INACCURATE THINKING

It was the rediscovered writings of the philosophers of Ancient Greece that began the "Renaissance" or "Rebirth" of the Western Civilization from a society dominated by religious dogma to one that was curious, questioning, and objective. This period of enlightenment ushered Europe out of the "Dark Ages" and into scientific thinking.

Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), born in London, England, determined some of the causes for inaccurate thinking. He also proposed a method of developing scientific laws. He argued that although philosophy at the time used deductive reasoning (sitting and thinking) to interpret nature, to think more accurately the knowledge seeker should instead proceed through inductive reasoning from facts (gained by observation and experimentation) to axiom to law. Before beginning this induction, the inquirer is to free his or her mind from certain false notions or tendencies which distort the truth. He called these tendencies "Idols." He explained four kinds:

• "Idols of the Tribe," false ideas which are common to the human race as a whole;
• "Idols of the Den," false ideas which are peculiar to the individual human being;
• "Idols of the Marketplace," false ideas that are due to the misuse of language; and
• "Idols of the Theatre," false ideas that result from an abuse of authority.

The goal of inductive thinking is to discover the ways in which natural things occur and what causes them to happen.

Following are some of the tendencies to think inaccurately that are common to all human beings:

1. The tendency to rely upon assumptions without proof.
2. The tendency of a person to support his or her own personal beliefs.
3. The tendency to believe what one wishes to believe.
4. The tendency to jump to conclusions on the basis of first impressions.
5. The tendency to describe the cause of a thing without verifying this assumed cause.

The typical self-deceptions that are peculiar to individuals may simply occur when a person dedicates his or her mind to some particular interest and interprets all his or her ideas and experiences in terms of this interest. In addition, each individual has his or her own individual set of ideas, situations, circumstances, and experiences that cause him or her to think according to his or her predisposition or prejudice.

Another is the tendency for a person to believe what an authoritative source says is true. This is compounded by the erroneous thinking that because so many people believe it, it must be true.

People also believe what they think is in their best interest to believe--whether it is actually true or not. It's like they hypnotize themselves into believing whatever they want to believe because it's in their best interest to do so.

Finally, as Bertrand Russel discovered, language itself can be a source of "bewitchment" in that people tend to think that a concept really exists simply because it is named and talked about often.