Blog - by Linda Elder with Richard Paul Archives

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"[Missed Part 11? "},{"attributes":{"bold":true,"link":"https://community.criticalthinking.org/blogPost.php?param=258"},"insert":"Read It Here"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"]"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Values and Intellectual Traits [2 of 2]"},{"insert":"\n \nGenuine intellectual development requires people to develop intellectual traits, traits acquired only by thinking one's way to basic philosophical insights. Philosophical thinking leads to insights which in turn shape basic skills of thought. Skills, values, insights, and intellectual traits are mutually and dynamically interrelated. It is the whole person who thinks, not some fragment of the person.\n \nFor example, intellectual empathy requires the ability to reconstruct accurately the viewpoints and reasoning of others and to reason from premises, assumptions, and ideas other than one's own. But if one has not developed the philosophical insight that different people often think from divergent premises, assumptions, and ideas, one will never appreciate the need to entertain them. Reasoning from assumptions and ideas other than our own will seem absurd to us precisely to the degree that we are unable to step back philosophically and recognize that differences exist between people in their very frameworks for thinking.\n \nPhilosophical differences are common, even in the lives of small children. Children often reason from the assumption that their needs and desires are more important than anyone else's to the conclusion that they ought to get what they want in this or that circumstance. It often seems absurd to children that they are not given what they want. They are trapped in their egocentric viewpoints, see the world from within them, and unconsciously take their viewpoints (their philosophies, if you will) to define reality. To work out of this intellectual entrapment requires time and much reflection.\n \nTo develop consciousness of the limits of our understanding we must attain the "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"courage "},{"insert":"to face our prejudices and ignorance. To discover our prejudices and ignorance in turn we often have to "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"empathize "},{"insert":"with and reason within points of view toward which we are hostile. To achieve this end, we must "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"persevere"},{"insert":" over an extended period of time, for it takes time and significant effort to learn how to empathically enter a point of view against which we are biased. That effort will not seem justified unless we have the "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"faith in reason "},{"insert":"to believe we will not be tainted or taken in by whatever is false or misleading in this opposing viewpoint. Furthermore, the belief alone that we can survive serious consideration of alien points of view is not enough to motivate most of us to consider them seriously. We must also be motivated by an "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"intellectual"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"sense of justice. "},{"insert":"We must recognize an intellectual "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"responsibility "},{"insert":"to be fair to views we oppose. We must feel "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"obliged "},{"insert":"to hear them in their strongest form to ensure that we do not condemn them out of ignorance or bias.\n \nIf we approach thinking or teaching for thinking atomistically, we are unlikely to help students gain the kind of global perspective and global insight into their minds, thought, and behavior which a philosophical approach to thinking can foster. Cognitive psychology tends to present the mind and dimensions of its thinking in just this atomistic way. Most importantly, it tends to leave out of the picture what should be at its very center: the active, willing, judging agent. The character of our mind is one with our moral character. How we think determines how we behave and how we behave determines who we are and who we become. We have a moral as well as an intellectual responsibility to become fairminded and rational, but we will not become so unless we cultivate these traits through specific modes of thinking. From a philosophical point of view, one does not develop students' thinking skills without in some sense simultaneously developing their autonomy, their rationality, and their character. This is not fundamentally a matter of drilling the student in a battery of skills. Rather it is essentially a matter of orchestrating activities to continually stimulate students to express and to take seriously their own thinking: what it assumes, what it implies, what it includes, excludes, highlights, and foreshadows; and to help the student do this with intellectual humility, intellectual courage, intellectual empathy, intellectual perseverance, and fairmindedness.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Intellectual perseverance "},{"insert":"is the disposition to work your way through intellectual complexities despite frustrations inherent in the task. Questions that foster intellectual perseverance include:\n\nAm I willing to work my way through complexities in an issue, or do I tend to give up when I experience difficulties?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nCan I think of a complex problem in which I have demonstrated patience and determination in working through its difficulties?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nDo I have strategies for dealing with complex problems?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nDo I expect my mental well-being to be easy, or do I recognize the importance of persevering to change my bad habits of thought that cause me pain?"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nDon’t give up on intellectual tasks on account of their difficulty. When you begin to think you can’t learn something, remind yourself that you can. If reading is hard for you, stick to it; reading important works is essential to deep learning, and is a powerful tool for mental wellness and self-actualization. These same benefits come from writing, so when writing is hard, keep trying. Don’t be afraid to work hard when you feel like giving up. Remember that no matter how good you are at thinking, you can always improve, and the failure to do so will undermine the quality of your life and the lives of others. In short, no matter how much you struggle with learning, keep working. Never give up. Be the captain of your own ship. Chart your own course in life.