In order to think intelligently, one must know the facts. Without accurate facts, you cannot form accurate conclusions, and therefore can't think critically. Knowing the Facts is the first and most crucial step to the critical thinking..
We are all ignorant. We are all in the cave. We all do not know and are incapable of knowing EVERYTHING about a given topic, as shown in the story of Socrates and the Oracle of Delphi. There is an important distinction between ignorance and culpable ignorance. To make this distinction, the book gives this example:A doctor does not know everything about medicine. He is ignorant. You do not know everything about medicine either, yet the doctor is far less ignorant than you. If the doctor operates on a patient, he is NOT guilty of culpable ignorance. If you operate on a patient, you ARE guilty of culpable ignorance. You performed an action that you knew you were unprepared and unqualified to do.
Part of knowing the facts is informing your conscience A person, under no circumstances, should ever act against his/her conscience. It is important, however, that you keep your conscience informed. This means learning the facts. As Catholics, we are to read encyclicals (official letters written by the Pope and other Church documents) to inform our consciences. Here is an example of an encyclical: Humanae Vitae written by Pope John Paul II.
The principle of contradiction, according to Aristotle, is that something cannot be and not-be at the same time. The Earth cannot be flat and round at the same time, it is either one or the other. It cannot be raining and not raining at the same time in the same place. Jesus either rose from the dead or He didn't. All logic assumes the principle of Contradiction. The three fundamental principles of logic are as follows:
Principle of Identity: A=A : A duck is a duck
Principle of Excluded Middle: Either A or not-A : A bird is either a duck or it is not a duck
Principle of Contradiction: not both A and not-A : A bird cannot be a Duck and not a duck at the same time
The validity of a person's arguments depends on how well one defines his/her terms. If you use language that you do not fully understand, you are expressing an uninformed opinion. Likewise, you may know the facts and have an informed opinion, yet the words you choose do not properly explain your thoughts. This can mean using vague terms that can take on several meanings, or words that have many varying connotations. To better explain this concept, here are a few examples.
"I have not yet heard a decent argument against miracles being divine in nature"
Miracles are divine in nature by definition, therefore this statement does not make sense.
"So profound has Jesus' influence been that a branch of Catholicism, called Christianity, or the study of Christ, has been named in his honor"
Catholicism is a branch of Christianity, not the other way around as in this example. Also, Christology, not Christianity, is the study of Christ.
The most foolish mistake you can make is to be arrogant. It is inevitable that we will all, if we have not already, believe we know something and then have someone else prove that we were wrong. In these cases, it is best to be humble and admit your mistake rather than blindly dismiss all other perspectives and trust only in your own. Here is an example to illustrate this:
"I cannot believe that the sky is blue."
This may seem like a ridiculous example, but it gets the idea across. How foolish does someone look to dispute a fact as obvious and proven as the color of the sky?
It is easy to become trapped in a single view of a topic. Yet there is often more than one way to look at an issue. Part of critical thinking is to be open to many possibilities and perspectives. It is also easy to lean toward a negative interpretation. In thinking critically, it is important to keep other views in mind so that you may more fully understand an issue and come a step closer to truth. Here are a few examples of short-sighted views:
"It is hard to believe in God when there is so much evil in the world."
Yes, there is much evil in the world, but doesn't the goodness in the world support the existence of God as well?
"The Catholic faith is so weird it is hard to believe. Couldn't someone just have made it all up?"
The teachings of the Church may seem strange and hard to believe, but if someone made them up, wouldn't they try to make it easier so that more people would believe them and follow them?
(This next example is by far my favorite)
"If God loves us so much, why not open up the sky, come down to Earth, wave his arms around, and say, 'Hey look, Here I am!'"
Some would say he did.