Question Authority; Think for Yourself

We
have freedom of speech but we're afraid to speak. Our lives have become
subjected to PC tyranny--a constant fear of "offending" someone. We
think that we are independent and that it is the other guy who is influenced,
brain washed, duped, persuaded. We feel like we think for ourselves. How can we
"feel" otherwise? There's no way to know because countless influences
and interactions have molded us.

We're members of
various groups--circles of friends, family, professional groups, hobby group,
and workplace groups. Groups have a way of developing a view that it imposes
with a kind of group-think. We want to belong, to be liked and included so go
along and get along. We don't make waves by questioning. If we have a different
view, we keep it to ourselves. Why rock the boat?

Thinking for yourself
is not so easy. When encountering an argument to a long held opinion or a wild
idea, we use critical thinking to evaluate it, as we were taught to do in
school. The problem is that critical thinking is critical. It focuses our
thinking on the negative--what doesn't work, what's wrong with the idea--and
encourages my-side thinking where we evaluate evidence in a way that favors our
beliefs and entraps us into closed-mindedness. Thinking for yourself requires
open-mindedness. Open-mindedness is being receptive and, when the issue is
important, calls for actively searching for evidence against your beliefs.

Thinking is not driven
by answers but by questions. Every intellectual field is born out of a cluster
of questions to which answers are needed. Had no questions been asked by those
who laid the foundation for a field -- for example, Physics or Biology -- the
field would never have been developed.

We define tasks,
express problems and delineate issues with questions. Answers signal an end
point and stop thought, except when an answer generates a further question.

Timothy Leary said,
"to think for yourself you must question authority". To think, you
must question. To think through or rethink anything, one must ask questions that
stimulate thought. The quality of your questions determines the quality of your
thinking.

Thinking begins within
some content when questions are generated. No questions equals no
understanding. To engage in thinking through your content you must stimulate
your thinking with questions that lead to further questions.

Our own opinions is
one authority we should frequently question. Times change. We change.
Perspectives and values change. Book explores how opinions and values we held
in the past need periodic evaluation and challenge. Independent thinkers evolve
and need to shed the shackles of old views and opinions.

Ridicule is the
strongest weapon for pressing us to conform. It is a kind of bait that if you
go for it will entrap you in an argument you can't win and leave you looking
ridiculous and deflated. Question Authority; Think for Yourself offers
techniques, with examples, of how to deflect attacks, side-tracks, and
put-downs.

If you've bitten your
tongue and later wished you'd spoken up and not been cowed into silence by a
mocking co-worker when you revealed a "politically incorrect"
viewpoint, you'll find much of interest in Question Authority; Think
for Yourself .