The Western Institute of Remote Viewing
Critical Thinking
VERY, VERY ROUGH DRAFT - unfinished !!
Pseudo critical thinking and pseudo skeptics
Beware of pseudo critical thinking, pseudo skeptics.
Beware of “skepticults”.
Beware of “paradigm police”
Beware of "true believers" and "know it alls" of all
kinds
Beware of Dogma in both the remote viewing community
and the established scientific community.
Beware of the "One true technique. One true model" tendency in
remote viewing and in established science.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers are often very gullible
to their own skepticism. They can become “true believers” of their
own dogma.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers do a lot of intellectual
posturing for peer approval. They are more interested in being right,
than in discovering truth. They are more interested in always “sharpening the
knife” but rarely focus on cutting any thing of substance.
The pseudo critical thinker tends to mistakenly let the intellect perform the functions of the heart in response to seeing how others mistakenly let the heart perform the functions of the intellect. What is of substance and worthwhile must be determined by both the heart (intuition, feelings etc.) and the intellect. Clear undistorted thoughts cannot exist without a clear undistorted heart.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers are usually only dimly aware of how their thoughts and views are being influenced by their emotional processes and past emotional experiences.
One cannot claim to be a critical thinker until one has become directly familiar with his unconscious processing and defenses (e.g. projection, introjection, retroflection, denial, blind spots automatic thoughts, “group think”, “tribe think” etc. )
For pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers: “Extraordinary denial requires extraordinary proof”.
Three major defenses of the pseudo skeptic are “categorize and dismiss” , “take a position and defend it”, "Classify something as too vague and cease to pursue it for further clarification when it clarification is not easily provided."
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers rarely look deeply and aggressively for the truth that runs counter to their beliefs; they tend to let others bring the proof to them, predigested; They tend look for the truth in a certain form, rather than find the truth in whatever form it takes, even if it embarrassing to them or unusual, or requires considerable "translation". They won't take truth in a certain form and then turn that truth into a form more acceptable to them. They are unaware of how their unconscious preconceptions block them. because they are overly focused on the preconceptions of others, or on trying to make reality fit their more "objective" model of logic and thinking.
For example, pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers will say something
is “too general” and dismiss it, and will rarely make their own
effort to see if it can be made more specific, out of their own passion
for truth. They quickly latch on to more simple, less embarrassing alternative
explanations in an “either or” fashion.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers have difficulty tolerating uncertainly,
and cling to the certainty of their beliefs, even when they believe in uncertainty
True critical thinkers can feel comfortable in the world of the vague and uncertain and can allow clarity to form out of the "fertile void". The logical world of "figuring it out" can only function without distortion when it is in balance with activity in the other world.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers cling to the paradigm they and their peers have accepted. They respond to peer pressure to “stay in the box”. They focus on what gets grant money.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers are more likely to start with a conclusion or presumption. - this may be unconscious
For the pseudo skeptic, it is more important for one to think consistently with his imagined peers than maintain the brutal honestly, “not knowingness” and mental clarity of true critical thinking.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers tend to be much more knowledge based than awareness based
Critical thinking as dogma, and not as discovery is in not critical thinking,
no matter how hard one tries to use the rules of logic etc.
Consider that clear thinking existed prior to the formulation of the rules
and axioms of critical thinking.
In true critical thinking real time process of thought
is as important as content of thought; for example,
thoughts from a crowded overloaded mind cannot form clearly, and hence are subject
to many kind of distortions, even though the thoughts are perceived as
imminently logical
A person with distorted thoughts is like a person who “can't
see the flies in his eyes because of the flies in his eyes”; corrective feedback
can thereby be short circuited
A true skeptic and critical thinker is able to question absolutely
everything including his own questioning. This requires awareness much more
than knowledge. He can tolerate uncertainty
A true skeptic and critical thinker tends to starts and end in a place
and consciousness of “not knowing”.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers are good at solving problems
but poor in selecting which problems are to be solved.
Pseudo skeptics and pseudo critical thinkers begin with: I know better, let's look at the accepted evidence,
Consider that thinking makes a good servant but a poor master.
True Critical thinking:
"My logic, conclusions are part of my total experience in my flow
of consciousness. "
"My experience is my starting point "
I will first look at something for myself and
not according to any authority, external or introjected
Pseudo critical thinking:
"This is too general to be meaningful "
More to be Added later!! Comments welcome.
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