I have a Twitter search set up to alert me anytime someone says “critical thinking” or “critical thinker.” Do you know how those terms are used most often on social media? It looks something like this:
“Oh, you’re a Republican? Then you’re not a critical thinker” (and you can replace the word Republican with any descriptive term such as Christian, Athiest, Democrat, Californian, Mizzou fan, Sales person, Celebrity,dog owner, Pepsi drinker, etc).
I can’t tell you how many times a day I see people respond to an opposing opinion with “you disagree? Then you’re not a critical thinker.” It is absolutely one of my pet peeves. Just because someone does not think like you does NOT mean they are not a critical thinker.
Here’s the thing…true critical thinkers would never respond to a counter-argument with that kind of statement. They would discuss the other person’s logical fallacies, reliance on opinion, assumptions, emotions, biases, etc, but never choose to insult the other person and shut down the conversation like that.
A true critical thinker would not try to imply superiority by saying they’re a critical thinker, they would show it through engagement and continued dialogue. Similarly, a truly intelligent person doesn’t tell you that their I.Q. score is higher than yours to confirm that they are right, they seek out facts to establish the truth.
Next time you see someone use “…then you’re not a critical thinker” in an argument, please feel free to send them this post and let me debate the topic with them.
How would you respond to someone who shuts down a discussion with this kind of insult?
Editor’s Note: Breanne Harris is the Solutions Architect for Pearson TalentLens. She works with customers to design selection and development plans that incorporate critical thinking assessments and training. She has a Master’s degree in Organizational Psychology and has experience in recruiting, training, and HR consulting. She is the chief blogger for Critical Thinkers and occasionally posts at ThinkWatson. Connect with her on LinkedIn and Twitter for more of her thoughts.
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Love it! This is so on the money.
“A true critical thinker would not try to imply superiority by saying they’re a critical thinker, they would show it through engagement and continued dialogue. Similarly, a truly intelligent person doesn’t tell you that their I.Q. score is higher than yours to confirm that they are right, they seek out facts to establish the truth”
What do I do~ I usually start with some questions about their assumptions…then as they walk off I think~ oh, life must be crap for them at the mo, I am grateful for the lesson in patience and that my life is not extrinsically motivated like that.
This is very much related to what analytical philosophers call the “principle of reciprocity” as I discuss here. This principle states that we should respect the reasonableness and the goodwill of those with whom we disagree, and to treat them with civility, even if we judge their opinions to be unreasonable and/or their views to be unjust or immoral. Those who abide by this principle usually prove to be good critical thinkers; those who routinely violate this principle out themselves as poor ones.
[...] Breanne Harris: I have a Twitter search set up to alert me anytime someone says “critical thinking” or [...]