CAN A PERSON BE RATIONAL?

Publication 1941

I used to think of myself as a Rationalist; and a Rationalist, I suppose, is one who wishes men to be reasonable. But nowadays rationality comes under so many harsh attacks that it is difficult to understand what is meant when one speaks of rationality, or, in cases where the meaning is clear, the question arises whether a person can be rational. The question of defining rationality has two sides - theoretical and practical: “what is rational opinion?” and "what is rational behavior? Pragmatism emphasizes the irrationality of opinion, and psychoanalysis emphasizes the irrationality of behavior. Both theories have led many people to believe that there is no such thing as an ideal of rationality to which opinion and behavior can generally conform. It seems to follow from this that if you and I adhere to different points In view of this, it is useless to appeal to the argument or decision of an impartial person; we have no choice but to bring the dispute to an end using the methods of rhetoric, advertising or war in accordance with the degree of our financial or military force. I am convinced that such a view is very dangerous and will be fatal for civilization in the future. I will therefore endeavor to show that the ideal of rationality remains unaffected by ideas which are regarded as fatal to that ideal, and that it retains all the importance which it has hitherto had when regarded as the guiding principle of thought and life.

Let's start with rationality in opinion: I define it simply as the habit of taking all relevant evidence into account when arriving at a particular opinion. Where certainty is unattainable, rational person will give highest value most possible opinion, while holding others having appreciable probability in one's mind as a hypothesis which future evidence may confirm as preferable. This, of course, assumes that in many cases facts and probabilities can be established by an objective method, such as a method that will lead to any two attentive people to the same result. This is often questioned. Many say that the only function of intelligence is to facilitate the satisfaction of individual wants and needs. The Committee for the Publication of Textbooks “Plebs” in “Fundamentals of Psychology” writes: “Intellect, first of all, is an instrument of partiality. Its function is to ensure that those actions which are beneficial to the individual or human race, must be performed, and those actions which are less beneficial must be prohibited." (Italics in original.)

“Marxist faith is completely different from religious faith; the latter is based only on desire and tradition; the first is based on scientific analysis objective reality». This seems to contradict what they say about the intellect, unless they actually mean that the intellect had no part in their conversion to the Marxist faith. In any case, since they recognize that it is possible " scientific analysis objective reality,” they must recognize that it is possible to have opinions that are rational in an objective sense.

More erudite authors, those who defend an irrationalist point of view, such as pragmatist philosophers, are not so easily refuted. They argue that there is no such thing as an objective fact that our opinions must conform to if they are to be considered true. For them, opinions are only tools in the struggle for existence, and those of them that help a person survive will be called “true.” This view prevailed in Japan in the 6th century. n. BC, when Buddhism first reached this country. Government, doubting the truth new religion, ordered one of the courtiers to take it experimentally; if he succeeds more than the rest, the religion will be accepted as universal. This method (modified for our times) is advocated by the pragmatists in relation to all religious disputes; but I have never yet heard anyone declare that he has converted to the Jewish faith, although it seems to lead to prosperity faster than any other.

Despite this definition of “truth”, in Everyday life pragmatism is always guided by entirely different principles for the less subtle questions that arise in practical affairs. A pragmatic juror in a murder case will think about what happened in the same way as any other person; whereas, if he had adhered to his principles, he would have had to decide who would be most advantageous to hang. This person will, by definition, be guilty of murder because believing that he is guilty will be more useful, and therefore more “true,” than believing that some other person is guilty. I'm afraid that such practical pragmatism sometimes occurs; I have heard of "rigging" in America and Russia that fit this description. But in such cases, everything is done to hide this fact, and if these efforts fail, then a scandal occurs. This cover-up shows that even police officers believe in the objective truth in a forensic investigation. It is this kind of objective truth - very mundane and prosaic - that scientists strive to find. It is this kind of truth that people also seek to find in religion as long as they hope to find it. Only when people give up hope of proving that religion is true in literally, they take the trouble to show that this is “truth” in some newfangled sense. It can be openly stated that irrationalism, i.e., disbelief in objective facts, almost always grows out of a desire to prove something for which there is no supporting evidence, or to deny something that is well supported. But faith in objective facts is always retained in relation to particular practical matters such as investments or the hiring of servants. And if indeed it were possible to test the truth of our beliefs everywhere, it would be a test in all areas, leading to agnosticism wherever it was carried out.

