Beyond Feelings - Vincent Ruggiero.original_ [5]
ONE BRAIN OR TWO?
Brain function research has revealed the importance of a small bundle of nerves found between the left and right sides of the brain. Until recently that bundle, the corpus callosum, was thought to have no significant function. Now, however, scientists know that the brain is not one center of thought and learning but two. Each side has control over certain skills. When the corpus callosum is intact, the two sides work in harmony (although one may dominate). But when the corpus is cut or damaged, the left side of the brain is no longer aware of what the right side is doing and vice versa. Experiments performed with patients in this condition reveal hand controlled by the "blind" eye cannot later identify the object by touch. It is a familiar object to one part of the brain but totally unfamiliar to the other.1
We now know, too, that each half of the brain has its own memories and its own train of thought. The left half deals mainly in words and is associated with analysis and logical thinking. The right half deals mainly in sensory images and is associated with intuition and creative thinking.2 Despite the separateness of the hemispheres, however, the brain's functions are profoundly integrated.
Some researchers regard the brain as synonymous with the mind. Western philosophy, however, has traditionally held that there is an important difference. According to this view, the brain is a physical reality whereas the mind is metaphysical – that is, nonmaterial.
CRITICAL THINKING DEFINED
The word critical often carries negative connotation, implying excessive faultfinding. That connotation does not apply to the term critical thinking, which refers to the process of evaluating ideas. When we think critically, we judge the accuracy of statements and the soundness of the reasoning that leads to conclusions. Critical thinking helps us interpret complex ideas, appraise the evidence offered in support of arguments, and distinguish between reasonableness and unreasonableness. Both problem solving and decision making depend on critical thinking, as does the meaningful discussion of controversial issues.
One of the keys to proficiency in critical thinking is skill in asking relevant questions. Where the uncritical accept their first thoughts and others' statements at face value, critical thinkers challenge all ideas in the following manner:
Thought
Question
Professor Vile cheated me in my composition grade. He weighted some themes more heavily than others
Did he grade everyone on the same standard? Were the different weightings justified?
Before women entered the work force, there were fewer divorces. That show that a woman's place is in the home.
How do you know that this factor, and not some other one(s), is responsible for the increase in divorces?
A college education isn't worth what you pay for it. Some people never reach a salary level appreciably higher than the level they would have reached without the degree.
Is money the only measure of the worth of an education? What about increased understanding of self and life and increased ability to cope with challenges?
Critical thinkers also use questions philosophically; in other words, to wonder about issues, probe them more deeply than is customary, and look for new insights. Consider, for example, the term values. We hear it frequently today in statements like "Our country has lost its traditional values" and "There would be less crime, especially violent crime, if parents and teachers emphasized moral values." Here are some of the questions a critical thinker would ask:
What is the relationship between values and beliefs? Between values and convictions?
Are all values valuable?
How aware is the average person of his or her values? Is it possible that many people deceive themselves about their real values?
Where do one's