A Critical Thinker’s Bill of Rights

Have you ever experienced a sudden blast of awareness—what you thought you knew, you now question? What did that feel like? Disturbing? Anxiety-provoking? Liberating?

Have you ever been in a conversation only to discover that the ideas you hold would injure your relationship if you were to say them out loud? How did you manage those thoughts and ideas?

Do you ever feel pressured to declare a decided opinion, even when you don’t have the data and education to take a strong position? Where did that pressure com from? What were the unsaid (or said) consequences of deviating from the group’s approved beliefs?

How often do you feel pressured by your people (group, partner, parent, best friend, leader) to prove your allegiance by declaring what you believe?

Have you been taught that a private thought is dangerous? Who taught you that?

We’re in a crisis of group-think today. People are being called on to prove their allegiance to larger identities by the leadership in those groups.When someone asks if you are a conservative or a liberal, they want a shortcut to your mind—to know if they can trust you or blame you.We’ve substituted identity for thoughtfulness and we celebrate agreement and alignment more than divergent thinking.

1. You have the right to your own thoughts and viewpoint. You own your mindWe talk a lot about body consent. What about mind consent? When someone is teaching you anything, ask yourself if you are required to hold the same opinion as the leader or the majority of people in the group? What happens if you dissent? Is your membership at risk?Dissent is the chlorine in the pool of opinion. It keeps everyone safe from group think.

2. You have the right to disagree with leaders and members. Leaders are human beings. They don’t always know more. They assert more. Ask for sources, how a viewpoint aligns with a value, what their aims are for holding that viewpoint. You have a right to need more information than what is offered and to ask for it.

3. You have a right to private thoughts. You don’t owe people your truth. Your mind is your own—remember. Ask: is this person likely to use what I believe against me? Am I ready for blowback? Would expressing my views put someone else at risk?When re-evaluating a belief, keeping your journey private is one way to think well (without the distraction of having to defend yourself prematurely).

4. You have the right to not know. None of us has expertise in every area. We are asked to weigh in on topics that are outside our field of expertise all the time. Saying, “I don’t know about that” or “I am unsure that that idea makes sense to me” or “I would need more information before I can support this idea” or even a simple “I don’t know” is clean and just.

5. You have the right to change your mind (as many times as you like). No position is for all time. Over decades, you will modify your views repeatedly—due to new data or information, due to experiences, due to encounters with others. So will others. Better questions sound like: “How do you see it these days?” or “You said you believe X. How do you account for Y?” Expanding our viewpoints into what we don’t know is a key part of critical thinking.

6. You have the right to not be defined by the group that claims you. Just because you overlap with people in a religious group, an educational model, a political party, or a town or country doesn’t mean that you are a known quantity who is one hundred percent in alignment with the tenets of that identity. You decide which identities are yours and what they mean to you. No one else can do that for you.A corollary: resist labels. Labeling yourself a vegan or a homeschooler, a Christian or a Democrat can act as a shortcut for others to judge you or hold you to their set of beliefs. Since beliefs are in flux, beware of over-identification with any one identity. Harmful to thinking well.

7. You have the right to speak up, even if your voice falters. You don’t have to know it all. You can have honest reactions and own them: “That disturbs me,” “I can’t listen to racism,” “I don’t agree with that doctrine,” “I cannot stay married to you if this continues.” You are not on the hook for a perfect defense of your beliefs and values. You have as much right to declaring your perspective as the more dominant, celebrated person.

8. You have the right to expect evidence, proof, documentation, and consistency from people you trust. You never have to go on “vibes.”

9. You have the right to expect people to live up to their stated values, and to hold them accountable. People use the “hypocrisy tactic” all the time—”How can you say you believe this, when you act like that?” It can be a tool to shut down a conversation when used passive-aggressively.That said, if someone keeps shifting the goalposts to justify unacceptable behavior, you have the right to notice, say so, and ask the person to return to their values.

10. You have the right to expect fairness and courtesy. When someone attacks you or your character, the conversation is over. No need to keep justifying your viewpoint. Good thinking happens when two parties show goodwill. Not everyone deserves to talk with you. You can express your beliefs in lots of ways:

• voting
• writing
• civil conversations
• raising children
• serving people
• putting signs in your yard
• honoring your values in the places your work and live

Debate rarely persuades anyone.

Values and beliefs are not the same.

Values: peace, mutuality, fairness, loyalty, kindness, justice, love

Beliefs: marriage, democratic elections, sales tax on services, due process

Critical thinking is not about adopting a once-for-all-time position. It’s learning to live with the discomfort of knowing that each idea we hold is contingent—can be modified by new information, experiences, and encounters. Critical thinking is guided by patient research, our values, and our experiences and encounters with others. It’s an ongoing process. Critical thinking is not driving for once-and-for-all conclusions.

What questions do you have? Happy to help in comments.