Have We Lost the Ability to Think Critically?

Do we engage with ideas based on the strength or weakness of the arguments and evidence?  Or do we attack the person who presents ideas that differ from ours?

Will we admit that all positions are undergirded with philosophical belief systems that inform any claim made and that no positions are neutral and free from systems of beliefs?    

Are we willing to listen to the best arguments and the strongest evidence for a particular claim?

Will we honestly evaluate the short- and long-term societal, individual, physical, and emotional benefits and drawbacks of a particular claim applied to it’s fullest and farthest capacity?  Both our own dearly held claims, as well as those that oppose them?

Do we approach conversations with those whose philosophical belief systems differ from our own, or whose claims seem to stand in opposition to ours, as opportunities to listen and learn?  Or do we seek to silence, cancel, shout out or down? 

Do we seek out the best research, theories, and evidence for claims that oppose our own and willingly evaluate the worst weaknesses in our own claims?

Are we willing to investigate whether or not our own research has been conducted soundly and conclusions drawn accurately? Will we be honest about the limitations of and gaps in our own evidence? Even as we evaluate the substance of the research from opposing views?

Do we seek understanding and truth at all costs, or do we gravitate toward echo chambers of identically minded voices?

Do we recognize that we all have blind spots that are only revealed when we respectfully engage with others who hold significantly different views than ours?