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RB 1: Barriers to Critical Thinking (CT)Chapter 1
WHAT CT IS NOT:1. Disagreement2. To embarrass, humiliate, or dominate3. Nitpicking4. Lacking imagination or creativity5. Applicable only to others’ beliefsBARRIERS TO CT (think of other barriers to CT not discussed in textbook)
df 
= definitionBarrier 1: Frame of Reference (necessary, but can be a barrier)
Frame of Reference
 
df1
(in textbook)The organized body of accumulated beliefs that we rely on to interpret new experience andguide our behavior.
Frame of Reference
 
df2
(not in textbook)A person’s modifiable knowledge-base and set of assumptions, including values, applied for understanding and participating in experiences.
THOUGHT EXPERIMENT 
(in textbook)
Imagine doing an inventory of all your beliefs:
How would you start?What kind of procedure would you use?How long would it take?“Meta-beliefs”: Beliefs
about 
believing, knowing, truthAssumptions: ‘Sub-terranean’ or under the surface, un-examined beliefs
THOUGHT EXPERIMENT 
(not in textbook)
Identify one or more main beliefs in your frame-of reference.
What is a central belief that guides your life?What belief (s) do you feel certain (or secure) about?Barrier 2: Ego-Centricity & Resistance to ChangeWe favor our own positions, values, traditions, and groups.Gallileo’s
Dialogue of the Two Chief Systems of the World 
(1632) replaces the geo-centric view of the universe with a helio-centric model.
Implications:
Consequence: The views and self-concepts of authorities were challenged.Gallileo was threatened with torture, placed under house arrest, and his book was forbidden til1835.
 
 2
Barrier 3: Wishful Thinking & Self-DeceptionWe are rational beings, but not entirely. Emotions and wishes can over-ride reason.Example:
denial 
, re: e.g.,
•
Corruption in government
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Racism
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Abuse in a relationshipBarrier 4: Ethno-Centricity & Cultural ConditioningIn human social life, survival depends largely on:
•
How well we do within our group(s)
•
How well our group (s) do.We tend to incorporate into our belief structure the ideas, attitudes, and values of our group.Barrier 5: Hasty Moral JudgmentsWe are quick to denounce persons and acts as immoral, and to approve and admire those weconsider ‘good’ and ‘right’.We judge people by their appearance, background, or associations, often over-looking the facts,but based on:
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Emotion
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Prejudice
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Pre-conceptions
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Intolerance
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Self-righteousnessBarrier 6: Reliance on AuthorityAuthority
df 
A source of expert information outside oneself.1. Individual2. Group3. Institution
Milgram’s Experiment on Authority 
 Experiments: 1960’sBook: 1974 Obedience to AuthoritySubjects were told that the experiment was to determine the effects of punishment on memory.Really, it was to investigate the extent will people obey an authority, even to the point of hurtingothers.Subjects were asks to administer increasingly strong ‘electrical shocks’ to people they couldn’tsee. (There was no actual shock). They were told that the shocks would be painful, but wouldcause no permanent injury (‘slight shock’: 15 volts to ‘severe shock’: 450 volts).
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