BACON’S IMPEDIMENT TO CRITICAL THINKING

Introduction

Critical thinking does not happen in a vacuum but in an “environment” that’s often hostile to it. it takes place in the real world in the minds of real people who almost always have thoughts and feelings and experiences that, given half a chance, would sabotage critical reasoning at every turn. The sparkling palace of our mind is grand— except for the demons chained in the basement.

Recall our definition of critical thinking: The systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs, or statements, by rational standards. This means, of course, that several factors must be present for the process of critical thinking to be fully realized. If the process fails to be systematic, or falls short of being a true evaluation or formulation, or ignores rational standards, critical thinking can’t happen. Because we are fallible, there are a thousand ways that this failure of reason could come about. And there is no cure for our fallibility.

We should expect then that thinking critically will often be difficult and even unpleasant (as painful truths sometimes are), and indeed it is. But there are ways to (1) detect errors in our thinking (even subtle ones), (2) restrain the attitudes and feelings that can distort our reasoning, and (3) achieve a level of objectivity that makes critical thinking possible.

Doing all this and doing it consistently requires awareness, practice, and motivation. If we are to think critically, we must be aware of not only what good critical thinking involves but also what sloppy thinking entails. Then we must practice avoiding the pitfalls and using the skills and techniques that critical thinking requires. And we must be motivated to do all of this, for it is unlikely that we will use critical thinking very much if we can’t appreciate its value and therefore have little motivation to make the extra effort.

We can sort the most common impediments to critical thinking into two main categories: (1) those hindrances that arise because of how we think and (2) those that occur because of what we think. There is some overlap in these categories; how people think is often a result of what they think and vice versa. But in general, category 1 obstacles are those that come into play because of psychological factors (our fears, attitudes, motivations, and desires), and category 2 impediments are those that arise because of certain philosophical ideas we have (our beliefs about beliefs). For example, a category 1 hindrance is the tendency to conform our opinions to those of our peers. This conformism often grows out of some psychological need that is part of our personality. A common category 2 problem is the belief that objectivity in thinking is impossible or that we really don’t know anything or that we don’t know what we think we know.