that we have to choose.

When I was going through the list of biases, it seemed to me that all of them have been designed specifically just for me.  But after careful consideration, I realized that I have is status quo bias, which says, every change is painful. You don’t accept changes easily because you don’t want to come out of your comfort zone. Even a small change, like changing the direction of my bed, makes me sleepless for a night or two. But then I have realized that the change is inevitable. Though changing is difficult, not changing can be fatal.

Jyoti Khandelwal