The above considerations are, of course, quite inadequate in relation to the topic. The solution to the problem of the objectivity of a fact is complicated by the vague reasoning of philosophers, which I will try to analyze in the future in a more radical way. Now I must suppose that there are facts, that some facts are knowable, and that certain other facts can be assigned a degree of probability relative to facts that can be known. However, our beliefs often contradict facts; even when we only believe something to be probable on the basis of relevant evidence, it may be the case that we should believe it to be improbable on the basis of the same evidence. Hence, theoretical part rationality consists in basing our beliefs on relevant evidence rather than on desires, prejudices, or traditions. Thus, either an impartial person or a scientist will be rational.

Some think that psychoanalysis has shown the impossibility of rational belief by revealing the strange and almost insane origins of many people's cherished beliefs. I have great respect for psychoanalysis and I believe that it can be extremely helpful. But public opinion has lost sight of the goal that primarily inspired Freud and his followers. Their method is initially therapeutic, a way to treat hysteria and various types of insanity. During the war, psychoanalysis proved that it is one of the most important ways treatment of neuroses acquired during the war. Rivers' book "Instinct and the Unconscious", which is largely based on the experience of treating shell-shocked patients, gives brilliant analysis painful manifestations of fear when this fear cannot be directly indulged. These manifestations are, of course, largely non-intellectual; They include different kinds paralysis, all types, apparently, of physical illness. But we will not discuss this in this article; Let's focus on intellectual disabilities. It has been established that many hallucinations of madmen are the result of instinctive obstacles and can be cured by purely psychic means, for example, by bringing to the patient's consciousness facts that have been repressed in his memory. This type of treatment and the worldview which inculcates it presuppose an ideal of sanity from which the patient has deviated and to which he must be restored by the recognition of all relevant facts, including those which he most desires to forget. This is precisely the opposite of those lazy concessions to irrationality which are sometimes encouraged by those who know only that psychoanalysis has shown the predominance of irrational belief, and who forget or ignore that his aim is to weaken this predominance by a certain method of medical treatment. A very similar method can cure the irrationality of those who are not considered insane, provided they are treated by a specialist free from their illusions. Presidents, Cabinet of Ministers and Prominent figures, however, rarely fulfill this condition and therefore remain untreated.

So far we have considered only the theoretical side of rationality. The practical side, to which we now turn, is more complex. Differences of opinion on practical questions stem from two sources: first, the differences between the desires of the disputants; secondly, differences in their assessments of the means of realizing their desires. The differences of the second kind are actually theoretical and only indirectly practical. For example, some authoritative people argue that the first line of our defense should be composed of battleships, others - that of airplanes. There is no difference here regarding the proposed purpose, namely national security, the difference is only in the means. The reasoning, therefore, can be constructed in a purely scientific manner, since the disagreement giving rise to the dispute concerns only facts present or future, certain or probable. To all these cases the type of rationality which I have called theoretical applies, despite the fact that a practical question is being decided.

However, in such cases there are complications that are very important for practice. A person who wants to act in a certain way will convince himself that by acting in this way he achieves some goal that he considers good, even if he did not have such a desire, he would see no reason for such a belief . And he will judge facts and possibilities in a somewhat different way than a person with contrary desires. Gamblers, as everyone knows, are filled with irrational faith in systems that will ultimately must lead them to win. People interested in politics convince themselves that the leaders of their party will never be guilty of the fraudulent tricks practiced by other politicians. A man who loves to govern thinks that it is good for the population to be treated like a flock of sheep; a person who loves tobacco says that it calms the nerves; Human, alcohol-loving, says it stimulates wit. Biases caused by such reasons falsify human judgments about reality in a way that is very difficult to avoid. Even Research Article about the effects of alcohol on nervous system will generally give away the author, based on internal logic, as to whether he is a teetotaler; in any case he will have a tendency to see the facts in a light that justifies him own practice. In politics and religion such considerations become very important.

Most people think that in forming their political opinions they are guided by a desire for the public good; but in nine cases out of ten a man's political views can be predicted from his mode of life. This leads some people to the conviction, and many to the conviction, expressed in practical action, that in such cases it is impossible to be objective and that only a “tug of war” is possible between classes with opposing interests.

However, it is precisely in such cases that psychoanalysis is partly useful, since it allows people to become aware of interests that were hitherto unconscious. It provides methods for self-observation, that is, the opportunity to see ourselves from the outside, and the basis for the assumption that this view of ourselves from the outside is less unfair than we tend to think. When combined with teaching a scientific worldview, this method can, if widely taught, enable people to become infinitely more rational than they currently are with regard to their beliefs about reality and possible consequences any proposed action. And if people are united in their views on these problems, differences that remain can almost certainly be resolved amicably.

