Critical Thinking Versus Critical Spirit
Criticism is not inherently bad. There are times in life when we need to give criticism and times that we need to receive it.
There are two common definitions of the word criticism: (source)
- The expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes.
- The analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a particular work.
Critical Spirit
A critical spirit leans towards the first definition of criticism, which directs disapproval towards other people (or things) based on perceived faults.
A critical spirit ...
- is not emotionally neutral. - The default position is to find fault with others and express disapproval. Both of which are usually considered negative in nature.
- is biased by perception. - Emotions and feelings can (and often do) rule over facts. My dad always said, "perception is reality." Criticism can be impacted by biases we bring to the table, both for the giver and receiver.
Critical spirits exist both online and offline. When online, be careful as you communicate. We lose the benefit of other people hearing our tone and seeing our body language. I highly recommend that you seek clarification and give grace when you communicate with others so that your words are not very as being overly critical.
Critical Thinking
A critical thinker leans towards the second definition of criticism, which uses judgment and analysis to weigh out the pros and cons of a matter.
Critical thinkers are applauded in theory, but rarely appreciated when they press in a particular matter. They might be seen as being cold in nature.
A critical thinker...
- tries to be objective. - This type of objectivity can be perceived as cold and calculated. A critical thinker tries not to let emotions impact his or her evaluations and decisions.
- tries to weigh both sides of a matter. - Evaluating the pros and cons are important to someone who is honestly engaging the critical thinking process. Although biases can not completely unavoided, critical thinker believe that they can be minimized.
Critical thinkers might be labeled as critical spirits, especially when they appear to be uncaring. Facts rule, and emotions are minimized in the evaluation process. Just because you claim to be a critical thinker does not mean that you actually are. Most of us believe we are, and most of us are flat our wrong.
Your Turn
Let's continue the conversation in the comments section.
- How do you deal with people who seem to have a critical spirit?
- Are you able to look at a situation strictly based on facts or do emotions play a role in your decision-making process?
- Do you find that it is easier to build relationships online or offline?
Feel free to answer any or all of the questions. I look forward to hearing from you.
@sumatranate
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/criticism-write-a-review-review-3083100/
Sadly, it seems that with the proliferation of social media, critical thinking is an endangered characteristic. Looks like the whole world is being driven by drama. So once we get past the observation that the majority of the people in the world are occupied with reflexive behaviors based on who knows what one can address the "critical" whatevers of life.
You introduce many great discussion points but I'd like to focus on "critical thinking." Well, actually, while I would embrace the behavior of a critical thinker I struggle with it's objectivity not to mention its validity (not that the common alternative is ever any better). More precisely is there EVER a truly objective thought? Can we, neural net creatures that we are, ever think outside of our collection of programming events (i.e. life experiences)? Isn't every thought or discernment we conjure merely the logical output of our particular set of prior experiences? If so then every discernment or judgement anyone makes is as valid as any other's, unless we can define a TRUTH beyond the "truth" defined by humans.
Critical thinking assumes a critical set of criteria upon which an evaluation is based. If such a set of criteria (or standard) exists then we have no problem evaluating any given input (because that's what neural nets do very well). But if we share no common truth/criteria/standard then there can be no common evaluation.
So I totally agree there is an inherent bias in our reasoning but rather than thinking it can be minimized I think it precludes objectivity totally UNLESS humanity can define a universal truth/standard. Dare we take a stab at that?
@yuelm, you are so right. Drama is ruling over reasoning. I agree with you that the ideal of critical thinking and the application of critical thinking are different.
I do not believe we can completely divorce our biases from our thinking. When I lived overseas I realized several factors that impacted my thinking process:
I found out that the way I think (the actual thinking process) was very different than the way people around me thought. So even if we fundamentally agreed on an issue, the bias of how we thought could create confusion and possibly division.
Some may scoff at me for this, but I people you can be a person of faith and still exercise critical thinking. My faith defines what TRUTH is (at least for me). It is a standard that exists outside of my personal preferences. Now granted, in my fallen state I can misinterpret TRUTH, but I strive to remove myself and my desires and let a higher standard guide me and my daily life.
I have really enjoyed your comments. Thanks for adding to the conversations. I appreciate you stoping by and hope that you will be able to do so again in the future.
One of the best ways to realize that our language and culture dictate how we think is to simply travel to another country and live with the locals (guided tours don't count ;-).
If all our experience based standards for truth are limited then the ONLY source of truth must be faith. But for me that gets tricky because most religions are based on a culture. So first, I must make a large distinction between faith and religion. Most religions are merely collections of the teachings of other humans (Biblically they are called the "teachings of men" and were denounced by the Christ) But I do believe that we can find the truth in faith, apart from the teachings of men. So for me the discussion now turns to HOW do we determine if an article of faith is a truth outside of our various religious cultures? I believe the process begins with a return to the original writings. Once any of these texts has been "explained" by someone the original significance is obscured. I know this has been the case with the Bible and the original teachings of Buddha. I can't speak for the Quran but there might be issues with various hadith which often accompany the Quran.
So how do we approach these sources of faith free of cultural bias? Are there other steps in the process in addition to returning to the original writings?
You are correct. It can be tricky. It is impossible to remove cultural context from religion. My faith is shaped by the culture of a country on another continent. I can not hide it.
I agree that original writings are important. And it is important to understand the context and culture at the time of religious works.
I am not sure that we can ever completely remove our biases, even those that shape how we shape our faith. My goal is to seek relation with God (reconciliation) over religion. When I live in right relationship then I can live in Truth.
