Critical Thinking

Don't just believe, think critically.

TST Framework * OVM *
Material-Spiritual Framework

Critical Thinking Articles and Hot Topics!

By Mike Prestwood
Critical Thinking
How to think straight in a chaotic world.

Take the deep dive series.

Critical thinking is the philosophy of how to think. It is, hands down, the most important field in both philosophy and life. One of the few things you actually have control over in life is the process of allowing information into your mind. Whether you realize it or not, you already have a process in place. You routinely accept some things as true and reject others. The lens of critical thinking allows you to view evidence with clarity, question assumptions with authority, and ultimately shape your own robust, insightful, and wise worldview.

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Is the idea of ownership a real thing?

Social Constructs < Five Thought Tools < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Thinking: Why we only remember the good parts of vacations and forget the bad?

Cognitive Biases < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Is Occam’s Razor always right?

Idea Evaluation < Five Thought Tools < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Was Pythagoras’ thinking flawed?

Reasoning < Five Thought Tools ... Critical Thinking

Pragmatism and Pythagoras

Epistemology < Philosophy

Is cause and effect certain?

Reasoning < Five Thought Tools < TST Framework < Critical Thinking
Mining equipment in a brown coal open pit mine near Garzweiler, Germany. Aerial View

What does the Crinum coal mine teach us about dating methods?

Logical Fallacies < Critical Thinking

Does Musk’s Mars vision highlight poor reasoning?

Mind Traps < Critical Thinking

CRITICAL THINKING: Does the Fermi paradox lack good thinking?

Cognitive Bias < Critical Thinking

Is the prisoner choosing bread over a key to freedom a critical thinking error?

Cognitive Biases < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

What is the preservation bias?

Cognitive Biases < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

What is the Ebbinghaus Illusion?

Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Read the deep dive series.

By Mike Prestwood
Critical Thinking Framework Overview
Overview and misc. material.

The philosophy of how to think is about the process of letting new information into your mind, and is one of the few things you actually have control over. 

 
Overview Articles

Was math discovered or invented?

TST Framework < Critical Thinking

The Five Thought Tools: Viewpoint, Social Constructs, Inquiry, Reasoning, and Review

Five Thought Tools < TST Framework < Critical Thinking
The human hand fills the last missing elements of the surface from the jigsaw puzzle

TST Framework

A critical thinking toolkit.

The Four Mind Traps: Logical Fallacies, Cognitive Biases, Heuristics, and Stereotypes

The Four Mind Traps < TST Framework

Read the deep dive series.

Self Examination = Clear Thinking
Five Thought Tools
Gather, frame, and communicate accurate information.
OVM * Idea of Ideas * Reasoning * Social Constructs * Idea Evaluation
  • All
  • IdeaEvaluation
  • IdeaOfIdeas
  • OVM
  • Reasoning

Is Occam’s Razor always right?

Idea Evaluation < Five Thought Tools < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Was Pythagoras’ thinking flawed?

Reasoning < Five Thought Tools ... Critical Thinking

Pragmatism and Pythagoras

Epistemology < Philosophy

Is cause and effect certain?

Reasoning < Five Thought Tools < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

What is information theory?

Reasoning < Five Thought Tools < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Was math discovered or invented?

TST Framework < Critical Thinking

What is the difference between anthropology and paleontology?

Truth Hammers < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Is there evidence for other dimensions?

Idea Evaluation < Five Thought Tools < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

30 Philosophers: A New Look at Timeless Ideas

510 pages, 80 touchstone ideas.

How do we know bloodletting doesn’t work?

Logical Fallacies < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

How do slippery slope arguments manipulate people?

Logical Fallacies < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

How do I know what is true and what is just an opinion?

Reasoning < Five Thought Tools < TST Framework

Read the deep dive series.

Avoid bad thinking!
Four Mind Traps
Mental pitfalls that impede your thinking.
Fallacies, Biases, Heuristics, and Stereotypes
  • All
  • CognitiveBiases
  • LogicalFallacies
  • Stereotypes

Thinking: Why we only remember the good parts of vacations and forget the bad?

Cognitive Biases < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Is science tainted by bias?

Biases < Science
Mining equipment in a brown coal open pit mine near Garzweiler, Germany. Aerial View

What does the Crinum coal mine teach us about dating methods?

Logical Fallacies < Critical Thinking

CRITICAL THINKING: Does the Fermi paradox lack good thinking?

Cognitive Bias < Critical Thinking

Is the prisoner choosing bread over a key to freedom a critical thinking error?

Cognitive Biases < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

What is the preservation bias?

Cognitive Biases < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

What is the cherry picking logical fallacy?

Logical Fallacies < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Why are invalid fear-based arguments so effective?

Logical Fallacies < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Why do people believe wrong things?

Cognitive Biases < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Can a fat, out of shape person give valid nutritional advice?

Logical Fallacies < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Did most humans live in caves 30,000 years ago?

Cognitive Biases < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

If evolution is true, why haven’t humans evolved in 50,000 years?

Logical Fallacies < Four Mind Traps < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Read the deep dive series.

About Science * Law * Journalism
Three Truth Hammers
How to use societal good authorities to save time and energy.

While not perfect, they are exceptionally helpful when used well.

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Exploring Empirical Belief
Philosophy of Science
Uncovering how we shape our understanding of the world.

In the evolution of the scientific method, Thales was scientific, Aristotle added intense observation, and Alhazen added rigor to the observations and experiments. Later, specific tools like deduction, induction, and falsifiability crafted the modern scientific method.

Note: Visit the Science topic to explore scientific results and their philosophical implications. 

What is the difference between anthropology and paleontology?

Truth Hammers < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Holistic Paleolithic Framework: A New Look at Prehistory

A new look at dividing up the paleolithic era.

Terrence Howard: Debunking Terryology

Exploring Howard's mathematical flaws.

Is Terrance Howard correct when he says zero does not exist?

Philosophy of Science < Truth Hammers < TST Framework < Critical Thinking

Speculative Ideas in Science: Rip-Bang, Bigfoot, and Beyond

Introduction to the Idea Theory Framework.
vaccination to a child

The Anti-Vaxxer Movement and the Scientific Method

About 10% of Americans believe vaccines cause autism. That’s about 33 million Americans. In a country where we believe so many easily proven wrong conspiracies ...

The Three Truth Hammers: Science, Journalism, and Law

Truth Hammers < TST Framework < Critical Thinking
How to act in a group.
Philosophy of Law
Law * Government * Politics * Roles

In philosophy, justice delves into personal morality, group ethics, and social order. The scales of justice, symbolizing the age-old dance between personal morality, group ethics, and equity, ensuring that everyone gets their due.

Collective Dialogue
Philosophy of Journalism
Journalism, the third truth hammer to living a modern enlightened life.

Through science, humanity uncovers the natural world. The law establishes rules and enforces fairness using things like criminal and civil trials, arbitration, and mediation. Journalism, the Fourth Estate, informs the public through reporting, journalism, and opinion articles.

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