An analytical approach yields confidence and satisfaction

by Richard L. Weaver II

An analytical approach to anything can be taught, but it is much easier to learn if it feels comfortable. Just as music or art tends to be self-selective, that is, those with some talent already tend to gravitate to these areas, an analytical or critical approach to life does the same. For some, analyzing, judging, comparing, and contrasting is as natural as the air they breathe. It is part of any science course — often referred to as “the scientific method” — but transporting that point of view from the classroom and making it part of your everyday perspective on life doesn’t always take place.

Analytical intelligence is improved and becomes more meaningful when it is coupled with creative intelligence, or the ability to cope with novelty, and with practical intelligence, or how we handle problems that occur in daily life. What makes up “intelligence” is not the point of this essay, however.

If it is true that in society today, one of the prized attributes that employers look for in new employees is analytic ability, what does that mean? Or, to turn the question around, what could new employees do to demonstrate analytic ability? Certainly colleges and universities would contend that one of their primary goals is to teach students how to think and write critically and analytically, but what does that mean, and how would it be detected?

The first step in thinking critically and analytically is perspective. When you realize that one person’s view of anything is partial, one-sided, distorted, biased, and narrow, then it becomes immediately clear that the only way to gain perspective is to stand back from the information given. It could be that you are too close to see the whole, or it could be, too, that you are so far away that you are unable to gain a close examination. Since any position you assume distorts what you are observing, the key is to examine the issue or object in detail and from many angles. Before doing anything, gain perspective.

The second step in thinking critically and analytically is persistence. One tendency of those who approach decisions or solve problems is to react too quickly. Issues must be carefully considered, of course, but examination should take place more than once. Effective critics and analyzers don’t give up on ideas, they pursue them in a determined, purposeful, and tireless manner, and it is just such unrelenting pursuit, incessant searching, and sustained striving that brings effective results.

The third step in thinking critically and analytically is gathering and evaluating evidence. Without evidence any observation or opinion is merely an assertion. In its broadest sense, evidence refers to anything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Gathering and evaluating evidence is the process of finding and determining the credibility of facts, opinions, statistics, and other data used to support a belief or viewpoint. Gathering and evaluating evidence allows the critic or analyzer to check closely to see what is accurate and what is false, compare the same issue from a variety of the points of view of other theorists and writers, determine and explain why one set of opinions, results, or conclusions is preferable to another, and keep on guard for literary or statistical devices that encourage taking questionable facts at face value.

The fourth step in thinking critically and analytically involves logic. One needs to make certain that each statement follows logically from what went before. In addition, flaws in reasoning, evidence, and in the way conclusions are drawn must be examined. At this point, too, one can check for hidden assumptions as well as attempts to lure one into agreement.

The fifth step in thinking critically and analytically is to look at implications. The essential question is, where does or will this belief or viewpoint lead? What conclusions are likely to follow? Are the conclusions suitable? Rational? If not, should the belief or viewpoint be reconsidered?

The problem is that most people are subjective. That is, they offer viewpoints and opinions that are strictly personal, individual, and emotional, and they have engaged in no activities whatever that might lend objectivity to their views with the exception, perhaps, of saying, “And I know a lot of people who will agree with me on this.” That comment alone reflects zero critical or analytical thinking.

In addition to subjectivity, poor critical or analytic thinking is reflected in weakly structured ideas, opinions and viewpoints offered as narrative [stories] instead of analysis, generalized points of view that are vague, wordy, circular in their argument, and based on value judgments and unfounded or unacknowledged assumptions. None of these form the foundation of solid ideas, reasoned decisions, or sound solutions.

When you meet people who have some training in critical and analytical thinking or who are naturally adept, you will detect it in the rigor they use in approaching new situations, the precision they demonstrate in expressing their viewpoints, their judicious selection of supporting evidence, the way they present well-thought through arguments, and clearly balance differing points of view. All of these reflect good critical and analytical thinking, and they can be detected in interview situations when interviewees are asked how they would make decisions or resolve problems in totally new circumstances or unfamiliar situations.

When you learn to think critically and analytically, it is likely to have a direct and immediate effect on your life. Why? Because of the number of daily/weekly activities where it will be revealed. It will be displayed when you persuade, or are the recipient of persuasion from others, in sales situations or dealing with political techniques, in debunking con artists, psychics, doubletalk, pseudoscience, and lies. More important, you will develop greater confidence in your ideas, and you will find it more satisfying to share them with others.

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The web site is change.org, and Steve B’s short essay, “Think Like a Designer: The End of Analytic Thinking,” at http://www.change.org/changes/view/1736 offers readers an alternative to analytic thinking called a systems approach. The final line of this brief essay is: “The end result: A Redesigned System where the parts, how those parts interact, and the overall objective of the system represent the best knowledge and wisdom of today.”

At the web site Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, Howard Gabennesch at http://www.csicop.org/si/2006-02/thinking.html has written an essay entitled, “Critical Thinking: What Is It Good for? (In Fact, What Is It?),” and offers considerable insight into the process. Not only does Gabennesch provide a clear definition, but he discusses the benefits and how critical thinking can be promoted as well. This is useful, worthwhile information.

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Contact Richard L. Weaver II