AD stress critical thinking

Do you believe my dreams predict the future?

You probably recognized that I am being very selective in the evidence I offer to support my conclusion. I have referred to only two examples where my dreams seem to predict the future. But what about dreams that did not come true?

This simple example reveals at least three of the obstacles to critical thinking that we will explore in this module. 1) When I only look for evidence that confirms my pre-determined beliefs, I am engaging in motivated reasoning. 2) When I cite only the evidence that confirms my conclusion, we call this confirmation bias; 3) when I engage in confirmation bias, I am also ignoring contrary evidence.

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Remember our definition of critical thinking

Remember: critical thinking is the systematic evaluation and formulation of beliefs, or statements (claims), by rational standards. We have said the goal of critical thinking is to help us become more effective in determining when it is reasonable to accept a claim as true, reject as false, or suspend judgment.

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Evidence

For critical thinkers seeking to determine whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment about a claim, the single most important consideration is evidence, which is “something that makes a statement more likely to be true.” (from textbook) Evidence comes in many forms, including eye-witness accounts, documents, recordings, information, numerical data, experimental studies. Regardless of the form it takes, evidence is open for evaluation and verification by others.

Critical thinkers seek to accept, reject, or suspend judgment based on the evidence. If we don’t look at evidence what will rely upon? Bias? Prejudice? What feels right? Emotions? Rumor? Innuendo? Wishful thinking?

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Obstacles to Critical Thinking

This module/chapter warns us of the many ways we (certainly including me) either ignore or distort evidence.

Please note the difference between ignoring and distorting evidence. 1) Sometimes we simply ignore evidence: we believe what we want to believe simply because we want to believe it without any evidence, but other times 2) we may point to abundant evidence, but we distort it by an unfair, biased point of view.

Learning about these obstacles should help you identify them in your own thinking as well as in others and not be duped by them.

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Motivated Reasoning; Confirmation bias; ignoring contrary evidence

The source of many of our ways of ignoring or distorting evidence is motivated reasoning: reasoning that seeks only to confirm a predetermined conclusion.

When a District Attorney withholds exculpatory evidence about an accused person or when doctors ignore evidence contrary to their diagnosis, they are falling prey to motivated reasoning. How about you? When have you fallen prey to motivated reasoning?

Critical thinkers examine evidence that confirms and contradicts a conclusion before accepting that conclusion. It is difficult for us to seek evidence that contradicts my conclusions; critical thinking requires moral courage.

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Obstacles from Self-Interests

Some obstacles to critical thinking arise from self-interested thinking. There is nothing unreasonable about looking out for your self-interests, but what happens when self-interest is the ONLY thing you care about? The outcome is that you will distort evidence to serve your interests and ignore and dismiss evidence that does not conform to what you wish it to be.

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Obstacles from one’s group

Loyalty to one’s group can be an admirable quality unless it becomes a motive for distorting evidence to conform to what your group believes or to ignore or dismiss contrary evidence.

If you are so convinced that people from your family, region, nation, or culture are superior to all others, then you are likely to distort, ignore or distort evidence contrary to those pre-conceived beliefs.

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Social Media & False Consensus

Distorting, ignoring, or dismissing contrary evidence based on group loyalty is a special risk in a culture saturated by social media.

If you only pay attention to those who already share your beliefs, then you can be subject to the illusion of “false consensus,” that a particular belief or claim has much more widespread acceptance than is actually the case.

A statement that begins with something like “Everyody knows,: “it’s a well-know fact,” very likely expresses such a false consensus.

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Social Media: Mere Exposure Effect

We fall victim to the mere exposure effect when we hear a claim repeated so many times that we come to believe it is true. People have fallen prey to the mere exposure effect for as long as humans have been on earth, but social media greatly enhances our ability to repeat and transmit claims – true and false – many times, the risk of the mere explosure effect is increased.

If a hurricane strikes the coast of North Carolina, you will no doubt hear information about the hurricane from many different sources – in this case, mere exposure does not lead you astray – but you have confirmation from various sources and you can actually go to the coast and see for yourself that the claims.

Remember: the fact that a claim is repeated many, many timed does NOT make it true.

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Philosophical Obstacles

Some obstacles to critical thinking come from philosophical-sounding points of view.

Subjective relativism - This view holds that truth is always relative to the individual –what may be true for you is not true for me. Of course, we all have different tastes in food, music, clothing; “Pepperoni pizza is the best food in the world,” may be true for me but not for you. However, “Copying information from Wikipedia and claiming it as your own,” is not one that we could reasonably say that may be true for me, but not for you. The inherent risk of subjective relativism is that if we presume truth is simply what we each want it to be, then we will look only for evidence that confirms what we already believe and we will talk and listen to only those who already agree with us.

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Philosophical Obstacles

Some obstacles to critical thinking come from philosophical-sounding points of view.

Social relativism – This view holds that truth is always relative to a specific group or society. Of course, some actions considered “good manners” in one culture may be frowned upon in another culture. Indeed, different societies have different traditions that we should respect. Yet, to say that truth is only what a particular group says is true undermines the examination of evidence and reasons to support claims, statements, and beliefs.

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Philosophical Obstacles

Some obstacles to critical thinking come from philosophical-sounding points of view.

Philosophical Skepticism – holds that it is impossible to gain any knowledge. Later in this semester, we will discuss the importance of taking an attitude of “reasonable skepticism” regarding news, advertising, and social media. But philosophical skepticism in its extreme form denies that it is possible to know anything. Such a perspective dismisses evidence as important or relevant to seeking truth of knowledge.

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Obstacles to Critical Thinking

Chapter 2 will introduce you to more examples of these obstacles to critical thinking. What all of them share in common is the tendency to distort, ignore, or dismiss evidence.

If we persist in looking only at the evidence that supports what we already believe, or if we insist on ignoring evidence that contradicts what we already believe, or if we dismiss evidence as irrelevant to discovering truth and knowledge, then we will never become effective critical thinkers.

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These three philosophical obstacles are “self-defeating”

A theory is “self-defeating” if it is like the man sawing off the limb on which he is sitting. The limb will fall, but so will he.

If truth is totally subjective (subjective relativism) or relative to one’s society (social relativism) or impossible to know (philosophical skepticism), how would you ever prove the theory correct? If I say truth is entirely subjective and you say it is not, on what basis could I disagree with yousince I have already agreed that your truth and my truth may be different?

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