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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 1:50 pm
by geo
DWill wrote: . . . in fact this advoate of skepticism is pretty skeptical that any class of people, including the highly educated, has a clear advantage in the consistency of their critical thinking. We are all very susceptible to chucking critical thinking in order to maintain our beliefs.
I don't think this is Rinolio's overall message. He does say everyone, including skeptical thinkers, are susceptible to going off their game, just like the baseball player described in one of the earlier chapters. But if you remember your basics and stick with your game plan you are much more likely to play up to your potential. Rinolio says no one's perfect, but one who who is ever mindful of the ways that critical thinking can get derailed, and being vigilant to not let your biases and prejudices get the best of you, the better off you are. That's what I got out of this book.
Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 2:33 pm
by DWill
geo wrote:
I don't think this is Rinolio's overall message. He does say everyone, including skeptical thinkers, are susceptible to going off their game, just like the baseball player described in one of the earlier chapters. But if you remember your basics and stick with your game plan you are much more likely to play up to your potential. Rinolio says no one's perfect, but one who who is ever mindful of the ways that critical thinking can get derailed, and being vigilant to not let your biases and prejudices get the best of you, the better off you are. That's what I got out of this book.
That's close to what I got out of the book. From Riniolo's citing of research indicating that groups that might be
presumed to exhibit more consistent critical thinking did not, and from the tales he told on himself, I also think that he sends a "we're all in this together" message. But yes, as a teacher of the skeptical method, he does clearly believe that we all, regardless of our education or occupation, can become better at detouring around our biases and at the same time be humble about the inevitability that we won't always be able to do it.