Skipping the God Debate -- A CT Primer

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All right already... is there a god, or isn't there?

I'm tired of the endless runaround... somebody tell me! If there is a god, is it the same god for all religions, or a series of entirely unique gods which each serve their own religion, and that religion alone?

If there are multiple gods, then are they crowded up there... wherever there is?

Do they get in each other's way or do they live, invisible to one another, in separate and unique planes of existence? And if they do... then which of them is responsible for creating the multiple planes of existence?

Is there a god association, complete with elections, so that one of them can be in charge and run the association for a year... or a million?

Do we look like god?

Or does god look like us?

Or is there no god, anywhere? No planes of existence, no association, no dues? Are we actually alone, making all our own choices, receiving help from no deity in heaven at all? Are we experiencing free will in the construction of an artificial deity to comfort us when answers do not come, or when we don't like the answers that do?

I really don't care any more.

I'm ignoring this argument entirely from now on.

I mean, what's the point in trying? Have I ever, ever persuaded one person to abandon their firmly held religious position and suddenly believe the other way? How do I feel at the end of the day, after hours of logical, intelligent arguments have had not one iota of effect? I'll tell you how I feel. I feel like banging my fucking head against a wall.

Whatever we people believe, it's firmly rooted. And whatever the REASON for our belief, none of us are about to accept any argument, convincing or otherwise, that dissuades us from what we think is right. Our minds are set in concrete. We are stubborn. Intractable. Obdurate. Yes, even pertinacious (it's bad... look it up).

So I give up entirely-- I'm not going to try. You have my permission (like you need my permission!) to hang on to your views, as sophomoric and illogical as they are. You can believe whatever you want; avoid that ladder, run away from that black cat. You can stare in the sky for a guy in a sleigh or squat in a pumpkin patch until you grow hemorrhoids in a ring for all I care. You can put a dead guy up on a pedestal hanging on a cross, bullshit your kids about tooth-sensitive fairies putting money under their pillows at night, scatter painted hardboiled eggs around your property and show mock surprise when presented. You can imagine that lion actually lives in that oval at the beginning of each film and roars on command.

You can be an ignorant idiot if you want-- it's a free country. I don't care. I'm not talking to you anyway.

My target audience is much, much larger. You bottom-of-the-bell-curve people are only part of the fringe... the implacable fools. You are the ones greeting the alien spaceship with open arms right before it melts your bones. You are the ones forever trying to pull the sword from the stone. You are those who impart imaginary power to fancy sticks called wands.

You guys can remain in the grey swirling mist of your own unenlightenment, waving your hands about until you strike another idiot standing in the fog waving their hands about. I don't even care if it slaps sense onto you. It's too late... you are doomed.

But you can do one thing right!

Yes, there's one very important choice you can make which will improve the future world immeasurably, which will cause huge numbers of the coming generation to grasp for truth and involves no action on your part:

I only ask that you NOT drag your poor innocent children into your morass of idiocy.

It already sucks that you fill their heads with nonsense. It's a crime how you crap on the learning process with your romantic and unprovable drivel. It's irresponsible how you approve every fictional story they watch and subsequently swallow whole, and carry around with them instead of learning something far more valuable-- a logical moral compass-- only to choke back bitter resentment for you when they invariably learn the truth.

You won't listen... I called you stubborn and I could not be more right. I could beg you to let them make up their own minds up about unproven belief systems when they are old enough to make informed decisions, but you'll hear none of it. Your only job, it seems, is to imprint your ignorance onto another generation of fringe morons. That and prolific babymaking.

Whoa. Bitter much, man?

Okay it's true. I'm being the tiniest bit condescending. Fact is, from what we know about people living in this society, it's the confrontation that hardens a person's resolve agains invasive ideology. If I really intend to direct people toward a better way, then it can't be done by pounding on their beliefs with a metaphorical sledge hammer. It has to be accomplished with reason and guidance, example and reflection. People need to become more educated.

Stop! Don't go running away yet. I ain't suggestin' no booklearnin' for y'all. I know how scary that is. And for good reason-- despite our best efforts, American education is dull and boring, designed for a only a few natural learners, and warped by political interference to teach exactly the same subjects and facts to everyone, equally.

I am referring to a very specialized talent, one which is easy to learn and understand. It will take years of practice to become proficient, but only a few minutes to learn the basics. And it might be the most important subject you learn in your life, teaching a skill which could save your ass over and over throughout your life.

To what do I refer, this magical course which can cause each person it touches to be, if not a genius, at least remarkably salient? It's called Critical Thinking (CT), and it allows us to be our own best friend when confronted with new information. Wikipedia defines it as "purposeful reflective judgment concerning what to believe or what to do."