\n \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Internalize the Idea: Intellectual Perseverance"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\nMost people have more physical perseverance than intellectual perseverance. Many are ready to admit, “No pain, no gain!” when talking about the body. Most give up quickly, on the other hand, when faced with a frustrating mental problem that requires their best thinking. Thinking of your own responses, in your work or your personal life, how would you evaluate your intellectual perseverance on a scale of 0 to 10? Complete these statements:\n\nIn terms of intellectual perseverance, I would rate myself as follows…"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I say this because… [Support your position with evidence.]"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I could develop intellectual perseverance by routinely doing the following…"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nFor more on close reading and substantive writing, visit the "},{"attributes":{"bold":true,"link":"https://community.criticalthinking.org/readingAndWritingAlcove.php"},"insert":"Reading and Writing Alcove"},{"insert":".\n\n----\nThis blog is adapted from pages 167 and 173 of Linda Elder’s "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical Thinking Therapy: For Happiness & Self-Actualization"},{"insert":" (2025), available through Treely Green Publishing at "},{"attributes":{"bold":true,"link":"https://www.treelygreenpublishing.com/"},"insert":"www.treelygreenpublishing.com"},{"insert":".\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"[Missed Part 10? "},{"attributes":{"bold":true,"link":"https://community.criticalthinking.org/blogPost.php?param=256"},"insert":"Read It Here"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"]"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Values and Intellectual Traits [1 of 2]"},{"insert":"\n \nPhilosophical thinking, like all human thinking, is infused with values. But those who think philosophically make it a point to understand and assent to the values that underlie their thought. One thinks philosophically because one "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"values "},{"insert":"coming to terms with the meaning and significance of one's life. If we do so sincerely and well, we recognize problems that challenge us to decide the kind of person we want to make ourselves, including deciding the kind of mind we want to have. We have to make a variety of value judgments about ourselves regarding, among other things, fears, conflicts, and prejudices. This requires us to come to terms with the traits of mind we are developing. For example, to be truly open to knowledge, one must become intellectually humble. But intellectual humility is connected with other traits, such as intellectual courage, intellectual integrity, intellectual perseverance, intellectual empathy, and fairmindedness. The intellectual traits characteristic of our thinking become for the philosophical thinker a matter of personal concern. Philosophical reflection heightens this concern.\n \nConsider this excerpt from a letter from a teacher with a master’s degree in physics and mathematics:\n \nAfter I started teaching, I realized that I had learned physics by rote and that I really did not understand all I knew about physics. My thinking students asked me questions for which I always had the standard textbook answers, but for the first time made me start thinking for myself, and I realized that these canned answers were not justified by my own thinking and only confused my students who were showing some ability to think for themselves. To achieve my academic goals I had memorized the thoughts of others, but I had never learned or been encouraged to learn to think for myself."},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \nThis is a good example of intellectual humility and, like all intellectual humility, is based on a philosophical insight into the nature of knowing. It is reminiscent of the ancient Greek insight that Socrates himself was the wisest of the Greeks because only he realized how little he really knew. Socrates developed this insight as a result of extensive, deep questioning of the knowledge claims of others. He, like all of us, had to think his way to this insight and did so by raising the same basic "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"what "},{"insert":"and "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"why "},{"insert":"questions that children often ask. We as teachers cannot hand this insight to children on a silver platter. All persons must do for themselves the thinking that leads to it.\n \nUnfortunately, though intellectual virtues cannot be conditioned into people, intellectual failings can. Because of the typically unphilosophical way most instruction is structured, intellectual arrogance rather than humility is typically fostered, especially in those who have retentive minds and can repeat like parrots what they have heard or read. Students are routinely rewarded for giving standard textbook answers and encouraged to believe that they understand what has never been justified by their own thinking. To move toward intellectual humility, most students (and teachers) need to think broadly, deeply, and foundationally about most of what they have \"learned\", as the teacher in the previous example did. Such questioning, in turn, requires intellectual courage, perseverance, and faith in one's ability to think one's way to understanding and insight.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"As you work to pursue reasonable purposes, realize that it is a grave error to be naïve as to the world you face and the options available to you within the constraints of society. Again, the human world you inhabit creates parameters within which you are, to a large degree, forced to live. The highest-level thinkers work to expand those parameters or change them for the better, but all humans inhabit societies which require individuals to behave in given ways—whether these individuals want to or not, and whether it makes sense to or not. For instance, each of us is required to belong to some country and own proof of our nationality, especially if we want to travel internationally. Each of us is expected to adhere to our country’s laws, whether the laws are fair or not. To be accepted into typical human groups, all of us must follow certain (often unwritten) social guidelines on such matters as how we dress or wear our hair.