C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G : A G U I D E T O W O R L D O F L I E S

“Advertising is a valuable economic factor because it is cheapest way selling  goods, especially if the goods are worthless”     - S. Lewis

We live in the XXI century which is considered the digital technology and information century, however we have not prepared ourselves to face the consequences of the digital age. Digital technology with its powerful  computers, search engines, smart phones, Skype and the world wide web has enabled the formation of giant social media  and e- commerce  companies. These companies, without any rules and regulations, hiding behind freedom of expressions, have created a free access, digital media environment that is full of misinformation, lies, deceits, fake news, dishonesty and commercialism. Profit became more important than anything else, including human life .

Relentless advertisements have polluted our views, our air ways, our screen times, our newspapers and journals. We are manipulated and brain washed. Truth, moral and ethical principles have lost their values. The current opioid crises in the USA and record opioid over dose death rate is a good example of it.

Giant tech and social media companies provided, worldwide, free services on the surface, but we paid them with the loss of our privacy. They become privy of every click we make and every conversation we utter. They know who we are, where we live, what we do, what we buy, how old we are, how much money we make. They sold all of this private information about us, without our consent, to other companies with very handsome profit. So we are  easily bombarded with targeted ads from everywhere. With e-commerce , advertisements and other ancillary services, they have acquired an unpresented financial clout and they are ready to replace industrial capitalism with digital capitalism.

Consequently digital revolution and digital means, created a confusing, chaotic and toxic environment where, with political wrangling and demagogy, we become an enemy of one another. Our society is  divided and  politized. Racism and sexism have become rampant. Technology and social media have made it easy to do so.

New laws, new rules and regulations are long overdue. Until then, only our critical thinking faculties will save us in this toxic environment, and show us the path of the truth.

However, thinking is not that easy. Thinking requires time, will power and mental energy. It is easier for many of us to use our gut feelings, without thinking, to rationalize and accept the things at their face values. But this attitude will make things worse for all of us. We must think critically to guide us to find the truth behind all of the lies.

My interest in critical thinking comes from many years of medical practice where I used my critical thinking skills to solve my  patients health problems.

As I see it, critical thinking is not a solitary thinking method to be learned. It is rather a stage in the whole thinking process which requires knowledge, experience, time and a disciplined frame of mind. Critical thinking, never takes anything at the face value. It always looks at everything  with a critical eye and mind.

One of the universal  laws of nature is that, ”nothing in nature happens without a cause.” Cause(s) with its own specific effect mechanism(s), produces the effect(s). We are presented only the effects part of the events as a problem, statement, argument, conclusion or information . Before we accept them as the truth, we must investigate with a critical eye and mind, to find the real cause, evaluate the cause and  effect relationships and  the real effects, method and measurement that are used to arrive to their stated conclusions. Together with critical thinking, analytic thinking and synthesizing thinking are used   and, if necessary, relevant research is done. Only after this whole thinking process,  a rational judgement is formed.

As clearly seen, thinking especially critical thinking is not that easy. But there is no other way to combat lies, dishonesty and misinformation we are bombarded with, on daily basis.