Practicing Thinking

A coworker of mine and I were talking about philosophy and he asked me, “How do we avoid errors in our thinking so that we know whether our ideas are true?” I did not have an answer for him at first. After pondering for a while I realized that refining one’s thinking is a discipline that requires dedicated practice and constant vigilance, not simply a mental trick or thought that will verify whether another concept is true beyond all doubt.

My question as I write this is “What could I practice that would help me become better at thinking?” Here is what I have so far, and it is nowhere near a complete list. Since it is simply the beginning of a list, I would appreciate comments with any contributions you might have.

1. Practice being aware of my thinking, which allows me to recognize whether it is simply habitual and/or inconsistent.
2. Practice remembering that there are always more perspectives that have something valuable to contribute. Even when I am convinced something is true, my understanding and perspective on that truth can always be broader and deeper.
3. Practice recognizing my emotional state, and how it colors my thoughts.
4. Practice examining the sources, validity, and consistency of ideas I agree with as keenly as I would investigate an idea I disagree with.
5. Practice overcoming my attachment to my ideas, and how personally invested I am in them so that I am more receptive to ideas that contradict my own.
6. Practice remembering that my mistakes are understandable, human, and a marker of progress rather than a badge of shame if I have the courage to recognize them.

There are also specific things I can ask myself when evaluating an idea, especially my own.

1. Practice asking myself “If this idea is true, what would a world consistent with that idea be like?” and determine whether that imaginary world is at all like reality.
2. Practice asking myself whether an idea is consistent with itself. An example of the sort of thought this applies to is: “The thing-in-itself is completely unknowable yet I know that it exists and is unknowable.” This sort of thinking is actually surprisingly common.

Being truthful in my thinking is very important to me, and if you have any contributions to my list of practices I would love to hear about them in the comments section.