However, there remains a question that cannot be solved purely intellectual methods. The desires of one person cannot be completely harmonized with the desires of another. Two competitors on the stock exchange may be in complete agreement about the consequences of a particular action, but this will not create harmony in practical activities, because everyone wants to get rich at the expense of the other. Nevertheless, even here rationality can prevent most harmful consequences that otherwise are being implemented. We call a person irrational when he acts out of passion, when he cuts off his nose to disfigure his face. He is irrational because he forgets that by indulging the desire that he happened to experience most strongly at that moment, he will interfere with the fulfillment of other desires that will be more important to him in the future. If people were rational, they would have a more correct view of their self-interest than they do now; and if all men proceeded from conscious self-interest, the world would be a paradise compared with what it is now, I do not assert that there is nothing better than self-interest as a motive of action; but I maintain that self-interest, like altruism, is better when it is conscious than when it is not conscious. In an orderly society, a person is very rarely interested in doing anything too harmful to others. The less rational a person is, the more often he does not understand how much what offends others also offends him, because hatred and envy blind him. Therefore, although I do not claim that self-interest is the highest morality, I do claim that if it becomes universal, it makes the world immeasurably better than it is.

Rationality in practice can be defined as the habit of remembering and taking into account all our relevant desires, and not just what happens to be strongest in this moment. As with rationality in opinions, this is a matter of degree. Of course, complete rationality is an unattainable ideal, but since we continue to classify some people as crazy, it is clear that we think of some people as more rational than others. I believe that all lasting progress in the world consists in an increase in rationality, both practical and theoretical. Preaching an altruistic morality seems to me somewhat useless, because it will only appeal to those who already have altruistic desires. But preaching rationality is something else, because rationality helps us realize our own desires in general, whatever they may be. A person is rational in the proportion in which his intellect shapes and controls his desires. I believe that the control of our actions by the intellect is, in the final analysis, the most important thing that makes it still possible social life as science increases the number of means at our disposal to harm each other. Education, the press, politics, religion - in a word, all the great forces of the world - are today on the side of irrationality; they are in the hands of people who flatter His Majesty the People in order to confuse them. The means of salvation lies not in any heroic accomplishment, but in the efforts of individuals toward a saner and more balanced view of our relationships with our neighbors and with the world. It is to this increasingly pervasive intelligence that we must turn to solve all the problems that plague our world.

We often wonder why some people are successful in everything, while others, on the contrary, fail in any enterprise. Success in business directly depends on the type of thinking. The ability to think rationally is necessary for successful business.

A man who says he is not rational thinking man- he’s lying. Maybe don't think about pressing problems It's just more convenient. In this case, you are not responsible for anything, and you can always hide behind your inability to think logically.

The ability to think correctly allows you to get rid of many unnecessary problems and become a successful and prosperous person in life and business. That is why rational thinking needs to be developed.

There are a number of fairly simple techniques that allow you to develop the ability to think rationally:

Write down ideas that arise on paper. This will help you approach the problem correctly and step by step. In addition, on paper you can easily see your mistakes.

You can replace writing by typing on a computer. This will help sort out all your thoughts and eliminate the possibility of forgetting anything important.

Say your thoughts out loud or record them on a voice recorder, this will help you stay on topic.

Before you start thinking, set yourself specific goals and tasks.

A calm environment promotes rational thinking. It's best to think about fresh air while walking. In nature, more oxygen reaches the brain, and it begins to think more actively.

Meditation is in a great way for concentration. With its help, you can detach yourself from the outside world and completely immerse yourself in solving the problem.

Calculate several rational options for solving the problem. Weigh their pros and cons and choose the optimal solution. It is better if you have worked out several options for resolving the issue.

It is necessary to allocate yourself a certain time for reflection, without combining it with some other activity. Rational thinking requires high concentration and you should not be distracted by foreign objects.

If, while solving a question, you are faced with your ignorance of the subject, you should take the time to get necessary information, and not act at random.

The ability to think rationally will help you find the optimal way out of the current situation. difficult situation, as well as develop strategy and tactics for the future.

We ended the previous lesson with the statement that one of the most serious obstacles to development critical thinking is irrational thinking. But what is it? Why is this common to so many people? What impact does it have on human life and activity? How to get rid of it and is it necessary to do so? We will answer these and some other questions in the fifth lesson.

Irrational and its characteristics

If we try to explain the concept of “irrational” from the position of philosophy, then it can be characterized as a certain beginning of human nature, opposite property rationally, i.e. understand this world intelligently. The irrational admits that there are areas of the worldview that the mind is not able to understand, but nevertheless they are acceptable thanks to faith, feelings, and intuition. Thus, irrationality is one of the characteristics special character reality. Over the years, issues of the irrational have been studied by such famous philosophers as Bergson, Delta, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer and many others.

