Using Critical Thinking in Philosophy: The Process
Philosophy requires and greatly values critical thought. It is the capacity for a person to reason logically, methodically, and persuasively. Critical thinking is also impartial, unpretentious, and objective when taking philosophical debate into account. A philosopher must apply critical thinking in order to appropriately address any of life’s many concerns.
The basic goal of critical thinking is to guarantee that individual biases and egocentrism get minimal credit for explaining the human moral experience on a global scale. It is sensible to think critically. Both scientists and philosophers rank human reason as being much superior to that of any other creature on the globe. Every philosopher believes that a sane person may act reasonably in every circumstance that comes their way. However, there is disagreement about the overall path that human reason should lead a person in, which establishes the final goal of critical thinking. A person should be justified in acting in a way that does not jeopardize either their own or another person’s human dignity. Therefore, critical thinking would be focused on the preservation, improvement, and protection of the average person, including themselves.
The greatest mathematicians, astrologers, physicists, biologists, and philosophers have all endeavored to explain the cosmos and life itself in terms of a specific order. Many intriguing and essential issues in philosophy first seem to have no answers. Therefore, the philosopher should ponder: “Where am I meant to start the process of critical thinking? “Well, the author contends that every person has a beginning, a formative period during which they first learned morals and values. As a result, the very beginning or the earliest eras of thought should be considered in the systematic thinking of philosophical topics. The critical thinker should utilize this time as a point of reference so that they may recognize any inherent biases and correct them.
Therefore, the critical thinker is a methodical thinker who does not ignore past, present, and predictable future occurrences. The best technique to determine the validity and worth of any conclusion reached via critical thinking is to use justification. A critical thinker has to defend or support their conclusions. What rationale remains, then? First and foremost, justification starts with oneself. Many of the things we do have apparent (but not always true) motivations as well as auxiliary ones. A guy makes two different requests for a dish of food. On one occasion, he says that he asks for food because he is hungry. The individual mistakenly provided two different arguments. The philosophical defense makes the same assumption as the man’s dynamic. As a result, a philosopher has to be careful with the many arguments he offers when engaging in critical thinking. Acceptable defenses are those that hold up in various circumstances or when seen in a different light than the critical thinker was previously in. Biases should seldom, if ever, be used in critical thinking. Biased thinking probably never provides answers to one’s own philosophical problems, much less those of others. This claim demonstrates that morality is a universal experience that transcends personal preferences.
Furthermore, critical thinking does not presuppose any understanding of the self or other individuals and does not take anything for granted. Before adopting any claim of truth into a subsequent philosophical argument, a critical thinker must carefully evaluate it. According to Jean-Paul Sauter, a person views the world more objectively the more subjective they are (Sartre, 1947). Subjectivism should be guided by an objective perspective into the universal moral experience that all people share. Paulo Coelho said that education ought to work to bring people closer to one another rather than to drive them apart. As a result, the subjective critical reason should be prudent, thoughtful, and impartial. Individual biases are only one of the numerous factors that demand cautious and acute attention while exercising critical thinking. Furthermore, critical thinking must be logical, methodical, and reasonable. Therefore, to assure accurate discussion of philosophical issues, a philosopher should develop his or her mind via careful assessment of facts, emotions, and ideas.
