On Sun, Nov 17, 2013 at 09:12:07AM -0500, Alexandre Couture wrote: > ... >For people who think that they are thinkers, first of all, >you cannot say yourself that you are a thinker. Actually, you can, if you have sufficient understanding of thinking and consciousness, and if you can observe and think about your own mind and its functioning. Here's my summary of the process: Critical Thinking 1 Hold your own mind and thinking processes as objects of your thinking. Gurdjieff called this "self-observation". 2 Realize that what you think is true is actually a _model_ of reality, which may be inaccurate in many ways. 3 Realize that you can _change_ that model to make it more accurate. 4 Access all the sources of information that you can find. This is essential because many sources are full of untruths (some of which may be self-serving). 5 Understand and apply the Principle of Non-Contradiction: An assertion and its negative cannot both be true. 6 Compare the information in the sources you access with your current model of reality, and use the Principle of Non-Contradiction to determine the truth and falsehood of the information in those sources and in your current model. 7 Update your model of reality so it contains the most accurate information you've found in the comparisons. 8 Goto step 1. There are more versions here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_thinking >Second, if you were a thinker, you would not talk or write >to someone in such rude, hostile and unrespectful ways. I began by saying, "My preference is just the opposite." Not my "demands", or "the truth". I don't think I was "rude", etc. >Are you a misfit? Some have said so. I tell the truth as clearly as I can, which sometimes gets me chased out of nine villages. 8^) >How can you talk to other humans beings while keeping some >mutual trust and good relations? By avoiding expressions of personal hostility, by using basic politeness where it doesn't compromise the truth, and by talking about ideas, not people (unless the ideas _involve_ people). "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people." -- Eleanor Roosevelt Mark