So to speak, “free” individuals who do not think about the consequences can allow themselves to think irrationally. To act this way is to admit that reality cannot always be understood through scientific methods. Based on the views of supporters of irrational thinking, reality with all its components and derivatives, for example, life and psychological processes, is not subject to generally accepted laws.

Of course, such a position has its place, but in the case of critical thinking it is completely unsuitable. Irrational people strive to know the laws of existence, violating all generally accepted laws, and rational people, on the contrary, think critically, not trusting what cannot be verified, relying only on reliable and confirmed facts. And, taking this into account, we must say that even if the irrational is characteristic of you, if you want to develop the ability to think critically, you must at least temporarily discard everything that may contradict it.

What exactly is to be discarded? Let's try to clarify this point, because irrational thoughts can be different types.

Typology of irrational thoughts and their influence

Irrational thoughts are thoughts that interfere with the objective and adequate perception surrounding reality, and from the position of behavioral psychology - even serving as the cause of the appearance.

In total, we can distinguish three categories of irrational thinking and the corresponding types of thoughts:

• Exaggeration. This includes thoughts like: “She noticed that I was unsure of myself,” “They definitely thought something was wrong with me,” “He sees right through me,” etc.
• Overgeneralization. This includes thoughts like: “If I was chickening out then, then I’ll be chickening out now”, “He communicates with everyone like that - and he won’t ignore me”, “No one passed this exam - I have no chance”, etc.
• Mind reading. This includes thoughts like: “She thinks I’m angry and conflicted,” “I know what you think about me,” “He realized that I thought badly of him,” etc.

There are other types of similar thoughts, but to one degree or another they will belong to one of the categories of irrational train of thought. Their greatest danger is that they trigger catastrophic thinking: a person plunges headlong into groundless worry and panic, and his ability to make decisions and act is completely paralyzed. There can be no question of any critical thinking here.

Topical illustrative examples You can find irrational thinking in books dedicated to working with it. Here are some options:

• Kahneman Daniel
• Goleman Daniel
• "Emotional Flexibility" David Susan
• “Problem Solving Using Intelligence Techniques” Jones Morgan
• Goldsmith Marshall and Reuter Mark

Here it would be logical to talk a little about how irrational thinking influences what a person does.

As has already become clear, irrational means illogical, unscientific and without any criticism. Irrational actions are aimed at obtaining results, but the actions themselves are not thought through or evaluated in advance. There is no meaning in advance here possible options development of the course of events, resolution of issues or solutions to problems.

All this, as a rule, has a very direct connection with the spontaneous manifestation of feelings and emotions that irritate or calm thoughts. Irrational individuals can observe manifestations of reality beyond the limits of their logical explanations, and also tend to believe unconfirmed facts simply because they dominate others. Such people neglect to use the so-called life instructions, i.e. thoughtful behavioral strategies and action algorithms. The basis for this behavior in most cases is a person’s belief in a positive outcome, even if he does not understand at all practical basics and the reasons for success if achieved. Most often, success is explained by luck or favor of fate.

But from a practical and even more so from a critical position, either a child or a child can allow himself to behave this way. In addition, when thinking or drawing conclusions, it is effectively guided by the rule of conservation of energy, and thinking irrationally, simply relying on patterns and the first information received, is less expensive in terms of time and effort. But if knowledge based on upbringing or experience is irrational, nothing good will come of it.

Here is just a small list of factors that hinder effective thinking and correct actions- irrational thinking:

• Spontaneously and without reason
• Leads a person away from right thoughts
• May interfere with a person's daily activities
• Reduces efficiency in professional and other areas
• Often activated when it is not needed
• Causes irritability, depression and anxiety
• Disrupts adaptation to to the outside world
• Not flexible
• Causes development
• Produces
• Produces fear of communicating with authorities and more knowledgeable people
• Reduces motivation to achieve new results
• Can make a person feel lonely
• Causes problems in personal, social and professional life
• Creates dependence on other people and public opinion
• Promotes development bad habits

Behavioral psychology, and banal everyday experience they talk about what more like a person realizes the irrationality and illogicality of his thoughts and actions, the faster favorable changes will begin to occur in his life: the number of negative events and mistakes will decrease, the psyche will become stronger and resistance to stress will increase, personal productivity and efficiency will increase, and a critical approach to information processing will be formed.