\n \nSome social customs and rules are harmless or even helpful; others cause suffering, as people and other sentient creatures become victims of unreasonable laws, customs, and taboos. Your mental health problems may stem from this very problem. Perhaps you have had difficulty fitting yourself into what you perceive to be unjust or nonsensical rules and customs of your society, family, or employer. As you analyze your situation, remember that it always might be you who is self-deceived; you may perceive something to be unreasonable when it is really your own thinking that is unreasonable. To develop your ability to determine whether it is you or someone else who is self-deceived in a given context, internalize and actively use the tools found in Chapter Four on the barriers to critical thinking and Chapter Six on intellectual standards.\n \nSome problems caused by social ideologies, groupthink, or other forms of sociocentrism are far more significant than others. Some of your country’s laws are or have been more unfair than others, sometimes egregiously so (as with regard to slavery, tortuous animal experimentation, and imprisonment without due process). Some of your society’s customs are more distasteful or repulsive than others (such as pressuring students to pray to a particular deity, withholding opportunities based upon gender, or adulating a monarchy, the wealthy, or the famous). Some of the groups you belong to, and the people within those groups (such as family, friends, neighbors, social and religious groups, etc.), behave in more superficial or otherwise irrational ways than others.\n \nTo protect yourself from narrowminded people, institutions, and ideologies, it is essential that you learn to critique the customs, laws, traditions, and taboos of your society, and of all the groups and people who in any way have influence over you— including where you have allowed this influence. Being unaware of how society restricts you and impacts your purposes, needs, and desires can easily cause you to be mentally unwell.\n \n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Internalize the Idea: Eliminate Purposes You Pursue that Stem from Irrational Societal Influence"},{"insert":"\n \nFigure out which of your purposes are not adding to the quality of your life, and which you pursue uncritically due to societal influences. Concentrate on giving higher priority to the important purposes in your life. Complete these statements:\n \nThe purposes in my life that I pursue due to societal influence, but which are not healthy, include..."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I get caught up in these purposes because..."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Getting caught up in these purposes has caused the following problems in my life..."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I plan to eliminate these societally-induced purposes by doing the following... "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n[Periodically reread your answer to #4 to make sure you are progressing.]"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \n\nThis blog is adapted from pages 241 and 242 of Linda Elder’s "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical Thinking Therapy: For Happiness & Self-Actualization"},{"insert":" (2025), available through Treely Green Publishing at "},{"attributes":{"underline":true,"bold":true,"link":"https://www.treelygreenpublishing.com/"},"insert":"www.treelygreenpublishing.com"},{"insert":".\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"[Missed Part 9? "},{"attributes":{"bold":true,"link":"https://community.criticalthinking.org/blogPost.php?param=254"},"insert":"Read It Here"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"]"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Post-Transcript Analysis and Discussion [3 of 3]"},{"insert":"\n \nAll subjects, in sum, can be taught philosophically or unphilosophically. Let me illustrate by using the subject of history. Since philosophical thinking tends to make our most basic ideas and assumptions explicit, by using it we can better orient ourselves toward the subject as a whole and mindfully integrate the parts into the whole.\n \nStudents are introduced to history early in their education, and that subject area is usually required through high school and into college, and with good reason. But the unphilosophical way history is often taught fails to develop students' ability to think historically for themselves. Indeed, history books basically tell students what to believe and what to think about history. Students have little reason in most history classes to relate the material to the framework of their own ideas, assumptions, or values. Students do not know that they have a philosophy, and even if they did, it is doubtful that without the stimulation of a teacher who approached the subject philosophically they would see the relevance of history to it.\n \nBut consider the probable outcome of teachers raising and facilitating discussion questions such as the following:\n \nWhat is history? Is everything that happened part of history? Can everything that happened be put into a history book? Why not? If historians have to select some events to include and leave out others, how do they do this? If this requires that historians make value judgments about what is important, is it likely that they will all agree? Is it possible for people observing and recording events to be biased or prejudiced? Could a historian be biased or prejudiced? How would you find out? How do people know what caused an event? How do people know what outcomes an event had? Would everyone agree about causes and outcomes? If events, to be given meaning, have to be interpreted from some point of view, what is the point of view of the person who wrote our text?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \nDo you have a history? Is there a way in which everyone develops an interpretation of the significant events in his or her own life? If there is more than one point of view that events can be considered from, could you think of someone in your life who interprets your past in a way different from you? Does it make any difference how your past is interpreted? How are people sometimes harmed by the way in which they interpret their past?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \nThese questions would not, of course, be asked at once. But they should be the "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"kind "},{"insert":"of question routinely raised as part of stimulating students to take history seriously, to connect it to their lives, minds, values, and actions. After all, many of the most important questions we face in everyday life do have a significant historical dimension, but that dimension is not given by a bare set of isolated facts. For example, arguments between spouses often involve disagreements on how to interpret events or patterns of past events or behaviors. How we interpret events in our lives depends on our point of view, basic values and interests, prejudices, and so forth.