A personal Renaissance

By Kyle Rudy
 When I started this single semester to discover critical thinking, I was truly in the

dark. The thought of thinking critically was almost a foreign topic to me. I do not think

that it is something that can be fully developed in such a short period of time, nor is it

something that anyone can achieve to a pure and intentional height. Critical thinking is

more then some error detection or seeing deeper into an issue it is practically

undefinable, it is a sense just as it is impossible to explain to someone who has never

seen orange, orange. Ultimately this journey of critical thinking has raised many more

questions for me then it has any sort of answers. The concept was explored, from the

philosophers of old to modern businessmen. The lenses of my world still try to filter the

answers, and the journey can not end when this class does. I need to be an evolving

creature, adaptable, ever changing, and never quitting.

The first aspect of critical thinking is to understand what it is, and this is no easy

answer, as it is akin to a sense something that is known is only known by experience,

like the smell of chocolate chip cookies. Yet just as it is almost impossible to define

religion many try to define critical thinking. Edward Engh defines it as “the process of

turning rational thinking upon itself, to improve the mind of the student.” In many ways

this is the best definition that can be provided, Philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle and

Cicero. All promoted ideas similar to this, not asking direct yes or no questions but

asking students to ask why is this important, why is this more then it appears. It was an

evolution, much like Charles Darwin hypothesized in his writing many decades later, just

not one of biology but one of society. As a newly indoctrinated member of the critical

thinking club, it is hard to keep one set of ideas, and at its core this is a critical thought.
 This evolution is not unique to the individual but all of society, from a personal

aspect, the evolution is more then just a simple transformation in thought. It is an all-

encompassing application of this sense to the daily tasks laid out before me. This is a

troubling aspect of critical thinking. The poem written by Parmenides is an aspect of this

evolution, because it directly asks one to leave behind pride, arrogance, and

presumption. Essentially laying aside everything that is known and replacing it to open

these giant gates to what is pure real knowledge. Not the easiest task and certainly one

that can not be completely accomplished overnight, hence why critical thinking is a

evolution and not a transformation.

The second major aspect of critical thinking is to know the errors so as to shed

the ideas of pride, arrogance, and presumption. Identifying the possible errors in my

thinking is akin to removing years of my perceived world, many of these filters come

from personal experience leading to this course. Filters such as religious ideals, former

understandings of the world, shape the reality I see. Which is easily able to force me

into either type one or type two errors in thinking. A type one error is when I reject

something that is true, and a type two is an error that occurs when something is

accepted when it is false. Especially in this class this was tested to the limit, reading

articles from authors I would never read otherwise, and yet as this practice in

understanding the ideas happened. There was a change in me authors I thought I would

hate became authors I agreed with. Allowing me to remove presumption, to some

degree. At the same time my own pride kept me from even thinking about other ideals,

such as those of Karl Marx, who in hindsight had very prolific ideas and very genuine

concerns for the worker. Allowing me to shed pride. Finally, arrogance is a difficult one
to leave behind, yet still one that can be left behind to allow as Parmenides’ poem says

to open the gates. Ultimately this is one that I am still struggling to remove. Many of the

writings examined in the course offered opportunities to leave this behind me yet as

Edward Engh states “From birth, infants try to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell

everything around them. As humans develop, they soon discover arms, and they reach

out to gather more information. As soon as they are able to move, they further expand

their perceptions, exploring everything in sight. Eventually, all people discover there is a

limit10 to what one person can experience directly. The brain may be thought of as an

integral processor, correlating all the information from the senses. Yet the senses and

brain are limited tools for comprehension” and this is where my renaissance still sits, I

have not truly opened the gates to true knowledge.

A renaissance such as this journey is not instantaneous takes time to reach, it

takes constant application just as weightlifting takes many days of breaking down

muscle and allowing it to recover, so too does critical thinking need constant workouts

to keep it from returning to the darkness. In my journey this means it can not end here.

The fact that I say I have removed the barriers of pride and presumption does not mean

they are completely gone as these in and of themselves can be caused by a type one or

two error, as Edward Engh states “Curing oneself of this flaw is difficult. As long as the

issues are minor or inconsequential, lack of the cure may be tolerated. However, the

issues of life are increasingly important, very consequential, and must not be trivialized.”

It is a natural part of critical thinking to think that it could be my own arrogance that is

allowing me to perceive that these are gone. Yet that is the principal of critical thinking,

recognizing possible errors to become more then the past self.

 Ultimately this class has only been a simple starting point for my renaissance in

the field of critical thought and the sheer idea has only been a simple introduction to the

requirements to truly open my mind. The ideas presented to me in the readings has

stirred emotions from anger, happiness, understanding, and even jealously, yet it is only

a short single semester and what is essentially a short introduction to the ideas that

form critical thinking. This is but the birth of my critical thinking, the biggest lesson of

these ideas relating to what is critical thinking, and what errors in thinking are but a

simple overview. The critical thinking that has been developed in this class is one I can

not allow to go back to the darkness I was in before and as such requires me to

continue evolving.