As I mentioned in my first post, the most important thing in the process of critical thinking is to ask ourselves how much are we willing to question our own beliefs. This is important because each time we read articles that conform with what we already believe we drop our mental defences. Our mental weapons are the tools we use to analyse arguments with a critical stance.
For example, if I believe that charity is a good thing, I may not be so critical of articles that promote charity towards people or countries in need, but there may be some charitable works that are not completely free from criticism. There are questions that must be asked such as;
Is it better to invest the charity’s funds to offer direct food aid or will this money be better employed training the citizens on effective management of their own resources?
If you are prone to emotional responses, you may feel inclined to send food to countries where images of hungry children have been all over the media. But you need to question yourself if these images are local or global?
Is the hunger the result of inadequate political management, war or an environmental catastrophe?
Is hunger the result of overpopulation on ecosystems that cannot support population growth?
Would your attitude towards aid vary according to the causes that lead to hunger?