\n \nFew of us are good historians or philosophers in the matter of our own lives. But then, no one has encouraged us to be. No one has helped us grasp these kinds of connections nor relate to our own thought or experience in these ways. We don't see ourselves as shaping our experience within a framework of meanings, because we have not learned how to isolate and identify central issues in our lives. Rather we tend to believe, quite egocentrically, that we directly and immediately grasp life as it is. The world must be the way we see it, because we see nothing standing between us and the world. We seem to see it directly and objectively. We don't really see the need therefore to consider seriously other ways of seeing or interpreting it.\n \nAs we identify our point of view (philosophy) explicitly, and deliberately put its ideas to work in interpreting our world, including seriously considering competing ideas, we are freed from the illusion of absolute objectivity. We begin to recognize egocentric subjectivity as a serious problem in human affairs. Our thought begins to grapple with this problem in a variety of ways. We begin to discover how our fears, insecurities, vested interests, frustrations, egocentricity, ethnocentricity, prejudices, and so forth, blind us. We begin to develop intellectual humility. We begin, in short, to think philosophically. Children have this need as much as adults, for children often take in and construct meanings that constrain and frustrate their development and alienate them from themselves and from healthy relationships to others.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"For your mental well-being, it is essential to think critically about the purposes that drive your behavior and the quality of your life. This requires deeply understanding your ultimate purposes as well as the role that purpose plays across human life. Without significant purposes that are self-chosen, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to be fulfilled. Most people do not actively choose their purposes, and where they do, they tend to choose some purposes well and others poorly. It is rare for someone to actively choose and command all of their important purposes, but this should be your goal.\n \nAttaining mental well-being requires pursuing important goals while being realistic about the purposes available to you and your means for achieving important purposes. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Mental wellness is accomplished through, among other things, a powerful internal will to realize your goals and make the most of your life"},{"insert":". It requires understanding and commanding your purposes in dealing with others, and in working through issues throughout your daily experience. It requires eliminating obstacles, internal and external, that would interfere with the achievement of your goals. Emotional well-being requires that you rationally control the story you tell yourself about your past, present, and future. It means understanding the limitations humans place on themselves and each other, including at the societal level, in terms of what purposes are even allowed. It entails understanding how your purposes may be affected by the pathologies of others.\n \nIn short, we choose many of our purposes in accord with societal beliefs, customs, and taboos. At the same time, we frequently deceive ourselves into believing that we deliberately choose the purposes that are dictated to us. For your mental well-being, it is essential that you clearly understand and take command of your purposes – those you choose as well as those thrust upon you by parents, supervisors, children, friends, neighbors, and any other groups to which you belong or persons you allow to influence you.\n \n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Internalize the Idea: Explore Your Important Purposes"},{"insert":"\n \nThink seriously about the primary purposes you pursue as you go through your daily life. Make a list of each of these purposes and complete the following statements for each one. Go as far as you need to in this activity:\n\nOne primary purpose in my life is . . . "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This purpose is important because . . . "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I [do/do not] commit enough time to pursuing this purpose. "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"To pursue this purpose more assertively and productively, I need to . . . "},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Therefore, I intend to achieve this purpose more fully by doing the following . . ."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n[Periodically reread your answer to #5 to make sure you are progressing.]"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \n------\nThis blog is adapted from pages 237, 238, and 240 of Linda Elder’s "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical Thinking Therapy: For Happiness & Self-Actualization"},{"insert":" (2025), available through Treely Green Publishing at www.treelygreenpublishing.com.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Post-Transcript Analysis and Discussion [2 of 3]"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"[Missed Part 8? "},{"attributes":{"bold":true,"link":"https://community.criticalthinking.org/blogPost.php?param=252"},"insert":"Read It Here"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"]"},{"insert":"\n \nWhen teachers approach their subjects philosophically, they make it much easier for students to begin to integrate their thinking across subject matter divisions. In the preceding discussion, for example, the issues considered involved personal experience, psychology, sociology, ethics, culture, and philosophy.\n \nThe issues, philosophically put, made these diverse areas relevant to each other. And just as one might inquire into a variety of issues by first asking a basic philosophical question, so one might proceed in the other direction: first asking a question within a subject area and then, by approaching it philosophically, [exploring] its relationships to other subjects. These kinds of transitions are quite natural and unforced in a philosophical discussion, because all dimensions of human study and experience are indeed related to each other. We would see this if we could set aside the blinders that usually come with conventional discipline-specific instruction. By routinely considering root questions and root ideas philosophically, we naturally pursue those connections freed of these blinders.