So good. Loved this post. I try to limit my interaction with people of a critical spirit, if possible. Conversations with them are often fruitless. But, when it's necessary, I try to remove my emotions, realizing that their criticism comes from within then and usually has little to do with me, basically offering them grace as you mentioned.
From a layman's perspective, critical spirits are all over on Steemit - unfortunate but true, and it will get better as the platform matures, hopefully.
Critical thinkers are to be found in the smaller sub-communities on Steemit which are fast becoming a lifeline for the better content creators.
I try and stay away from them, as their negativity is ingrained in their DNA. Their influence will always be negative.
I used to do so offline, and continue the same practice online.
Emotions do always play a role but a concentrated focus towards an unfair evaluation results in a better judgement, which in turn brings greater rewards in the long term. So it is a trade off between short term gains and long term rewards.
Both are different types of relationships but over the last few years I have made more relationships online than offline - mainly because the nature of my work makes me more online than in the offline world.
hey @maxabit, I completely agree. Critical spirits are everywhere, even within our believed Steemit community.
I do believe that maturity of the platform will help, but I do not trust human nature. I hope for the best. I wish for the best. But I do not expect the best. That might be a bit cynical, but I feel that is the most realistic stance of who we are.
I agree that we cannot remove emotions from the equation. You bring up a great point about where we concentrate our emotional energy. We all have to make that choice.
Thanks for adding to the conversation. It is fun to interact with you and many others within our community. Have a great day!
Hmm, interesting. With regards to people with critical spirits, I do find them difficult to deal with, particularly in a work context. I'm more of a 'let's try and see what happens' kind of person, expecting that there will be bumps that need to be smoothed out.
As for critical thinking, I'd guess I'm a 'creatively critical' thinker? I like thinking through a problem and trying different approaches as I go and often have these mini 'aha' moments 😂 How about yourself?
I agree with your position that some people are critical, and we need to make decisions in the moment as we interact with them. There are so many bumps in life. So true!
I like your phrase 'creative critical thinker.' I feel that I can relate to what you said. I like to like of multiple ways to address a concern and then execute the best path.
I pick my battles. I will stand up against a critical spirit to defend a strongly held belief or defend someone who needs help. I can also let things go when there is no real benefit.
Thanks for adding to the conversation!
I shake that kind of thinking out of their heads before talking
I have 0 emotions when I have to talk about reality, there's a big difference between people that live in the real world and people that live on a fantasy, and the trending right now is to be weak and live inside a fantasy. The way to success will be open for people like me in some years from now
Online! But just because I can research and have a backgroud of the other person in that same moment, apart from that, it's way easier to build relationships Offline
Nice post!
Thanks for the support and answering the questions. I appreciate it!
I don't believe that we can completely remove our emotions from our lives, but I do agree that a lot of people live in fantasy worlds. They are afraid to face the challenges of their everyday lives. I hope that all of us can build better relationships so that we can help and challenge each other.
Thanks for adding to the conversation. Have a great day!
How do you deal with people who seem to have a critical spirit? By trying to avoid risky subjects. But perhaps the best is to simply avoid this kind of people.
Are you able to look at a situation strictly based on facts or do emotions play a role in your decision-making process? I think I can look things based only on facts.
Do you find that it is easier to build relationships online or offline? I believe it depends solely on how much time you put into both.
Thanks for stopping by @dedicatedguy. I try not to put myself in a mindset that is overly critical, but I find that I can not avoid other people who may have a critical spirit. Sometimes I avoid risky subjects and other times I take a stand. It really depends on the topics and how important it is to me.
Great point about time investment. Anyone can develop a strong relationships if they put enough time and effort into the process.
Thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation.
I usually ignore people with critical spirit, don't need the negativity :) but welcome critical thinkers in my life. I have come to realize that critical thinkers (which I try to be myself) are those who are brave enough to ask questions and don't rely on blind fate in something or someone. Critical thinking is the way of progress and discovery.
Emotions do play a role, but there is a very good saying:"Follow your heart but take your brain with you"
Online vs. offline? hm... not quite sure on this one, it all depends on the situation and the person who I'm making a new relationship with.
Thank you for this, I had fun reading it 💚
@zen-art, so glad that you enjoyed reading this article. Finding the right balance between brain and heart can be challenging. Both are needed, but they seem to contradict each other sometimes. The saying you mention is a great reminder for me:
Thanks for stopping by and adding to the conversation. I appreciate it!
I think we have a bit of both, no one goes through life without being critical even if they are not aware of it.
How you deal with being criticized is how you perceive criticism, some cannot see their faults. Some react and adjust the error of their ways, it is all part of life and how we deal with it - IMHO
I agree that criticism is a part of daily life. I really appreciate your point about how we personally deal with it. If we refuse to see our own faults, we can not grow. If we allow others to speak into our lives then we have a chance to grow.
From my point of view,criticism should be seen as sth useful and appreciated only when the motives are good.Criticism should not be turned into judgement.At the end of the day..nobody likes to be judged.
I agree that constructive criticism (given with proper motives) is a good thing. The problem I commonly see is that sometimes we think we are criticising with good motives, but actually, we have negative motives.
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you adding to the conversation.
could not be more right.totally agree.really glad I found you from steem engine.will start to follow you from now on.Have a nice day @sumatranate
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Excellent distinction. Thanks! Upvoted and followed. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Thanks for the kind words. I appreciate it! I look forward to writing more content, and as always I hope that it will connect with the people who read my blog.