Why Thinking Well is Worth It

Thinking well is worth it, but it’s hard sometimes. Let’s examine both these ideas.

Thinking carefully and well sometimes requires us to reconsider beliefs on which our identity rests, and this can be uncomfortable. You can read more about that here: What Does It Mean to Think Well, and Why Is It Hard Sometimes?

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin. Grubleren, in Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

So is thinking carefully and well worth it?

Yes! Even though it’s hard and uncomfortable sometimes, thinking well is definitely worth it for these reasons, among others. Thinking well help you . . .

• Develop clarity of mind.

• Build confidence in solving problems.

• Figure out your ethics and political beliefs.

• Help you communicate better.

All these results of thinking well improve our life dramatically.

And here is another really important thing to know about thinking well.

Some people think that the main purpose of learning to think well is to disprove people’s arguments and be able to beat anyone in a debate.

Now, of course, winning arguments can be fun. But it should not be the main goal of learning to think well. And, in fact, if you make winning arguments your main purpose in learning to think well, you are much more likely to develop bad thinking habits. That’s because if winning is your main goal, you are much less likely to be humble and self-reflective, which are necessary habits if you want to detect and correct your own thinking errors.

So, if you want to think well, it’s important to understand that the ultimate purpose of learning to think well is developing the ability to live our lives with more love and wisdom. When we make that our goal, we are always on the right track.

Wisdom, wood carving by William Rush, 1812-24, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Let’s start learning to think well by learning about some common thinking errors.

Here is the next post in the series:

Ad Hominem: Argument Pitfall #1

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For further reading, you might be interested in these three books I have written (or co-written) to help people develop good thinking habits.

My books are The Argument Builder, The Discovery of Deduction (co-author), and Everyday Debate.

You can find these books at Classical Academic Press here.

And you can also order them from Amazon:

Everyday Debate (I recommend starting with this one.)

The Argument Builder

The Discovery of Deduction

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Here is the first part in the series:

What Does It Mean to Think Well, and Why Is It Hard Sometimes?