\n \nAs teachers teaching philosophically, we are continually interested in what the students themselves think on basic matters and issues. We continually encourage students to explore how what they think about X"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"relates to what they think about Y and Z"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":". "},{"insert":"This necessarily requires that students' thought moves back and forth between their own basic ideas and those presented in class by other students, between their own ideas and those expressed in a book, between their thinking and their experiences, between ideas within one domain and those in another.\n \nThis "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"dialogical "},{"insert":"process (moving back and forth between divergent domains and points of view) will sometimes become "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"dialectical "},{"insert":"(some ideas will clash or be inconsistent with others). The act of "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"integrating "},{"insert":"thinking is deeply tied to the act of "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"assessing "},{"insert":"thinking, because, as we consider a diversity of ideas, we discover that many of them contradict each other. Teachers should introduce the critical, analytic vocabulary of English (to be discussed presently) into classroom talk, so that students increasingly learn standards and tools they can use to make their integrative assessments. Skilled use of such terms as 'assumes', 'implies', and 'contradicts' is essential to rational assessment of thinking.\n \nIt would be unrealistic to expect students to suddenly and deeply grasp the roots of their own thinking, or to immediately be able to honestly and fairmindedly assess it – to instantly weed out all beliefs to which they have not consciously assented. In teaching philosophically, one is continually priming the pump, as it were, continually encouraging responsible autonomy of thought, and making progress in degrees across a wide arena of concerns. The key is to continually avoid forcing the student to acquiesce to authoritative answers without understanding them. To the extent that students become submissive in their thinking, they stop thinking for themselves. When they comply tacitly or passively without genuine understanding, they are set back intellectually.\n \nTo cultivate students' impulses to think philosophically, we must continually encourage them to believe that they can figure out where they stand on root issues, that they themselves have something worthwhile to say, and that what they have to say should be given serious consideration by the other students and the teacher.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"A great number of books and resources are now available for those who struggle to find happiness or contentment in the world we humans have crafted. Throughout the past half-century or more, a tremendous mass of literature has been developed to help humans become satisfied and fulfilled. The problems of depression, anxiety, and related emotional states are increasingly in focus through this literature. And yet, with all our knowledge and wisdom, with all our books and guides and videos, and with all the scientific promises, humans are still doing a relatively poor job of alleviating the suffering caused by depression, anxiety, and similar tormenting states of mind. Similarly, we have yet to effectively deal with the irritability, defensiveness, irrational anger, and self-justifying behavior that, though they may not lead to depression or anxiety, keep people from relating intimately with others and developing their innate capacities. And even those who do not experience pervasive negative emotions will yet rarely achieve self-realization or self-actualization, which is the most fulfilling level of thinking and living; this requires achieving the skills and abilities, and embodying the virtues, of the fairminded critical thinker. And it is self-actualized people, unfettered by nagging negative emotions, who can potentially make the greatest contributions to improving human life, as well as our treatment of the earth and its sentient creatures.\n \nTo understand why achieving mental well-being is difficult for you and for many others, you should understand a few things about the human mind itself.\n \nPerhaps first, the human animal is highly complex. Each of us is unique, while we share the following basic tendencies, which are manifest at various times, at varying levels of degree, and within differing circumstances: selfishness, narrowmindedness, groupishness (group selfishness) and group-neediness, reasonability and rationality. Humans are both self-oriented and group-oriented, with the innate need to develop our individual selves while being part of human groups. Our self-orientation has an egocentric dimension, leading us to be frequently selfish and/or intellectually arrogant (trapped within a limited viewpoint). Our need for group contact has a sociocentric dimension, leading us to be frequently groupish (participating in group selfishness) and/or uncritical conformists (going along with a given group without questioning its motives and practices). In short, all human beings have, by their very nature, innate tendencies that cause problems for themselves and others. These tendencies lie at the heart of common mental health problems such as chronic depression, anxiety, discontentment, anger, and irritability. Yet, you can command your egocentric and sociocentric tendencies through the development of your rational capacities. This becomes more clear as you internalize the tools of critical thinking and apply them to your personal and emotional life.\n \nSecond, the human mind is fundamentally linguistic. This means we largely live in the ideas we develop in our minds as we age; we are influenced by all manner of conditioning that influences the ideas we accept or reject. Our ideas are the concepts we have mentally formulated to make sense of the world. Our “accepted” ideas become formed into ideologies, or belief systems, which we then attempt to live in accordance with (and frequently force onto others). However, these ideas, which we naturally believe to be correct and sound, often defy logic, such as how people frequently conceptualize love to mean getting something from another person, or security, or romance. Many of our ideas are distorted due to the many prejudices, stereotypes, delusions, illusions, and other pathologies we are potentially taught by parents, teachers, religions, social groups, clubs, peers, and indeed anyone who has had influence over us, coupled with our innate ability to deceive ourselves into believing what we wish to believe. The human child "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"may"},{"insert":" begin life without pathological ideologies, but all children soak up unsound ideas from those around them (since all children are highly dependent on others for their survival). Children also develop ideas in accord with their unique propensities and personality traits (such as being naturally shy, outgoing, aggressive, inquisitive, etc.). It is these ideas that then guide our actions as we become adults, and it is these ideas you must unearth and begin to examine outside of the groups to which you belong.