Critical Thinking

[rreiter]

To me, critical thinking is looking at any situation, question, or dilemma and using all given information to assess before making up your mind or acting.  It involves understanding a situation by looking at all possible courses of actions and evaluating the potential outcomes or consequences of those actions.  We all have beliefs about what is right, wrong, accurate, or incorrect.  Some of these things are considered to be universal and thus do not receive very much thought at all, let alone critical thinking.  But I think critical thinking applies to any decision in which the correct answer is not so obvious.  It's an intellectual exercise in questioning and decision making.

I view Barack Obama as a famous person that has applied critical thinking many times in his presidency.  Whether or not you agree with his stance on certain issues, I think his style of decision-making in a lot of instances involve a level of thoughtfulness that is not always seen in politics, and that is impressive considering how many times he has maintained firm in his convictions.  I think that there are many times in policy-making that the policy maker acts more out of heart than out of critical thought, or they act out of what they believe to be the most politically popular decision.  I think it's happened in history, but I have seen many decisions made by President Obama that have shown a lot of careful consideration of outcomes.  It hasn't happened with every decision he has made, but he is the best example of a critical thinker that comes to my mind.

[Laura Traynor]

Hi Rob - thanks for your thoughtful response. I agree with the approach you suggest. Curious as to whether you could share an example or two of President Obama's critical thinking. As I was reading this, I was reminded of his steadfast approach to situation in Syria. What do you think accounts for his ability to remain steadfast despite the opposition?

[rreiter]

His approach to the Syrian civil war is an excellent example. He was criticized for not taking the lead and invading the country, but I really think he thought out all of the consequences of every type of military before making a decision. I think that his political opponents were more quick to criticize than offer an alternative.

I also look at Obama's bailout of the auto industry in 2009 as another critically thought through decision that weighed all effects and consequences. He ultimately chose what was, at the time, a very politically unpopular decision. It turned out to be a good decision.

[kwashburn]

As I mentioned in my post I was going to choose Barack Obama but then I read your post and I wanted to come up with someone different. In my post I mentioned that any of our Presidents would be famous critical thinkers, but I think you bring up a good point Robert. Not all out political figures use good critical thinking at least not all the time. Many do act out of what they believe or what's popular to get people on their side. This is not just true for political figures but for all people, even people like us. It's a good discussion and I think as leaders it's important that we try to recognize when we are doing this. Thanks for making me think more critically about this Robert!