SELECTIVE CRITICAL THINKING
What is critical thinking, and why do we partake in it? That is a question that has been on my mind a lot. As someone who is strongly committed to social justice movement, critical thinking is one of the best gifts that I can bring to our combined efforts to challenge interlocking systems of oppression. I am very interested in the degree to which we stress critical thinking, and the various issues, such as belief in god, that we give exemptions to, that is our tendency to be selective critical thinkers.
The Foundation for Critical Thinking defines critical thinking as,
“that mode of thinking – about any subject, content, or problem – in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.”
As someone who is deeply committed to critical thinking about all issues that affect our lives, I am deeply concerned by the tendency by some critical thinkers to be selective about the issues with which they apply their critical thinking abilities. What stands out to me the most about the definition offered by the Foundation for Critical Thinking is the emphasis that critical thinking should apply to “any subject, content, or problem.” I find that inherent in that definition is the belief that there is no topic that is off limits to critical thinking.
I am very wary of those who abandon critical thinking when it comes to certain matters. I have noticed that some people apply critical thinking to race, but abandon it when it comes to gender. I have noticed that some people apply critical thinking when it comes to gender, but abandon it when it comes to sexual orientation. I have noticed that some people apply critical thinking when it comes to sexual orientation, but abandon it when it comes to religion or belief in god. I am deeply concerned by the tendency to abandon critical thinking when it comes to certain issues because I strongly believe that it undermines critical thought as a whole.
Being a critical thinker, and demanding “freedom in the village of life,” goes hand in hand in my opinion. I think we undermine the freedom of the village when we give safe haven to certain issues. Abandoning critical thinking when it comes to certain issues amounts to leaving the gate open, allowing certain forces or factors to creep in without challenge, question, or critique.
As an atheist I am deeply committed to thinking critically about the alleged existence of god. I believe based on reason, evidence, and proof (the hallmarks of critical thinking in my opinion), that the god myth is an assertion at best and willful ignorance at worst. I have been shocked by the regularity at which people who are deeply committed to critical thinking on other issues abandon it when it comes to belief in god. I have heard repeated claims that the god assertion is off limits, above the limit, a different situation, too sensitive to discuss, and countless of other justifications for abandoning critical thought when it comes to the god assertion.
It is of prime important to apply critical thinking to the assertion of god’s existence. As atheist blogger Greta Christina states, “The God hypothesis is not a subjective experience like art or love. It is a question about what is or is not true in the real world. Why shouldn’t we apply rational thinking to that question?” We have a responsibility as critical thinkers to actively impose intellectual standards of thinking on the subject of god; it should not be given a free pass.
I have studied many social justice movements, and I have seen how social justice movement has been undermined by some in the movement being selectively critical. In our effort to challenge and transform systems of oppression we must be vigilantly critical of all issues and subjects. We can’t think critically on race while abandoning our critical faculties when it comes to gender, sexual orientation, of the existence god. It is my strong belief that the very act of critical thought demands that we apply it to all issues, and not just select issues.
Links: Greta Christina’s Blog and Foundation for Critical Thinking.
Posted on July 27, 2011, in Atheist, Critical Thinking and tagged belief in god, critical thinkers, intellectual standards., social justice movement, what is critical thinking. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
As a Jewish spiritualist, I must speak only for myself when I say I very much agree with you about the lack of critical thinking applied to the question of belief. I spent a long time thinking about my beliefs, and will say honestly that there is not a shred of real, verifiable evidence to support my beliefs, that my beliefs are in direct contract with logic and that there is a strong possibility that my beliefs are entirely wrong. I believe anyway, and I can give no reason for why I believe but it is my choice to belief, in the face of conflicting evidence. It is not, however, in conflict with my experience – but I know enough about psychology and neurology to know exactly how unreliable personal experience is in this kind of situation. Still, I stand by the old sarcastic saying – ‘I am entitled to my wrong opinion.’ – as long as I don’t force it on anyone else.
I do, however, wish that other atheists would give me the same courtesy. Not directed at this blog at all, but I get just as tired of proselytizing atheists, as I’m sure you do of idiotic, unthinking believers.
All critical thinking is selective. One can list a formal set of principles for critical thinking, but I think they can only go so far. I maintain that critical thinking is content-driven, that it emerges in specific contexts, and the usual liberal pretenses to be open-minded, critical, etc., constitute an ideology which in practice is not applicable in the way it is formulated. Even those who specialize in critical thinking as an academic cottage industry are no more critical about what they do than anyone else. Click on the link below to see my “Thinking Critically About Critical Thinking: A Guide”.
Well said Greta. I agree with evrything you have written. I was once a believer and a strong one at that in a god called Jehovah, Wasted a lot of time pleasing him by proselytizing. Raised to simply go along with the religion of my parents, accdepting evrything that came from a group of men who promoted an archais belief system that is devoid of reason and lacks factual basis for its existence. After 50 years of being a blind follower, I started challenging it by comparing and contrasting the treachings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam with experiential reality. They do not measure up. I have written a book ‘We Are All Africans – Exposing the Negative Influence of the Judeo-Christian-Islamic Religions on Africans”. In deed, everybody can benefit from reading it. Since then I question homophobia, tribalism, sexism – all thw we have been taught and follow that create so much divisiveness, hate, genocide and misery in this world. If we want a peaceful world, then we should challenge and think critically of all that we have learned or rather imposed on us whether it is religion, politics, sexuality, racism etc. and abandon them. That is critical thinking and taking action for the betterment of society. This also includes atheist who would like to impose evolution as the only basis for life in as much as it cannot be demonstrated in a lab using the four building blocks of life – adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine. Critical thinking also involves being open-minded to other possibilities that we may not know instead of bling dogmatism.
Great post man. Selective critical thinking is an issue transcending God, also. Could write about a book about that.
I know enough to know that I am humbled to by the shear immensity of my ignorance and perhaps of my species as a whole (I does sometimes bring a shiver down my spine; nearly everytime I stumble on a new profound question and its consequences). Being a former atheist myself esp. After watching the brief rise in reporting about atheism in popular media a few years ago (ala Richard Darwkins), I was struck by how easily it seemed heterodox thinking was ostracised and a party line of shrill orthodoxy was formed. The reasoning or critical thinking in my view was not suspended but other influences came to magnify, (for me at least) to put it crudely, thinking about this issue intensely or with zealously can’t kill “god”. I think for me I am able to recognise the “limits” of this instrument of our mind, I can no more grasp the concept of a 5th, 6th or even 100th dimension (if you look at string theory) or the concept of a Billion years or more extremely “eternity” my mind is literally stunned by the brute AWESOMENESS of these everyday concepts. I don’t for one second think we should ever stop enduring to be the cartographers of knowledge in whatever field, but we must also be honest that we are using safety matches (and with the case of great minds lasers and 10watt torches) to illuminate our way. IMHO we must say sometimes here be dragons
Excellent post!
When you say you “very wary” of selective critical thinkers, does that translate at all to a loss of respect for their opinions/positions on issues?
you are*
Don’t forget to give attention when you do critical thinking on an issue to the whole totality of existence in which totality of existence your concern is only a part of and cannot be divorced from at all.
It is not critical thinking but truncated thinking if you only attend to your own delimited world where anything outside is not allowed to enter your mind for serious examination as regards its existence or non-existence, and also important its connection with the rest of the totality of existence.
Marius de Jess