\n \nFurther, because humans create and maintain copious incompatible belief systems, it can be very difficult to find connection with other humans who share your belief systems to the degree that you want to be associated with them, much less trust them, much less be intimate with any one of them. This is especially true when you attempt to live outside of societies’ pathologies, rather than indiscriminately following the crowd. Most people, having uncritically accepted the belief systems of their cultures and countries, neither question the status quo nor know how to do so. Those that do question societal views, though they may be well meaning, frequently lack the critical insights required to see through and break out of the irrationalities encouraged by human societies.\n \nSome people struggle more than others to accept the rules, institutions, customs, and taboos of their culture. They perceive themselves as not able to assimilate into society without losing their sense of identity. These people, often more insightful than those who mindlessly accept the conventional views and customs, and yet also frequently lacking critical thinking abilities and virtues, may experience mental health problems. They reject the irrational views of society but are not sure what to replace these views with. They correctly perceive the principles of society to be frequently lacking but may not know how to exchange these principles for more worthy principles. Perhaps you are one of these people.\n \nAnother key to your growth, then, is to learn to connect with others in meaningful ways while developing intellectual autonomy and achieving your potential in a sometimes brutal, sometimes fulfilling world. Another is to understand how ideas, or language, guide your reasoning.\n \nCritical Thinking Therapy, detailed in my new book, "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical Thinking Therapy: For Happiness and Self-Actualization"},{"insert":", introduces the broad toolbox of critical thinking to the mental health setting and to individuals seeking more satisfying emotional and intellectual lives. If taken seriously, this book should lead you to deep understandings about yourself and the ideas you use every day, about the world you live in, about the decisions you have made and are making, and about the consequences of those decisions; it will help you understand and face down your own irrationality, connect reasonably with others, and improve everything you desire to, and can, improve about yourself and your life.\n \nYou will need to realize that if you want to improve the quality of your life without looking for problems in your thinking and without facing unpleasant realities you are avoiding, you will inevitably either limit your potential or fail entirely. The only way to achieve your capacities is to face down your demons through disciplined self-scrutiny (but not self-punishment). Only in this way can you identify and transform your faulty assumptions and ideas. This is something your mind will try to avoid. But through routine practice in examining and reworking your thinking, you can take command of your thinking and therefore the quality of your life.\n \nOnce you have committed yourself to the practice of developing your critical thinking abilities as a vehicle toward mental well-being, you should find that you are better at intervening in your thinking with better thinking, and you should find that more satisfying emotions follow from these changes in your thinking. You will become more skilled at unearthing the thinking that guides your actions; you will learn to do so regularly, on an everyday basis, many times a day. This routine practice is required to understand the role of thinking in your life and raise the overall quality of your thoughts, feelings, and desires.\n \n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical Thinking Therapy"},{"insert":" will help you learn skills of deep internal reflection, so that you can better answer questions like:\n\n• What are the most pressing problems I face?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• What can I do to improve my attitude and outlook on life? What can I change about myself or my circumstances so I am happier and more fulfilled?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• How can I fit myself into a society that is frequently superficial or pathological, without losing my identity? What can I contribute to such a world?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• How can I get outside my merry-go-round thinking (like worrying) and create new options for myself?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• What are the barriers to my achieving what I could achieve? How can I reach my potential and become self-actualized?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Am I satisfied with my job/profession? Do I need to pursue a different career path?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Can I continue to live with the people I have been living with?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is something about my work or home life causing me to be mentally unwell? What can I do about my conditions to improve them?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• How can I take the important questions I need to reason through, one by one, and reason through them at the highest level possible?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• What are my real options? What are my best options?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \nTo achieve your potential and experience contentment, you will need to take command of your answers to the questions above. Again, this will require you to actively work to improve your thinking every day.\n \n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical Thinking Therapy"},{"insert":" is for both individuals seeking more enlightening ways of living, and for therapists seeking better theoretical and practical skills for their clients. This book provides therapists with a holistic approach to therapy using the broad range of critical thinking tools. We hope this new approach to therapy will revolutionize mental health perspectives and the tools offered to clients through all forms of mental health therapies.