Process of Thinking & Decision Making: Part 1
Triune (3-in-1) Brain Theory (Dr MacLean 1960) is a model of the evolution of human’s brain.
1- Definition of thinking
To me, thinking is a mental and intellectual exercise aiming to find an answer to questions or problems we face in our daily life . In these situations, we search our memory to see whether or not we have had similar problems in the past. If we did, we attempt to recall these experiences, the knowledge acquired from them and use them as reference points. At the same time ,we seek the help of our higher mental faculties such as thinking, reasoning, general knowledge, intelligence , logic and willpower try to find a reasonable answer or solution to the present problem at hand.
Thinking is an elaborate ,difficult, long and energy requiring efforts of mind and body. The Process of thinking is most beautifully depicted in Rodin’s world famous thinking man statue.
2-What are the components of thinking?
From the definition of thinking, it obvious that multiple higher components of mental faculties are involved in the thinking process. These are experience, experience generated knowledge , general knowledge, strong memory ,recall ability, intelligence, common sense , logic and a neutral mental environment.
Intelligence (high IQ ) is very important , but intelligence alone is not enough for good thinking. That is why we never ask a smart kid for advice ,we only ask mature, experienced, knowledgeable friends or professionals for their advice or opinions. For the same reasons a newly graduated doctor’s opinion is less valuable to us than an experienced, seasoned doctor’s opinion.
What is the difference between thougths and thinking?
Thoughts are ideas that randomly could pop-up in our minds, they could be about the past, present or future events. Unless we act on these ideas by thinking, they remain as thoughts. Sometimes a loose flux of thoughts can flood our mind, any idle fancy, or day dreaming are just thoughts ,just for the pleasure of them. Sometimes thoughts could cause sadness. I, for example, especially when I am alone immense longing invades my thoughts for the land I was born and that makes me sad. But when I act on these thoughts and decide to visit my birth place, everything look different, nothing matches the images in my memories. I like my memories better than the realities and I will keep my memories as they are . It is obvious that thoughts and thinking are interrelated biological mental events ,but there is a subtle difference between them.
4- HOW DOES THINKING PROCESS START?
According to my most favorite ancient Greek philosopher Socrates (BC 495 ) ,who is considered the father of modern thinking, ”thinking starts by asking questions”. In our daily life we frequently face different problems, events and situations that require our attentions and thinking, in order to find an answer for their resolutions.
Sometimes a thought or an idea could pop-up in our mind that will trigger our thinking.
The questions we ask to think by, must be the right questions, since the wrong questions will initiate the wrong thinking , wrong answers and wrong decisions. The aim of our questions should always be, how to establish the cause and effect relationships that are evidence based. The right questions are,” what, why, how, where and when”. With careful thinking and evidence supported answers ,these questions will lead us to the truth. The truth matters more than ever before, in our digital world that is full of lies, fake news, deceits, misinformation , bias and fanaticism.
