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The philosophers who started philosophy in ancient Greece (5th century BC), also spent some time thinking about thinking itself. These early ideas create the field of logic as the boundary of philosophical thinking: Thinking alone is the method of philosophy. The history of philosophy in the last 2500 years unfolds as a result of applying this method, and as a reflection on these boundaries. Logic separates from mathematics; both disciplines demonstrate the power of human thought.
"First, that nothing can become greater or less, either in number or magnitude, while remaining equal to itself ... Secondly, that without addition or subtraction there is no increase or diminution of anything, but only equality ... Thirdly, that what was not before cannot be afterwards, without becoming and having become. — Plato, Theaetetus, 155[5]."
The Enlightenment movement started with Kant's question What is Enlightenment? to which he answered that it is man’s emergence from his self-imposed ignorance: "Sapere Aude - Have the courage to think for yourself."
This is, however not an easy proposition. The German philosopher Heidegger wrote in 1954: “We come to know what it means to think when we ourselves try to think. If the attempt is to be successful, we must be ready to learn thinking. As soon as we allow ourselves to become involved in such learning, we have admitted that we are not yet capable of thinking."
The Process of Thinking
The Process of Thinking
Critical thinking is careful thinking directed to a goal. In a wide sense, it is problem-solving.
This requires a simplified scientific approach: make a model based on accurate observations, develop a hypothesis, and test your assumptions,
When we look at studies of how people actually think, we find many ways in which thinking goes wrong. The results of these studies are devastating for the idea that the human being is a creature of rationality .
The actual thinking process is riddled with biases and fallacies, which is obviously not good for us humans.
One way to sort this out and create a practical model of the human thought process is to distinguish between two sub-systems of the human mind:
System 1
System 1
System 1 is subconscious. It is fast, makes intuitive decisions, automates reactions and pattern recognition, but operates with biases and stereotypes.
It is associative, works automatically and quickly, requires little or no effort and does not need a sense of voluntary control.
System 2
System 2
This is your conscious controller. It allocates attention to the mental activities that require effort, including complex computations. System 2 can also be associated with the subjective experience of agency, choice, and concentration.
System 2 has only a limited capacity to hold information and process it. (3 to 5 pieces of information at the same time.)
System 2 limitations make thinking and problem-solving a very difficult task for us.
Question to consider:
Question to consider:
What is the relationship between the two systems - Is there conflict or cooperation?
Do these systems operate simultaneously, or sequentially? How could this be tested?
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