Skip to main content

6 Lessons on Thinking Critically

Just finished reading the short book Thinking it through by Martin Salter. The book is very helpful in helping us to think clearly about issues. Here are some very helpful observations I picked up from it:

1. A helpful tool for processing questions is the "six honest serving men": who is the authority; why are they the best person to speak on the question; how do they come to their conclusions; what exactly is the question for consideration; where, geographically and culturally, is the question being discussed; and, when, historically, are we thinking about the question? 

2. The challenge of sound thinking is determining which authority (or combination of authorities) is best placed to inform a particular decision. We all appeal to some authority; the question is whether that's a good call or not. 

3. It is important to recognise the limit of each authority's voice in the discussion if we are to come to an informed and balanced conclusion. This means that we need to devote sufficient care to sifting multiple perspectives in an objective manner.

4. There are six competing authorities that influence our thinking on issues : tradition (forebears); reason (experts); intuition (ourselves); book (religious or otherwise); experience (ourselves or others); and, society at large (majority view).

5. We need to remember that the strength with which we hold any view is no measure of its truthfulness. It is possible to be sincerely wrong. In the same vein, an argument is not discredited merely by the status of the person holding it.  

6. It is not enough for our authority to have knowledge, we also need them to be good. We need an authority who knows all about our problem and the solution, and who can be trusted to be good in telling us that which is most beneficial to us, whether we like it or not (not a Harold Shipman). 

Copyright © Chola Mukanga 2019

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

I am what I am by Gloria Gaynor

Beverly Knight closed the opening ceremony of the Paralympics with what has been dubbed the signature tune of the Paralympics. I had no idea Ms Knight is still in the singing business. And clearly going by the raving reviews she will continue to be around. One media source says her performance was so electric that "there wasn’t a dry eye to be seen as she sang the lyrics to the song and people even watching at home felt the passion in her words" . The song was Gloria Gaynor's I am what I am . Clearly not written by Gloria Gaynor but certainly musically owned and popularized by her. It opens triumphantly: I am what I am / I am my own special creation / So come take a look / Give me the hook or the ovation / It's my world that I want to have a little pride in / My world and it's not a place I have to hide in / Life's not worth a damn till you can say I am what I am The words “I am what I am” echo over ten times in the song. A bold declaration that she

Workers for Your Joy (A Review)

Workers for your Joy (WFYJ) is about what Christ calls leaders in his church to be and do, particularly the teaching office in the church (i.e. pastor or elder).  It presents a biblical vision of leadership by going through the fifteen qualifications of elders listed 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The central question Mathis is basically asking is – how should we pastor or lead the church in light of these qualifications? The target audience of the book seems to be those who are in the early stages of pastoral ministry. The book was part of the seminary syllabus at Bethlehem. However, the author does explicitly state that the book is also meant to be of use to church members in considering what Christ expects of leadership in the local church.   Mathis has written this book because he believes leadership has fallen on hard times. The church in the west and the society around us has become increasingly discontent with being led due to the high-profile cases that have sprung about leadership.

The Price of Obedience

If we obey God it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the sting comes in. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything, it is a delight, but it costs those who do not love Him a good deal. If we obey God it will mean that other people’s plans are upset, and they will gibe us with it—“You call this Christianity?” We can prevent the suffering; but if we are going to obey God, we must not prevent it, we must let the cost be. - OSWALD CHAMBERS This is by far the hardest thing we are likely to struggle with as we seek to live lives that are totally surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ. What if obeying God meant that your family members lost a well-known or well-loved circle of acquaintances? Had to move to a smaller house? Drove uglier cars? Wore older clothes? Lived by a weekly rather monthly budget?Accepting this part of obeying God is especially difficult for men or women who are the breadwinners for their families. The c