Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero [7]
If a man's actions are not guided by thoughtful conclusions, then they are guided by inconsiderate impulse, unbalanced appetite, caprice, or the circumstances of the moment. To cultivate unhindered, unreflective external activity is to foster enslavement, for it leaves the person at the mercy of appetite, sense, and circumstance.4
THE ROLE OF INTUITION
Intuition is instinctive knowing or perception without reference to the rational process. Of all aspects of thinking, it is perhaps the most dramatic and therefore the most fascinating. History records many cases of important discoveries just "occurring" to people. They may not even be consciously considering the matter. Then all of a sudden the answer comes to them, seemingly out of nowhere.
The German chemist Kekule found the solution to a difficult chemical problem that way. He was very tired when he slipped into a daydream. The image of a snake swallowing his tail came to him – and that provided the clue to the structure of the benzene molecule, which is a ring, rather than a chain, of atoms.5 The German writer Goethe had experienced great difficulty organizing a large mass of material for one of his works. Then he learned of the tragic suicide of a close friend. At that very instant the plan for organizing his material occurred to him in detail.6 The English writer Coleridge (you may have read his "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" in high school) awoke from a dream with between two and three hundred lines of a new and complex poem clearly in mind.
Intuition is not restricted to famous men and women. Most of us have had similar though less momentous experiences with it. And two facts are common to all these experiences, great and small alike. The first is that intuition cannot be controlled; the second is that intuition is not completely trustworthy. Even the strongest intuition can prove wrong. For both reasons, though intuition is always a welcome companion to critical thinking, it is never a substitute for it. This, of course, is no cause for concern because many other skills of thinking can be controlled and developed.
CRITICAL THINKING AND WRITING
Writing may be used for either of two broad purposes – to discover ideas or to communicate ideas. Most of the writing you have done in school is undoubtedly the latter kind. But the former can be very helpful, not only in sorting out ideas you've already produced, but in stimulating the flow of ideas. For some reason, the very act of writing down one idea has a way of producing additional ideas.
Whenever you write to discover ideas, focus on the issue you are examining and record all your thoughts, questions as well as assertions. Don't worry about organization or correctness. If ideas come slowly, be patient. If they suddenly come in a rush, don't try to slow the process down and develop any one of them, but jot them all down. (There will be time for elaboration, and for correction, later.) Direct your mind's effort, but be sensitive to ideas on the fringes of consciousness. Often they, too, will prove valuable.
If you have done your discovery writing well and have thought critically about the ideas you have produced, the task of writing to communicate will be easier and more enjoyable. You will have many more ideas – tested and proven ideas – to develop and organize.
APPLICATIONS
How closely has your experience with thinking in school matched Arthur's?
Do you find it difficult to ponder important matters? Are you able to prevent the casual, semiconscious drift of images form interrupting your thoughts? Do you have less control in some