It is wrong for a sane person to think irrationally. But this obstacle to the development of critical thinking can only be overcome when the reasons for its appearance are known. And it’s worth talking about them in more detail.

Causes of irrational thinking

To begin with, it is worth saying that behavioral stereotypes are often laid down in early childhood. They are necessary because not only save energy and time for making decisions, but also contribute to initial adaptation to life and society, ensuring the survival of the individual. But upon reaching adulthood, a person begins to encounter “failures”, i.e. with problems with irrational thinking. The main reasons for this are the following:

• Not all mental patterns and mechanisms formed in childhood, turn out to be true
• Not all thought patterns and mechanisms that are suitable for a child are suitable for an adult

Irrationalism is a disorder of thinking. Subsequently, this leads to problems of adaptation to the surrounding reality. In addition, destructive basic attitudes are formed in the human mind, namely:

• Excessive demands on oneself (I should do this, I shouldn’t do that)
• Excessive demands on the environment (they should do this, they shouldn’t do that)
• Catastrophization (if this happens, it’s the end, horror, death, catastrophe, everything is lost, etc.)
• Low frustration tolerance (I won’t be able to survive this, this is the end for me, etc.)

Adding up all the thoughts above, the output we get is something like: “In no case should I stumble during my speech. If I suddenly stumble, they should not make fun of me. But if this happens, it means the end for me, I won’t survive it.”

In reality, the variety of thoughts can be much wider, but if you discard everything unnecessary, you can always see the standard mechanism of irrational thinking, triggered every time different situations in a modified form. By the way, such a scheme often causes all sorts of problems.

Any problem, any phenomenon or process, when confronted with which a person experiences psychological discomfort, can be disassembled into elements in order to find the main irrational scheme that causes fear, anxiety, panic and other manifestations and disrupts interaction with the outside world.

In simple terms, someone who is unable to distinguish between fiction and truth, as well as find cause-and-effect relationships, is using irrational thinking. It will never help you predict events or calculate the results of your actions, which is why spontaneous actions and unnecessary experiences arise.

But rational and critical thinking to some extent also includes an irrational, one might say spiritual, component. For example, people of art, creating unique works, often contradict logical laws, although they act deliberately. However, the irrational should not dominate the mind of a sane person, and its manifestations can and should be fought.

How to deal with irrational thinking

Overcoming irrationalism is not easy, but with due diligence and systematic training it is quite possible. It's just important to know what to do. There are many ways, and now we will introduce them to you.

Definition of irrational thoughts

Identifying irrational thoughts is difficult only at the first stage. Often they appear in the head very quickly and automatically, they appear as if out of nowhere, and it is almost impossible to catch them consciously. For this reason, the task can be simplified: get yourself a notebook, where throughout the day and every day you will write down thoughts that can cause you negative emotions, anxiety and worries. With practice, it will become easy to determine their appearance, because... your brain will be trained and adapted to it.

Establishing objectivity of thoughts

When you are calm, relaxed and nothing is bothering you, ask yourself the question: “How objective are my thoughts?” For example, today someone didn’t want to communicate with you, and you immediately started thinking up God knows what. But look at the situation critically: maybe he was just tired and out of sorts? And if you showed a little timidity when communicating with someone, will that someone really have a negative opinion of you?

To become more aware of the bias in your thoughts, use simple trick: look at the situation with new side. Those. if you see a person exhibiting the same timidity, do you immediately think badly of that person? And if you don’t want to communicate with someone at the moment, does that mean that you don’t like him? Most likely, this is not the case at all. Always evaluate the situation from several sides, and life will become much simpler and more interesting.

Replacing the irrational with the rational

Another method is the systematic replacement of irrational thoughts with rational, more objective ones. But you can expect tangible results only after some time. At the first steps, psychological discomfort may be felt, but it must be bravely overcome with daily training. Gradually he will enter your comfort zone.

Here is an example of good thoughts that can replace irrational ones: “It’s quite possible that he didn’t notice my timidity,” “It might have seemed to me that she didn’t want to communicate,” “Yes, they most likely didn’t even think about me,” etc. P.

If we summarize these three methods, we can draw the following conclusion: for example, in a few minutes you will have to make contact with an unfamiliar person. The time before the meeting is getting shorter, and your anxiety is getting stronger. And now is the time to ask yourself why you are scared. Most likely, the fear is due to the fact that your future interlocutor may notice some peculiarities in your behavior: a slightly hesitant voice, a slight trembling of your hands, etc., which is why he will have a negative image of you. This is where critical thinking skills come into play:

• The interlocutor’s thoughts may be occupied with something else at the time of communication
• The interlocutor may not notice the peculiarities of your behavior
• Even if the interlocutor notices something, he is unlikely to analyze it, and after a few minutes he will already forget about you

You can see for yourself that there is really nothing terrible. Irrational thinking plays a cruel joke. But if such a procedure is carried out regularly anxiety states will gradually begin to recede and lose strength.

