Thinking Case

<<< Michelle Obama participates in

volunteer service with local elementary

school students. What decision-making

factors contribute to our own choices to

participate in service?

PURPOSEFUL, REFLECTIVE

JUDGMENT

3

Chapter 01 4

Risk and Uncertainty Abound

We might not skateboard through an intersection, but none of us can

escape life's risks and uncertainties. Uncertainties apply to potentially

good things, too. For example, people might be

uncertain when choosing a major, taking a

part time job, making a new friend, or

responding to President Obama's call for volunteer

service. You never know what new

friendships you will make, what new skills you

will acquire, what new opportunities might

emerge for you, how your efforts will

benefit other people, or how much satisfaction you may feel. Whenever

a choice is being contemplated, to maximize our chances for welcome

outcomes and to minimize our chances for undesirable outcomes, we

need to employ purposeful, reflective judgment. Sure, winning is great,

but it's just not a good idea to play poker unless we can afford to lose.

We need to think ahead, to plan, and to problem solve. This means we

need critical thinking.

All of us encounter opportunities in our daily lives to engage problems

and decisions using strong critical thinking. In a nation that values selfreliance

and initiative, the stronger our critical thinking skills and habits

of mind, the greater our prospects for success. Imagine a population

that made thoughtful and informed judgments about the policy issues

and social questions of its day. It is unlikely that such a citizenry would

blindly accept whatever the authorities said was true or unquestioningly

comply with whatever those leaders commanded. Some have argued

that corporations that hope to succeed in a global high-tech world will

have to cultivate exactly the kind of internal culture that fosters strong

critical thinking.ii Fortunately, a great many leaders in government, business,

education, military, and religious organizations truly value critical

thinking. The quote from Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint

Chiefs of Staff, is only one example.iii

Obviously, a society of knowledgeable people determined to apply

strong critical thinking skills to evaluate the policy decisions of their leaders

might pose major difficulties for those in power. Not everyone in a leadership

position has the confidence and the wisdom

to want to cultivate critical thinking. A master of

irony, the late George Carlin says it could be

"Dangerous!" Go to www.TheThinkSpot.com

"

"

You will recall how you were inspired

to THINK CRITICALLY and to

question without fear, to seek out

radically different solutions and to

voice them without reprisal, to read

widely and deeply, and to examine

without end and grow intellectually. . . .

What I ask is this: pass it on.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, June 11, 2009i

* * *

* * *

* A person trying to interpret an angry friend's

needs, expressed through a rush of emotion

and snide comments, to give that friend

some help and support

* A manager trying to be as objective as possible

when settling a dispute by summarizing

the alternatives, with fairness to all sides

to a disagreement

* A team of scientists working with great precision

through a complex experiment in an

effort to gather and analyze data

* A creative writer organizing ideas for the

plot of a story attending to the complex

motivations and personalities of the fictional

characters

* A person running a small business trying to

anticipate the possible economic and

human consequences of various ways to

increase sales or reduce costs

* A soccer coach during halftime working

on new tactics for attacking the weaknesses

of the other team when the match

resumes

* A student confidently and correctly

explaining exactly to his or her peers

the