In a nutshell, using CT helps people to:

• Clarify goals

• Examine assumptions

• Discern hidden values

• Evaluate evidence

• Accomplish actions

• Assess conclusions

and do so in a way which is accurate, considered and unbiased. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, you must admit that knowing the actual fact about anything is far more helpful than creating your own truth. Whether or not you choose to share facts with the world outside is up to you, but the simple clear knowledge will serve your decision making process long into the future. With CT, when a friend tells you the sky is blue because it is reflected from the blue oceans you can smile and nod, all the while knowing the truth because you took the time to look it up... and learning a second, more important truth: Perhaps your friend doesn't know as much as he thinks. In time, you can internally divide your entire association of acquaintances into two groups: the honest, and the bullshitters... or at least, the ones who have no problem passing along unchecked data.

So generally, CT is a way of finding the TRUE answers in life.

That's a lot of promise! In short, it's like having an expert in your brain whenever you need it. As an example, say someone is selling a diamond ring on Craig's List. CT does not make you a diamond expert. Rather, it allows you to look at the overall situation with a watchful eye, allowing you to formulate and ask yourself important questions like 'Is this guy on the level?' and 'what are the chances this diamond is fake?'

and 'why is he meeting me in an empty lot?'

Most of us already use CT to a limited extent, mainly because we live in a 'Buyer Beware' kind of world-- we use it to prevent getting ripped off, as in the example above. But with a practiced touch it can allow us to form accurate guidelines to help us with very complex or even vague issues, like recommending war, or whether god exists.

When you take the time to learn CT, it develops your abilities of:

• Observation

• Interpretation

• Analysis

• Inference

• Evaluation

• Explanation

and serves to make you an indispensable source among others who value hard data, honesty and the truth. Plus, it ticks off the dummies!

I didn't just say that. Ignore it.

Learning CT gives you:

• The ability to understand the problem at hand

• A way to find evidence through observation

• Clarity in finding context in your judgment

• Criteria for making an accurate judgment

• Techniques for forming an accurate judgment

So it makes you judgy... it also makes you right. Hence, here I re-state the importance of knowing when to keep quiet with your valuable, factual data and when to offer it. Develop sufficient critical thinking techniques and that answer will become clear to you as well. As you can see, it's obvious I haven't learned that particular skill or I would be far more subtle in my writing of this post. So the student becomes the teacher becomes the student again.

As if you didn't figure it out, CT helps your:

• Logic

• Clarity

• Credibility

• Accuracy

• Precision

• Relevance

• Depth

• Breadth

• Fairness

I didn't mention this earlier-- CT helps you become a more self-actualized person. How can you develop the above list of criteria without improving? Many of these features helped our ancestors out of caves, calmed their fear of eclipses and phases of the moon, (eventually) squelched our fear of witches, goblins, devils and the like, and allowed clarity when observing natural phenomenon. In short, CT helped humans advance to modernity by creating civility. And somehow the fringe views CT as a dangerous tool. Perhaps because it interferes with their relentless pursuit of power, which can only be aided by widespread ignorance. Smart on, people!

Once you have it, you'll want to use it. Use CT to:

• Raise important questions, formulated precisely

• Gather relevant information and interpret it effectively

• Reach thought-out conclusions by testing them against valid criteria

• Observe and assess alternative systems of thought factually

• Liaise effectively without being unreasonably influenced by others' persuasion

• Formulate workable solutions to complex problems

• Deliberate as a group about what course of action to take

• Analyze the assumptions and methods used to arrive at hypotheses

• Evaluate whether an argument is worthy, if it is valid and is based on true premises

CT can occur when judging, deciding or solving a problem. CT is a powerful tool for figuring out what to believe or what to do in a reasonable way. CT is crucial to becoming a close reader and a substantive writer. CT will build your muscles and regrow lost hair.

That last part is patently untrue. I added it for effect because with all the glowing praise it seems as though I must have married CT and had babies with her. Truth is, it's an incredibly valuable mental tool as evidenced by all the benefits listed above. Because it helps you cut through the bullshit of life, it's the kind of tool you should keep with you at all times.

CT is the mental equivalent of a Swiss army knife.

CT helps develop Fluid Intelligence, which is a nifty term referring to the ability to determine patterns, make connections and solve new problems. If you ever wondered how detectives on TV reach those stunning conclusions... well, it's the writers. But for real-life cops, it's their fluid intelligence brought on by years of critical thinking.

But don't believe me. Well..., yes, believe me-- I ain't lying about this. What I mean is, test yourself. There are at least two tests which measure critical thinking:

California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory

California Measure of Mental Motivation

See how much CT is floating around your brain pan-- you might be surprised. One way or another...

Bottom line-- we can skip the god debate entirely once employing CT. When the question pops up, "Is there a god or isn't there?" the use of CT yields one answer, and one answer alone:

We don't have enough information to decide either way.

Which means that I have already come to a stunning and accurate conclusion using the benefits of CT: Both camps need to shut up! Neither of you can possibly know if you are right or not. The more you profess to know the answer, the more outside observers see you employing the 'argument from ignorance', and choose to disregard both of you.

And that's probably the best gift CT can give you-- the ability to know who is full of bullcrap, and who isn't. I think I'll make up a T-shirt:

Critical Thinking: Science's Best Lie Detector!