Here are a few more good techniques for dealing with the irrational that he offers us: behavioral psychology:

Don't go to extremes

When assessing a situation, try to avoid extremes like “this is definitely bad”, “only this is good”, “this is the end”, “one way or not at all”, etc. There are several ways to overcome such thoughts:

• Eliminate extreme words such as “never” or “always” from your vocabulary. Stop using these terms to refer to yourself, the people around you, and the world in which you live.
• Accept the fact that there are no bad or good people, bad or good situations. In any person and in any situation, if you wish, you can find advantages and positive sides.
• Give up categorical thinking. Sometimes it is better to accept yourself along with your shortcomings and weaknesses than to convince yourself and others of their absence. Often this helps justify your behavior and thinking.

Avoid catastrophic thoughts

By exaggerating the scale and significance of the problem, you make things worse for yourself. When talking about something unpleasant, you shouldn’t give “not very good” the form “nightmarish.” It’s easy to change your attitude towards problems and troubles:

• Think about the fact that the problematic situation, although not good, does not at all lead to inevitable death and the collapse of all hopes
• Try to compare the problematic situation with something truly terrible, for example, the death of someone close to you, or how homeless or unjustly imprisoned people feel

You can also try to calm yourself down:

• “In fact, there’s nothing wrong with it to worry so much.”
• “Yes, it’s unpleasant, but life doesn’t end there”
• “In any case, everything will work out”
• “No one has ever died from this”

Think objectively

If you notice that you are prone to exaggeration and irrationalism, and often draw pictures to yourself dire consequences Even with minor problems, train yourself to think objectively:

• Life presents not only trials, but also joyful events, and a black stripe will always be followed by a white one
• Even if the outcome of a situation may be bad, its probability is extremely low
• Why worry about something that didn't happen? Most likely, nothing bad will happen, and worrying is just a waste of energy
• Model different variants development of events, and then predict the likelihood of each of them occurring

Mentally relax

Many people often have the thought “I can’t do this anymore.” But this is typical of irrational and insecure people. To overcome irrational thoughts, you need to convince yourself that, despite the difficulties in this moment, after a while you will feel better and you will solve your problems.

And, summing up this section, all that remains to be said is that the most effective way overcome irrationalism and negative experiences is a critical approach: question your feelings and sensations and analyze the illogical and irrational thoughts underlying them.

Irrational thinking is generated by a person’s desire to believe in his fantasies. These are almost incoherent arguments that have no logical basis and are based on feelings and assumptions. Rational and critical thinking, on the contrary, consists in taking only facts and evidence based on logic and cause-and-effect relationships as the basis for reflection and future actions. The benefits and effectiveness of this approach are obvious and undeniable, but we’ll still say a few words about it.

Benefits of Rational Thinking

Rational thinking helps to draw conclusions using logical chains for this. The desire to think critically and rationally helps to work on your shortcomings. When logical thinking is taken into account, a person stops performing spontaneous actions, and this minimizes the occurrence of unpleasant surprises.

When we think rationally, we begin to see things as they are, we can explain what previously seemed inexplicable, we become calmer and find the shortest and most effective ways to achieve our goals, and we are able to focus on the things that are of highest priority at the moment.

Learning to think rationally is not difficult. All you need to do is follow a small series simple rules and tips:

• All thinking must begin with a search reliable information. This is not always easy, but it is impossible to build logical chains leading to the right conclusions and actions without verified data.
• When thinking about something, always take into account the fact that not only the other person’s position, but also your own may be incorrect. Ask others what they think about the subject of your thoughts. This will allow you to look at the situation from different angles.
• Do not base your judgments on the actions and behavior of others only external manifestations. Are you sure that the person does not want to communicate with you? What is this conclusion based on? Based on speculation or logic? Guessing doesn't mean anything. You must strive to find out the truth. When you want to be sure of something, look for facts that confirm it.
• Never think for a person and make decisions for him, do not try to read his thoughts. One of them is to listen carefully to your interlocutor and perceive only what he says.
• If, when communicating with a person, you have doubts about the sincerity of his actions and words, just ask him a few direct questions, express your thoughts that concern you and try to communicate confidentially.

