Critical thinking.
A podcast episode of “Trish Woods Is Critical” inspired this essay while listening to her passionately criticize Israel’s Prime Minister and his ongoing obliteration of Gaza and its residents.
Trish Wood has opinions.
Like Trish, I have opinions too. Ours are each informed by our own personal life experiences which compose the Life Lens through which we respectively witness our reality.
The Life Lens is wholly personal.
👁️ It contains biases. This is unavoidable. Neither Trish nor I can experience the consciousness of another being of consciousness throughout his or her lifetime. Nor is this even possible in the current moment.
To “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” is a nice metaphor to encourage empathy, but that is as far as it goes.
As I listened to Trish argue her opposition to the Gaza situation, I took note of the strength of the feelings she expressed in support of her views regarding Israel’s offensives against the people still remaining in Gaza. The following question then occurred to me.
What is critical thinking, and does it include components of personal feelings as well as logic?
Trish claims her show to be based in “critical thinking” - primarily hers and those of the guests she invites onto her show. She also claims that “truth over tribe” is her objective in each show.
While many people have found her critical thinking and reporting to be of great value, some have disagreed with her “truth”. This led me to my second question.
What is truth? Is it relative or absolute?
My friend and former boss, Bill Gairdner, a respected Canadian philosopher, wrote The Book of Absolutes. It was an honour and privilege to know Bill, one of the greatest influencers on my life and thinking. While our respective Life Lens’ did not always agree, our friendship remained strong from 1975 till his passing in 2024. I miss Bill and our rich discussions.
Enter GROK.
I could attempt to answer both questions myself, but the result would be based on My Life Lens which necessarily contains my personal biases. While I tend to think highly of my opinions 😜, you may already have a sense of what I might write on this topic if you have been reading My Life Lens.
GROK does not reflect my opinions.
Instead, GROK aggregates the views of many people whose critical thinking, opinions, scholarly research, and journalistic investigations have been surveyed and consolidated.
Current Large Language Model (LLM) AI platforms, such as GROK, ChatGPT and Claude.ai, are the best technology available to best approximate the Collective Life Lens of broader human communities.
GROK on “critical thinking”.
Critical thinking is the process of analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information to form reasoned judgments or decisions. It involves questioning assumptions, identifying biases, and assessing evidence to reach objective conclusions.
It primarily relies on logic and evidence-based reasoning, emphasizing clarity, consistency, and rational analysis. Components include:
Analysis: Breaking down complex information into parts.
Evaluation: Assessing the credibility and relevance of evidence or arguments.
Synthesis: Combining information to form coherent conclusions.
Reflection: Considering alternative perspectives or implications.
Personal feelings are not a core component of critical thinking, as it prioritizes objectivity. However, emotions can influence the process indirectly by shaping initial perspectives or motivations.
Effective critical thinkers recognize and manage personal feelings to minimize bias, ensuring decisions are grounded in logic and evidence rather than subjective emotions. For example, feeling strongly about an issue might prompt deeper investigation, but the reasoning process itself should remain detached from those emotions.
GROK on “cognitive bias”.
Prompted by GROK, I proceeded to ask about cognitive bias. The response I received was impressive - thorough, insightful and nuanced. It was too long to post here, so I encourage you to ask GROK about this topic yourself.
You may be tempted to use Google instead, but GROK will give you much superior insights into the nature of personal and collective bias in much shorter time.
Enjoy.