\n---\n \nNote: To our knowledge, Critical Thinking Therapy, as detailed in this book and in all its fullness, has not yet been utilized or studied in therapeutic settings. There are no schools of critical thinking therapy yet. There are no degrees specializing in critical thinking therapy. Therefore, there are no critical thinking therapists we can recommend to you. We hope this changes with this book. I hope to hear from clinicians as they use Critical Thinking Therapy.\n---\n \nThis blog has been excerpted (and modified) from pages xxix - xxxi and xxv of "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical Thinking Therapy: For Happiness and Self-Actualization"},{"insert":", Elder, L. (2025), Treely Green Publishing Co. ("},{"attributes":{"color":"#0563c1","link":"http://www.treelygreenpublishing.com"},"insert":"www.treelygreenpublishing.com"},{"insert":").\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"[Missed Part 7? "},{"attributes":{"bold":true,"link":"https://community.criticalthinking.org/blogPost.php?param=250"},"insert":"Read It Here"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"]"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"bold":true},"insert":"Post-Transcript Analysis and Discussion [1 of 3]"},{"insert":"\n \nSocratic questioning is flexible. The questions asked at any given point will depend on what the students say, what ideas the teacher wants to pursue, and what questions occur to the teacher. Generally, Socratic questions raise basic issues, probe beneath the surface of things, and pursue problematic areas of thought.\n \nThe above discussion could have gone in a number of different directions. For instance, rather than focusing on the mind’s relationship to emotions, the teacher could have pursued the concept ‘mind’ by asking for more examples of its functions, and having students group them. The teacher could have followed up the response of the student who asked, “Does reputation mean that if you have a good reputation you want to keep it just like that?” He might, for instance, have asked the student why he asked that, and asked the other student what they thought of the idea. Such a discussion may have developed into a dialogical exchange about reputation, different degrees of goodness, or reasons for being bad. Or the concept ‘bad people’ could have been pursued and clarified by asking students why the examples they gave were examples of bad people. Students may then have been able to suggest tentative generalizations which could have been tested and probed through further questioning. Instead of exploring the influence of perspective on evaluation, the teacher might have probed the idea, expressed by one student, that no one is “really bad.” The student could have been asked to explain the remark, and other students could have been asked for their responses. In these cases and others, the teacher has a choice between any number of equally thought provoking questions. No one question is the ‘right’ question.\n \nA general discussion such as this lays the foundation for subsequent discussions by raising and briefly covering a variety of interrelated issues. This can be followed up in small group discussions or made the basis of brief writing assignments or integrated into the discussion of literature, history, or other subject areas. Note the variety of questions that were raised in the preceding discussion:\n \n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"1. Is the mind like a machine that operates your body?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"2. How is it influenced by events?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"If something happening around you is sad."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"If you get something you want."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"3. How is it influenced by its own interpretations and meanings?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You get the same toy. One person might like it. The other gets the same toy and he doesn’t like the toy."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"When you start doing stuff and you find that you like some stuff best."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"indent":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"4. How is it shaped by significant persons like parents?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Because you’re always around them and then the way they act, if they think they are good and they want you to act the same way, then they’ll sort of teach you and you’ll do it."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"indent":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"5. How is it shaped by cultural forces like peer groups?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Because you’re around them."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Like, Eskimo kids probably don’t even know what the word ‘jump-rope’ is. American kids know what it is."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"And also we don’t have to dress like them or act like them and they have to know when a storm is coming so they won’t get trapped outside."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"6. Does free will involve more than just inwardly deciding?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You can’t"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":" "},{"insert":"just decide you want to be smart, you have to work for it."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You got to work to be smart just like you got to work to get your allowance."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Sometimes I think I’ve been bad too long and I want to go to school and have a better reputation, but sometimes I feel like just making trouble and who cares."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"7. Are minds sometimes deceived by others or self-deceived?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Like, everyone might think you were good but you might be going on dope or something."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You can’t tell a book by how it’s covered."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The bums, … not really ‘cause they might not look good but you can’t judge them by how they look. They might be really nice and everything."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A lot of them (bad guys) don’t think they’re bad."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"It depends what his mind is like. He might think he is doing good for his family or he might think he is doing bad for the other person"},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Yeah, because you could try to be good. I mean, a lot of people think this one person’s really smart but this other person doesn’t have nice clothes but she tries really hard and people don’t want to be around her."