The advantages of rational thinking can be clearly demonstrated with the following example: you talked with a person and he voiced his grievances and reproaches to you, explained that your views and actions are unacceptable to him. The first thing you want to do in response is to repay in the same coin. However, what will be the result, other than misunderstandings, quarrels and hostility? Perhaps even more emotional discomfort and a long-term break in the relationship.

It will be much more effective to try to maintain calm, balance and self-respect. And rational thinking suggests doing something much simpler in this case: analyze your actions and words that caused criticism and dissatisfaction from your interlocutor, and accept critical opinion from the outside. You need to come to a compromise - seek mutual understanding and agreement on an issue for which you have different views. At the same time, you should make it clear to the other person that problematic situations can be resolved without humiliation, scandals and insults, and this is acceptable for you.

A rational approach and the development of critical thinking will help you regain your calm and psychological comfort. In any situation when you find yourself in the grip of irrational thoughts caused by emotions, fatigue, overwork or stress, banish them from yourself as soon as possible.

It doesn’t matter who you are: a chemist, a physicist, a mathematician, a military man, a businessman, a simple company employee or a student, rational and critical thinking can become an effective means for you to achieve goals, solve everyday problems and professional tasks, improving communication with people and interaction with the outside world, and developing one’s abilities.

To boost your immunity to irrational thoughts, we recommend that you lead healthy image life, rest more, sleep properly, and cultivate in yourself good mood And positive attitude. And, of course, read the relevant literature: Daniel Kahneman “Think Slow, Decide Fast”, Kate Stanovich “Rational Thinking. What aptitude tests don’t measure”, Diana Halpern “The Psychology of Critical Thinking”, Robert Burton “Mind VS Brain. Conversation on different languages"and other books.

And in final lesson of our course we will touch on one more important issue concerning critical thinking - working with information. This is what we have to deal with every day, and our conclusions and judgments, the effectiveness of our decisions and the competence of our actions depend on its reliability. In lesson six, you will learn how to search for information, how to analyze and store it, for what purposes information can be used, how to work with it, and how to make decisions based on it.

Want to test your knowledge?

If you want to check your theoretical knowledge on the topic of the course and understand how suitable it is for you, you can take our test. For each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question.

Instructions

Learn to control your emotions when communicating with people around you. If someone has offended or insulted you, do not rush to get into a fight. Count to ten, take a few deep breaths. Conduct the dialogue in a calm, business-like tone.

Try to give thoughtful answers. If you are faced with a difficult or uncomfortable question, ask the other person for time to think about it. In some cases, the most reasonable solution is to tactfully avoid the conversation.

Organize the phenomena you observe and look for cause-and-effect relationships in them. The ability to ask questions will help you with this. the right questions. Questions themselves stimulate thinking and force you to look for an answer.

Don't take anything for granted. Subject all information coming to you carefully critical analysis. Question stereotypes common in society.

Before you make any decision, think about the consequences it will have. Weigh all the pros and cons of this or that choice. Feel free to ask for advice from more experienced people.

When looking through newspapers and magazines, highlight key points and facts. Summarize messages, sum up what was said or read. Weed out unnecessary and unimportant information.

Plan your activities. Write down point by point everything you want to do. Evaluate the resources you have (time, money, knowledge, etc.). Allocate resources according to your priorities. It's wise to write down people's names and contacts - it's hard to predict whose help you might need.

Helpful advice

Play chess, solve logic and math problems, guess the puzzles. Remember that reasonable people They do not follow bad habits, but form new, useful ones. For example, running in the morning is a great habit that is good for you. efficient work brain

Tip 2: How to learn to control your emotions and make reasonable decisions

The ability to put aside your emotions makes it possible to solve problems more productively, rather than dwell on worries and fears. By getting rid of panic, excessive emotionality and learning to react correctly to events, a person will be able to move through life more confidently.

The ability to control your emotions makes a person more successful and happier. Such people treat everything that happens calmer, concentrating not on negative emotions, but on solving the problems that have arisen.

Paying attention to your behavior different situations, you can develop the necessary skills to maintain inner peace.

The mistake of an emotional person is hasty conclusions. It is necessary to concentrate on avoiding premature decisions, because they are the ones that most often turn out to be wrong. Give yourself time to think before making a decision. Take a deep breath and mentally count from ten to zero. This will help you discard everything unnecessary and make a decision, avoiding the influence of emotions.

If life situation causes strong excitement and the first exercise does not allow you to completely get rid of negative thoughts, you need to try to simply throw out all the negative emotions before making decisions. You shouldn't keep it to yourself negative energy, anger, anger, resentment. These feelings are very destructive. Recognize the emotion, live it, if necessary, shout, tear the paper, stomp your feet. You'll see, soon the negativity will go away.

