Negative Thinking is NOT Critical Thinking

[coberst]

Negative Thinking is NOT Critical Thinking

Negative thinking often displays itself in ad hominem attacks. Often a forum has one or more individuals who have grown to think of themselves as the local ‘shaman’; these individuals try all kinds of ways to reject others who they fear will take away some of their ‘power’, so they use all forms of negative attacks to reject that new person.

I have seen instances of individuals who are very anti-intellectual devise means for rejecting any form of ideas that appear to be intellectual.

Ideologues are always fighting against other ideologues and they use every means to reject non-conforming ideas. I see that especially in anti-theism ideologues. I had one instance of an individual rejecting the works of Becker because Becker uses the word "faith", such a word was like the appearance of a snake under the bed.

We are indoctrinated in our ideologies and we are constantly fighting either for ours or against another, this leads to various techniques to throw off any invading new ideas. Also I am convinced that our schools and colleges have made people unconsciously fearful of any serious concepts that have not been introduced to them by a teacher. Self-learning is unconsciously an alien concept.

[NiteGuy]

Negative Thinking is NOT Critical Thinking

Negative thinking often displays itself in ad hominem attacks. Often a forum has one or more individuals who have grown to think of themselves as the local ‘shaman’; these individuals try all kinds of ways to reject others who they fear will take away some of their ‘power’, so they use all forms of negative attacks to reject that new person.

I have seen instances of individuals who are very anti-intellectual devise means for rejecting any form of ideas that appear to be intellectual.

Ideologues are always fighting against other ideologues and they use every means to reject non-conforming ideas. I see that especially in anti-theism ideologues. I had one instance of an individual rejecting the works of Becker because Becker uses the word "faith", such a word was like the appearance of a snake under the bed.

We are indoctrinated in our ideologies and we are constantly fighting either for ours or against another, this leads to various techniques to throw off any invading new ideas. Also I am convinced that our schools and colleges have made people unconsciously fearful of any serious concepts that have not been introduced to them by a teacher. Self-learning is unconsciously an alien concept.

It's not that I disagree with your basic premise, coberst, but, well, I disagree with your basic premise.

Negative thinking can be critical thinking, but only if those so-called negative conclusions are arrived at in an honest fashion.

You are right of course, in that far too many of us don't do the hard work needed to come to those conclusions in an honest manner. We don't necessarily understand why we think the way we do, we just think that way.

And we allow not just teachers, or religious "leaders" or the media, or any number of other folks to "inform" us and therefor help "form" our opinions on any given issue.

Many of us begin to seek out only those leaders and media sources that reinforce those opinions we agree with, and allow those so-called leaders to engage in the short-hand of simplistic words and sound bites to push our buttons.

Self learning isn't necessarily an alien concept, but it certainly does seem to be a dying art for most of us.

[coberst]

NiteGuy

Well said!