Is it logical and reasonable? We often ask this question. We use these two words, logical and reasonable, frequently and we need them in our repertoire of words. But have we stopped to understand the place logic and reason hold in our thinking, and the place they hold in the thinking of our culture? Is thinking logically the same as straight thinking? What would you say?
Is thinking logically essential to the truth?
Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, and English contain the words logic and reason in the form of cognates, and maybe many other languages do, too. A science has been built around their use that seeks to provide a structure for valid thinking and reasoning. Logical thinking is commonly recognized as essential to clear understanding when accurately sharing our thoughts.
Does thinking logically guarantee truthful statements?
Notice something: Logic and reason are limited to expressing our thoughts correctly. They are not the tools for correctly finding and stating the truth. A false assumption (speculation that is firmly believed), logically argued, cannot be claimed as the truth. Imagined truths are not going to guarantee that we are thinking straight, either. Thinking straight is representing the truth or the facts correctly. When we get the facts wrong or show no concern for the truth, we are smack-bang in the middle of how our current cultural revolution thinks.
Logical thinking and reason depend on these
Logic and reason depend on:
- Having the facts right and
- Having the truth about them correctly stated, to begin with.
Otherwise, all the scientific structuring of our language will have no promise of the truth. We are living in a culture whose basic principles not only state we can’t find absolute truth anywhere, but this culture is also disinterested and not persuaded by the logical and reasonable representation of the facts.
Now, that is a mental place unknown to science and common sense, as well as all rational thinking. No wonder the crooked thinkers of our culture don’t even want to “get us” when we talk about real facts and truth. However, you have no doubt noticed that they recognize real facts and truths — such as the danger of stepping out in front of a speeding car — just like we do. Therefore, they live every day of their lives disproving their own beliefs (that we cannot find absolute truth) with their actions. All of us must pay attention to reality, fact, and truth that exist all around us in every moment of every day.
How then do we talk to our teenagers when they employ crooked thinking?
How do we talk with our teenagers, who have been immersed in the crooked thinking that truth is not important? We must demonstrate to them the importance of truth, real facts, and the difference between opinions and the truth. Help them recognize the realities, truths, and facts that they face every day at home, at school, and in their relationships. Even sound rules are necessary facts that we must live by. All games are built around their rules. Does it produce a smile that one day your teen will be faced with the task of parenting?
Talk about facts: the need to eat and drink, for example, and ask them if it is true that they need to eat and drink. Do the facts matter? Can they live without them? How will they feel if they keep ignoring them? It is foolish to deny what we can’t live happily without. Convince them that the real fools are the ones who fail to recognize and pay heed to the facts of life, our universe, who we are, and how we function best. Demonstrate whenever you can’t convince them with reason and logic. Use examples from unavoidable experiences of life — even matters that we must accept by faith.
In my new book Who Am I?, I describe how we have become “crooked thinkers” and how to break out of this prison of the mind to become instruments of change for a better world by recognizing the source of our value as humans. You can get your copy HERE. (Psst! Subscribers to my weekly updates can receive a 15% discount and free shipping from that link!)
DISCOVER THE TRUTH OF WHO YOU ARE!
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THE WAY TO HAVE A HEALTHY MENTAL SYSTEM
WEEKLY HELP FOR YOUR MIND/BRAIN
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WHY WE NEED TO EXERCISE OUR BODIES TO DEVELOP AND FEED OUR BRAINS
Don’t skip these five reasons.
Watch next week for a BONUS REASON #6!
Reason five: Mental and physical exercise can be used to develop tools that help us improve our mental management skills. Tools that don’t become “built-in” to our regular mental processing are of little help over the long haul of life. Therefore, how does physical and mental exercise do this and what are the tools it builds into our psyches?
Repetition
First, we know that repetition in the building of habits is an indispensable tool. Habits are repeated patterns of behavior and the brain loves patterns. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Structure
Clarity in thinking requires structure, so we should develop a repeatable plan for how we will go about our mental and physical exercise. It may be as we run or walk for the physical benefit that we also think of the facts involved in a decision we must make and their consequences. Then we make our decisions, benefiting from double using the already dedicated time.
Thinking our thoughts as we write them
When we think, we talk to ourselves in one form or another. I think the best way to talk to ourselves is by writing our thoughts and thinking as we write, changing them and reevaluating them as we write. It amounts to a mental adventure. Writing provides discipline that aids concentration. The goal is not to simply express our thoughts but to discover new ones, enlarging them, and clarifying them at the same time. Beware, this kind of writing is not an exercise in perfection. Talking to ourselves on paper or computer gives our thoughts the freedom of flow. All that is flooding your mind as you put words on paper should be regarded as important enough to consider. Limiting them limits the adventure.
Apply straight thinking
Apply the standards of straight thinking to your thoughts and judge them by those standards. Just because you thought them does not mean they are automatically accurate or fully truthful.
Thought examination
Examine your thoughts. See what they seem to say and what they do not say. Apply this process to all significant decisions as well. You are on your way to creating personal tools that will serve you well for the rest of your life.