Also common problem in accepting right decisions is panic. Panic attack can overtake a person in various situations, most of which do not give rise to any cause for concern. Panic only clouds the mind and prevents you from dealing with problems. If any business causes you a feeling of panic, then concentrating on the things that accompany your business will help you cope with it. For example, you should pay attention to what things you should take with you, what to wear, and what time to leave. This will distract from the general panic.

Constantly monitor your reactions to everything that happens. You can't make decisions based on emotions. First, calm down, and then start thinking about the situation. This way you will achieve better results.

As we finish analyzing the concept of self-discipline, let's first summarize what we know about thinking habits. This knowledge will be useful to you if you want to learn to think rationally.

1. Every thought strives for realization. And here it doesn’t matter at all what kind of thought this is - positive or negative, selfish or selfless, etc. Any thought goes through the following path:

thought-» target-» plan-» action.

Then, with the help of the universal law of habits, our thoughts themselves become habits. And only then the subconscious comes into action, which leads the thought to its logical conclusion - to its implementation.

Of course, we cannot talk about the materiality of such a concept as “thought,” but we can talk about the materiality of those objects and phenomena that appear as a result of the action of this thought.

In this case, we can assume that a person is a materialization of the thought of the Eternal Mind and that the thinking process is the emission of some rays invisible to the human eye that seek their realization in the material world.

And our thought is constantly at work, it is full of strength and energy, which is transmitted to it from the Eternal Mind.

2. Self-discipline will allow you to become a leader.

master of your thoughts, create them yourself, control them and direct them to achieve your own life goals. This cannot be done without certain habits that you will have to form if you want to receive the twelve treasures of life.

3. Enormous potential lies in strength. human thought, which does a huge amount of work. Firstly, it tirelessly monitors every cell of our body: it controls the replacement of old cells and the growth of new ones. Secondly, it monitors the functioning of all organs. Thirdly, it gives the body a command to resist all kinds of diseases. We can list endlessly everything that occupies our thoughts. She does much of this automatically. And if you make some specific efforts, then some other processes can be controlled automatically by thought.

4. Thought underlies all human achievements. Following the path already known to us (thought - "specifically formulated goal -" specific plan for achieving the goal - "actions in accordance with the plan), the thought becomes real, materially expressed. There are no actions without reasons and motives.

5. Our psyche consists of two large sections. The first is the conscious part, the second is the subconscious.

We can control our consciousness ourselves, but the subconscious controls the source of the Eternal Mind. The subconscious, as it were, connects our consciousness with the Eternal Mind.

The sixth sense is most closely connected with our subconscious. It operates independently of a person’s will, but with the help of self-discipline, each of us can influence the sixth sense through our consciousness.

6. All departments of the psyche - both conscious and subconscious - are directly dependent on our habits. By developing certain skills, abilities and habits, we thereby adapt our psyche to them.

7. If any of your thoughts is based on a subjective opinion, then it is not entirely correct. If the thought is based on a thorough study of the facts, then it is correct.

Imagine how incorrect and false thoughts based on fear, prejudice, uncertainty, and emotional arousal will be. Any thought that lacks rationality can be considered incorrect or deceptive.

8. To take your first step towards mastering rational thinking, you must first accustom

yourself to self-discipline. This will help you feel the difference between facts and gossip, fiction and rumors.

The second step requires you to be able to sort facts into important and unimportant. An important fact is considered to be one that can significantly help you on your path to achieving the twelve treasures of life. The rest can rightfully be considered not so significant.

Quite often in our lives we use information obtained from not very reliable sources, or operate with unimportant facts. This explains the fact that rarely does anyone manage to achieve the level of self-discipline that allows a person to do correct analysis information received from the surrounding world.

9. If your desires are specifically formulated and based on serious reasons, then they will stimulate the thinking process and will definitely lead to success.

When your thoughts are constantly occupied with your desires, then the subconscious immediately comes into play. It is this that is the main adviser in choosing the right decisions.

If you really want something, then this desire will make your imagination work, which knows and can find the shortest path and the best means to fulfill this desire.

We have outlined the most important facts regarding the habits of rational thinking. But even from such a small amount of information it is very clear that without self-discipline it is not possible to achieve rational thinking. You, of course, have the right to ask where you should begin to cultivate the habit of self-discipline.

The first step is to concentrate all your thoughts on your main life goal. Without this step, it is impossible to achieve anything, let alone self-discipline.

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