When I was young, I often had this thought, or rather, question: Why am I me? Similar to the three questions about life that Plato proposed: "Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going?" I dare not say that I started independent thinking from that time, I just feel that "thinking" is something that everyone possesses, and everyone will think unconsciously, but independent thinking is not the same.
What is independent thinking?
There are definitely people around us who passively accept knowledge taught by teachers in their studies, choose to obey in life and work, and often feel confused and helpless when faced with problems.
There are also a group of people who have their own way of learning, obtain knowledge that interests them from other sources on the basis of accepting teachers and school education, do not blindly follow in life, choose their own way of life, have their own opinions and views in decision-making, and do not overly rely on others.
This may be the reason for independent thinking.
Independent thinking means not being constrained by others' words and thoughts, relying on one's own thinking, and not blindly following others. Just because others think this way, I may think that way too.
Why should we think independently?
Selective acceptance of information and knowledge
The world is developing towards "four modernizations" - economic globalization, political multipolarity, cultural diversity, and social informatization. In the future, it will definitely be a highly informatized society, and we have various ways and channels to obtain information. Currently, short videos, public accounts, and so on have become channels for obtaining information. Faced with various information, it is necessary to make appropriate judgments and choices.
By learning to think independently, we will not passively obtain information, nor will our minds be filled with mixed good and bad information. Instead, we will make judgments and understand what is right and what is wrong. Selectively discerning and accepting information is more important than blindly obtaining information.
When obtaining information becomes easy, obtaining the correct information becomes important.
Making better choices
In a sense, the only freedom we have as human beings is freedom of thought. What we like, what we want to do, and how we want to do it are all our own freedom. Others cannot interfere with our thoughts or choices, but at this time, the difference between people lies in whether they can think independently. The role of independent thinking is to make better choices.
The formation of our thoughts is in our hands. Some people cannot resist the temptation of money and turn to a life of crime for profit; some people cannot resist the temptation of fame and create various false news to promote themselves. Everyone will make choices, but not everyone will make better and correct choices. Guo Degang has repeatedly told his son Guo Qilin, "You can choose not to go to school, but you cannot choose not to read; you can have no diploma, but you cannot be without culture." This is Guo Degang's choice for his child's education, although it is different from the choices of most people today, but it is a choice he made after independent thinking and weighing the pros and cons. It may not be the best choice, but it is a better choice for him.
When faced with indecision, we should think carefully about the essence of the matter. Which side is beneficial to ourselves? If someone offers advice, we are likely to compare it with our own decision, but it is our own decision. Why should we mix in other people's thoughts? This is our own path, why should others point the way for us?
A clearer understanding of oneself
We should not be forced to improve ourselves, but actively improve ourselves. People often only realize their shortcomings and deficiencies when they encounter difficulties. Isn't it more effective to discover and correct them in advance?
I used to be used to asking classmates or teachers directly when encountering problems, but they usually don't directly tell you the answer, but teach you the method. We all understand the principle of "giving a man a fish is not as good as teaching him to fish", but we should also think about why others know this method and I don't. This may be one aspect of our own shortcomings. Discovering problems is more beneficial than solving them.
Weaknesses will not expose themselves, they need us to discover them ourselves, pick them out in a timely manner, and correct them in a timely manner. The role of independent thinking is that we can analyze ourselves clearly, think about our strengths and weaknesses, and understand all aspects of ourselves.
Someone on Zhihu said, "What humans are best at is actually constantly 'finding reasons' to make our cognition and behavior appear reasonable, especially when we make mistakes."
In our growth process, especially when we were young, we did not have the ability to think independently. Our brains and surroundings were filled with the words of our parents, the education of our teachers, and the persuasion of others. They were filled with various information, opinions, and suggestions, including various decisions and rules, telling you what is right and what is wrong.
It is undeniable that these things did help us in the early stages of our growth, but they cannot help us for a lifetime. Often because of their existence, the ability of many people to think independently is suppressed, or even lost. When we find that the knowledge we have acquired contradicts what our parents and teachers have taught us, do we have the courage to question and refute? If we encounter dominant parents or teachers who do not allow us to have different thoughts and punish or suppress us because of our different thoughts, will we still tend to think independently? Will that voice deep inside us still be heard?
Some people are called great because they can change the world and promote the development of human civilization. In addition to their extraordinary knowledge and abilities, they also listen to their true thoughts, learn to think independently, and believe in their inner voice and intuition.
Independent thinking is not a particularly magical ability, but it is magical in that it allows you to independently understand the truth of things, independently understand the essence of things, understand what is right and what is wrong, and bravely question and refute incorrect views and thoughts of others. It is even more magical in that it prompts us to form our own ideological system, have our own judgment criteria for things, and have our own way of dealing with life. This is the meaning of independent thinking and the value of our independent thinking.
Independent thinking is an ability that everyone possesses, but it is invisibly deprived by society during the process of growth, because in many cases, people just need to do the same things as others. But this is a loss of human nature, which is good for social stability but bad for social progress. Everyone needs to have some of their own "independent thinking". When encountering a viewpoint, we should not directly accept it, but ask ourselves if we agree with this viewpoint, if it violates our principles, and if it is good or bad for ourselves and society. While accepting a viewpoint, we should also contribute our own thoughts. Only in such a society can there be diversity and diversity, more possibilities, and more opportunities.
The ability of independent thinking exists all the time. If you can get even a little inspiration from my article and deeply understand it, then at this moment you are already thinking independently.