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"8. What are people really like?"},{"insert":" Should you approach anyone as if they were evil?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"None of us are really bad!"},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Really, I don’t know why our people and their people are fighting. Two wrongs don’t make a right."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"They might be shy and just want to be left alone."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"9. Should you think as others think or do your own thinking?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Lots of people go by other people."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You could ask, but I would try to judge myself."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"You could try to meet her and decide whether she was bad or good."},{"attributes":{"indent":1,"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"In the past hundred years or more, the idea of a dystopian world has increasingly taken root. The term dystopian has somewhat different uses, with its core definition referring to the opposite of the ideal (utopian) society. As a developing concept, dystopian thinking generally refers to imagining a human future marked by great suffering, oppression, and injustice. Many people see global warming and failures to sustain the earth’s resources as dystopian, which may lead to a sense of hopelessness. In addition, dystopian thinkers spotlight how in many societies today, information, as well as independence of thought and freedom of thought, are restricted or censored. People are perceived as being under constant surveillance, with little or no rights to privacy (increasingly in accord with George Orwell’s predictions in his book "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"1984"},{"insert":"), and consequently, these people may develop a fear of the outside world. According to dystopian thinking, people are under government control, religious control, bureaucratic control, and/or technological control, with loss of the individual as a consequence. This perspective often leads to a growing view of society as an antagonist against which people must fight or dissent. There is dystopian fiction, dystopian conversation, and private dystopian thinking. You may be influenced by any or all of these.\n\nIt is true that humans are in many ways restricted by societal impositions, by authoritarian or sophistic governments, and by the influences and controls of religion, bureaucracy, and technology. It is true that we live in an era of government and corporate surveillance which appears to be growing worse, with its attendant loss of privacy and dignity. It is also true that neither freedom of thought, freedom of speech, nor the other basic human rights are widespread across human societies.\n\nDespite all these dark realities and their implications, in the end, as a thinker, you have options. Ideally you can accept that humans are imperfect (and, in many ways, absurd), while you yourself attempt to live at the highest level of self-fulfillment possible within societal constraints, and at the same time doing what you can to contribute to a better world. Alternatively, sadly, you can maintain a feeling of hopelessness and recoil into a cloud of depression caused by feelings of impotence. Or, again sadly, you may choose to deal with your dystopian feelings through indifference, apathy, mediocrity, or even violence. \n\nEach of us has the right to find happiness in ways that do not harm others, despite the deficient world in which we live. This cannot be done if we emotionally collapse under dystopian thinking or allow ourselves to become emotionally imbalanced in any other ways, such as through violence.\n\nI do not at all mean to deny or ignore the dystopian features of human cultures and governments. But as aspiring critical thinkers, we can only work to remedy these problems to the extent that we are able, while also working around them to achieve what personal goals we can in our lifetimes in keeping with conscientious values.\n\nConsider: what important implications follow, for you, from harboring a sense of hopelessness? What important implications follow from nurturing a sense of impotence in yourself? What implications come from dwelling on existing dystopian realities and future dystopian possibilities? What can you personally do to change anything at all about human societies? In other words, how can you productively work against dystopian realities? How can you preserve your sense of self and develop your creative talents while living in this very imperfect human world?\n\nIf you fall prey to dystopian thinking, realize how this will likely affect your mental well-being. How can you be other than depressed, anxious or irritable if you constantly think about how sick, ridiculous, and bizarre are people, governments, their beliefs, and their actions? Answered frankly, you cannot. Realize that you are not responsible for making the world a sane place, as much as you may want to, and as clearly as you may see a path to more cultivated ways of living. You are only responsible to do what you can to positively affect any part of life or the earth itself. Beyond that, you have every right to pursue activities that bring you pleasure. You are not required to carry the weight of the world on your back; in any case, you cannot.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"INTERNALIZE THE IDEA: AVOIDING DYSTOPIAN THINKING"},{"insert":"\n\nIf you fall prey to dystopian thinking, write out your answers to these statements:\n\n1. Dystopian thinking affects me in the following ways . . ."},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"2. I get my dystopian ideas from . . ."},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"3. I realize I need to replace dystopian thinking with the following reasoning . . ."},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"4. Therefore, I intend to make the following changes in my life . . ."},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThis blog has been excerpted (and modified) from pages 313-315 of "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical Thinking Therapy: For Happiness and Self-Actualization"},{"insert":", by Linda Elder (2025), Treely Green Publishing Co. (treelygreenpublishing.com).\n\n---\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"DISCLAIMER: Dystopian thinking can lead to deep depression and other enduring negative emotions requiring professional help. The ideas in this blog cannot substitute for professional therapeutic help where it is needed.      "},{"insert":"\n"}]}