Knowledge Adventuring

We all think. But do we think well? Accurately? Proficiently? Correctly? Astutely? Properly? Objectively? In all actuality most of us barely operate at anything above basic knee-jerk emotional responses. Psychologists and philosophers would consider it something akin to unconscious thought. I wouldn’t even agree that it should be called “thinking.” A more accurate name for it would be “GarbageThink.” It’s fraught with errors, biases, prejudices, unfounded beliefs, stupid assumptions, educational/cultural indoctrination & peer pressure, as …

Critical Thinking Read More »

When it comes to intellectual argument and debate, there’s a philosophical concept known as the “Burden of Proof” that should (when observed properly) direct the debate at hand.  Argument is truth-seeking and is concerned with leading us to hold true and accurate beliefs/assumptions – and therefore rejecting false beliefs. Lazy thinking and sloppy argumentative technique usually rule the day however. If you have any concern for Proper Thinking you’ll want to understand this often-misapplied concept. …

Onus of the Burden of Proof Read More »

What Is Intellectual Integrity? Do you have an internal desire to uncover truth – real truth? Do you care about the accuracy of your knowledge, beliefs and claims? Does it bother you if you might be professing knowledge that’s wrong? Does reality matter to you? Do you feel the pursuit of truth deserves a thorough, honest approach and analysis? If so, then you definitely resonate with the concept of Intellectual Integrity. Intellectual Integrity has everything …

Intellectual Integrity Read More »

What is autodidacticism and what can it mean for you being an autodidact? “Stack of Old Books” by Austin Kirk is licensed under CC BY 2.0 What’s an autodidact? Autodidactism is the process of self-learning, also called self-education.  An autodidact is a person who chooses (on their own) to identify a subject of interest and then learn everything possible about it; preferably researching and studying it in an objective manner.  It can be pursued as …

The Benefits Of Being An Autodidact Read More »

In a continuing series of articles regarding barriers to Proper Thinking let’s address Groupthink. “Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.”  – Walter Lippmann What is Groupthink? Wikipedia:  “Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group of people in which the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome. Group members try to minimize conflict and reach a consensus decision without critical evaluation …

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What is Dogma? Dogma is any ideology that demands of its followers unquestioned loyalty and faith.  Faith in its doctrines . . . in its leaders . . . in its proclamations.  Behind its ‘scripture’ may stand elements of truths – some of which can (and are) useful at times.  However, it demands no questioning of its current tenets – particularly by laypersons and “outsiders.”  Violators of this edict are either ignored and/or ridiculed and …

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I saw this on a car’s bumper sticker today: “Don’t Believe Everything You Think” It definitely struck me and resonated with what I continually try to focus upon.  Always question your basic beliefs and assumptions.  Objectively (truly objectively) look at all points of an argument or belief.  Use the Clinical Attitude whenever possible. Embrace intellectual integrity and be willing to admit that beliefs you’ve held for many years may be wrong when you’re presented with …

Don’t Believe Everything You Think Read More »

I love this quote: “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”  – Buckminster Fuller (Featured image by Steve Yelvington on Wikimedia Commons, licensed by Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)

“They must find it difficult . . . those who have taken authority as truth rather than truth as authority.”  – Gerald Massey (Featured image by PDPics from Pixabay)

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”  – Arthur Schopenhauer (Featured image by Robert on flickr, licensed by CC BY-NC 2.0)

  “Belief nor disbelief disprove or affect reality.”     – Stewart Harris (TOMI)   (Featured image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)    

Rosicrucians, because of their world view of questioning everything, are frequently known as Walking Question Marks.  Some applicable quotes from the monograms include: “A true Rosicrucian is a walking question mark.” “A lack of explanations or obscure statements never satisfy a Rosicrucian.” “This is the spirit of the Rosicrucian – a person who is not so quick to accept as truth that which they are told is truth.  Rather, a Rosicrucian is one who is …

Walking Question Mark Read More »

I first ran across this article in 2008 and was struck by it’s simple yet deeply accurate assessment of critical thinking.  With many things in life, as I grow older the discoveries I made years ago that struck me at the time as extremely important are many times now less inspiring.  However, THIS article is not one of them. 🙂 Peter Suber’s 1,065 words reflect the best representation of intellectual integrity as anything I’ve read …

The Clinical Attitude Toward Arguments by Peter Suber (an Incredible Truth Tool!) Read More »

You’ll find I periodically state, “Don’t deny reality.”  What does that mean and why is it important? What is Reality?   (basic definition) As it relates to the way I use it when I say, “Don’t deny reality,” I mean it from the simple perspective of Knowledge Adventuring: If you have facts and/or a preponderance of evidence staring you in the face, don’t delude yourself by denying its existence. Don’t ignore it.  Don’t default to Cognitive …

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Another critical barrier to “Proper Thinking” and intellectual integrity is the theory of Cognitive Dissonance. It’s important to understand that this cognitive weakness can be the reason for us to default to other barriers to accurate thinking such as Confirmation Bias and Rationalization. As part of our Knowledge Adventuring it will always serve us well to be aware of these thinking biases and adapt our attitude and approach to the pursuit of enlightenment and truth. …

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Another personal impediment to “Proper Thinking” is Rationalization.  If we want to improve our intellectual integrity and thinking prowess we need to be on guard from making rationalizations. What is it? I like Neel Burton’s definition: The use of feeble but seemingly plausible arguments either to justify something that is difficult to accept (sour grapes) or to make it seem ‘not so bad after all’ (sweet lemons). We do something not so smart (a bad …

Rationalization Read More »

This post, my inaugural entry to deal with one of the many specifics of “Proper Thinking,” will be devoted to Confirmation Bias. With regards to the How, Why and What of thinking, this falls into  How – honestly acknowledging a barrier to proper thinking in order to adapt and refine our adventuring path towards the pursuit of Truth. The human understanding when it has once adopted an opinion (either as being the received opinion or …

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Poor Thinking Most people cruise through life with nary a thought about thought. And, really, why bother thinking about how well, or poorly, you think? What difference does it make?  That depends, really. Do you care if others think you’re stupid? Do YOU care if you look stupid? More importantly, do you care if you ARE stupid? Or the converse . . . do you worry people might think you’re too smart?  Will they treat …

Proper Thinking – Realizing I Don’t Think Correctly Read More »