Note on Critical Thinking:
why we need sophisticated skepticism
The first step on the road to critical thinking is like the first step on the road to recovery from addiction: you need to admit you have a problem. When thinking we all have the same problem to some degree, and all of us can improve, but mitigation takes cognitive effort and therefore energy. Our brains have built-in biases (aka heuristics) that lead us to draw conclusions quickly, often in the absence of valid evidence. Humans so dislike uncertainty and ambiguity that we will unwittingly replace either with nonsense. Pscyhologists call that phenomenon fabulation. AI does it too, sometimes. We crave a coherent world view the way addicts crave drugs, and for the same reason. Our minds operate almost entirely outside consciousness. The brain's goal is homeostasis. Our default way of thinking is therefore fast, satisfying, and inaccurate because if it weren't we would have to live with uncertainty and ambiguity. Default thinking is reinforced by school, or it was when I was kid, becasue it rewards speed -- the opposite of smart is slow -- and promotes the false idea that there are just two kinds of answers, right and wrong. Even the more open-minded teachers will cling to a better and worse kind of right. When certainty is the goal, the result is uncritical thinking.
Wiki has a list of cognitive biases worth reading. The greatest impediments to critical thinking, I think, are naive realism, confirmation bias, dread of cognitive dissonance
Chat-GPT: "Cognitive dissonance refers to the psychological discomfort or tension that arises when an individual holds contradictory beliefs, attitudes, or values, or when their behavior conflicts with their beliefs. This theory was developed by psychologist Leon Festinger in 1957. People tend to seek consistency in their thoughts, feelings, and actions, so when inconsistency arises, it can lead to discomfort and a desire to resolve the inconsistency.
To reduce cognitive dissonance, individuals might change their beliefs, justify their actions, or seek out information that supports their existing beliefs. This concept has been widely studied in psychology and has applications in various fields, including marketing, persuasion, decision-making, and understanding human behavior.
In essence, cognitive dissonance is the discomfort that arises from holding conflicting ideas or beliefs, and individuals often strive to restore harmony within their cognitive framework."
and a preference for the illusion of coherence. If you want a robust discussion of cognitive biases and cognition, read Thinking Fast and Slow.
Naieve Realism
Believing that you see the world as it is, unfiltered by culture or context or perspective. Naieve Realism leads people to think they don't need to think. Often a person who thinks they see the world as it actually is will think that anyone who sees it differently must therefore be broken or corrupt or crazy or lying.
Confirmation Bias
People believe what they want to believe and will see confirmation of that belief everywhere they look. Add cognitive dissonance to this and you have a person who rejects all counter-evidence and malign the person or source presenting it. These people cannot be persuaded, even for their own good.
The Illusion of Coherence
Our impulse to simplify data, experience, and interpretation leads us to think we know more than we do about what is going on around us, while our dislike of uncertainty reinforces our committment to insights that aren't real. The world is meaningless and far more events are random than we want to believe.
The Mysterian Position
If you want to reject the idea that we are driven by our brain operating outside consciousness, no free will!, read Strangers to Oursleves before you do. The mysterian position is only an untestable hypothesis (I think), but it goes a long way towards explaining why we do things we don't understand and have knack for mistaking rationalization for reason when asked to explain our actions. It also lets us reject lack of will power as the cause of addiction.
Sophisticated Skepticism
So if our brains operate us outside of consciousness, then how can we possibly think rationally? Well, critical thinking is different from rationality and it's goal isn't certainty but exhaustion followed by a momentary suspension of disbelief. If you want to be persuasive, you have to know what all of the possible sides to a story are and you have to treat all with equal credulity and then and only then can you select the one you think you can sell to the people who you need to buy it. When you start selling, hide all suspicion of doubt (unless your audience is academics) and express yourself with stark contrasts and vivid simplifications. Think before you speak, not while.