Thinking? Yes, thinking! Thinking makes me think! Confused? Read on and perhaps my thoughts will become more cogent.
William James once said, “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.”
Stop and read that sentence again. See how this thought on thinking might make one think?
Definitions of the word “thinking” routinely include words like:
- intelligence
- reason
- logic
- rationality
- analysis
Prejudice implies:
- preconceived notions
- untested assumptions
- irrational judgments
- faulty learning
- purposeful blindness
Look around you – at your community, your place of worship, the company for which you work, the school system in which you are involved, your governmental representatives, your social circles . . . Your own thought processes. How much real thinking actually takes place? Is it thinking or merely the rearranging of prejudices?
I wonder what might happen if we spent more time really thinking about the issues with which we struggle and less time simply rearranging our prejudices? I wonder. It’s worth a thought!
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
