Creative minds and critical thinking critical thinking examples

What are some errors of truths?

Truth is relative and depends on the issue or argument in question (Ruggiero, 2009). What one individual considers being true, might in fact be misconceived as different individuals may have diverging perspectives of the same issue. This results to errors occurring in what may be considered as the truth.

There are errors of perspective and errors of procedure. Error of perspective arises one an individual in trying to resolve a given issue, fails to seek the perspectives of other individuals and assumes that his or her perspective is right (Ruggiero, 2009). Many individuals fail to accept criticisms with the notion that their view is superior to that of others. Such individuals fail to understand that there are several dimensions in every issue. The dimension they consider as true might just be very wrong. It is therefore essential to allow several other dimension of given issue to determine the relative truth. It is impossible to achieve absolute truth. A while ago I was engaged in a project to ascertain why some children perform exceptionally well in school while others fail consistently. My assumption was that pupils who perform exceptionally have higher Intelligent Quotient than those who fail. I was ignoring that there are other numerous factors which influence the performance of pupils in a school. This other factors were brought to light by my colleagues thus shedding more light on that particular issue.

Errors of procedure involve those errors that one commits repeatedly without identifying the source of the error (Ruggiero, 2009). The errors get engrained in to an individual’s system that their brain fail to identify the specific error while the individual repeats the same action and gets the same result. Usually the individual gets the same wrong result. The brain is geared to believe that the repeated procedure is the correct one. For instance, an individual calculating a given mathematical problem may miss a step in the formula used to calculate that particular problem. The result will be consistent but it will always be wrong. If the individual were to approach that particular problem in a different perspective, then he or she would probably identify the mistake and correct it. Otherwise, repeated procedures if not carefully analyzed would always result to the same problem hence errors of procedure.

According to assigned readings, what are the three steps of refining a solution?

In resolving issues, one needs to identify the problems, analyze them and then find probable solutions for them. The solutions identified are not usually sufficient before they are refined. It is important to ensure that your solutions are polished to remove any flaws that might be inherent before using them for practical purposes. According to Ruggiero (2009) there are steps to which solutions to a problem may be refined. A point to note though is that some solutions do not require refinement but only the most critical and important ones. These steps involve responding to the following questions;

How exactly will that particular solution be applied? In this case all important and critical details are listed.

In a case where the state government is considering legalizing gay marriages, the stakeholders have to weigh the merits from the demerits of this action. It should be considered with this move will have any negative social implications in the society. The society’s views should also be considered in making this decision.

State the difficulties that would ensure and how they would be dealt with.

The religious individuals will strongly oppose this move citing its moral capacity. The administration though will use the constitution to justify this move citing that the state and religion are separate. Individuals will thus be allowed their freedom of expression as long as they do not go against the constitutional laws in the state.

Persuading the society to accept this solution against homophobia.

The most difficult part will be convincing those against gay marriages especially the religious groups. The groups will be told that in the matter concerning the sexuality of an individual, the state or the religious institution cannot determine the choice of an individual. Since these individuals are part of the society, there is no need to discriminate against them in such a manner that they have to hide and live in fear in a just and democratic society.

References

Ruggiero, V. R. (2009). The art of thinking: A guide to critical and creative thought (9th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Longman.