Ismail Noori Mseer

Formerly Ahlia University- Bahrain

Any society that respects the freedom of thinking would be apt for carrying its historical consent, with ability of differentiation, innovation and creativity, and to preserve its potentials by promoting and supporting them, through providing reality with deep interpretations and meanings. It would be able to face problems, solve them, and pursue to achieve renewed constructions that reject ready (Mark Runco 2007, p 12) taboos, complexities and forbidden lines, a society that is made of ability, capacity, potential and skills. The controversy of integrity between (freedom of individuals and power of society), understanding this equation is considered a prerequisite, for a free man is the only one capable of production, accomplishment, thinking, innovation, and the only one who has the ability of exposing and defining defects and corruption,  exercising accountability, to achieve a strong , happy and safe society. A free individual equals a society of progress.  The environment in this kind of a society promotes innovation, interaction and accomplishment.  That's how modern societies were built upon the nonnegotiable concept of the individual's freedom (Rosmary O’kane 1996, p 72) . The result was producing individuals who have no fear from declaring their rights and preserving them. In those civilized communities, the public inquiry protects the constitution, laws, and civil rights. 

Critical mindsets are based on freedom as a corner stone for freeing man from blind obedience to ready set orders. It's to be organized not irresponsible, ( John Hogan 2005, p 97)  it's being precise not excessive, the type of freedom that provides the suitable environment to prosper innovative and creative thinking that has nothing to do with accusing others of being non-believers, sin committers, betrayers,  blackmailers, or accusing them of exercising marginalization or exile, a type of freedom   ( Dana Kay Nelkin 2011, p 36) that would grant individuals liable choices without any external pressure or authoritative command, where obstacles are overcome to reach tangible and theoretical achievements. Man was born free; accordingly he should be fully aware and responsible for his choices. Freedom is a natural right, not in need for further evidence or proof, as it is an original part of the human structure, but at the same time it doesn't mean to contradict reality or losing disciplines, it stops once it confronts others' freedoms, as pointed by Voltaire. It is self reforming as evident in the right of expression, movement, making living, ( Edward Peters 1989, p 341 ) transportation and showing opinion. It's also a group reformer in seeking liberty from suppress, exploitation, control and oppression as that exercised by occupying forces upon a certain country or state.  It is the free will that is based on man's making of his own choices concerning life, deciding destiny, acceptance and refusal, a freedom that deals with reality in a rational way, where we find responsible interaction and obedience for laws in return for acquiring man's right in possession, opinion and decision, according to John Luke.

Freedom is the only appropriate surrounding that enables thinking, interaction and guarantees social development. All efforts are in vain if society is not freed as whole, from sectarianism, partisanship, tribal alliances and all other secondary affiliations to remain adhered to the basic and effective belongingness, the state.

Tyranny and absence of freedom had its dire impact upon scientific action in Europe, where the church controlled most of the scientific and intellectual activities, imposing strict supervision upon thinking and innovation, setting the crime of being a disbeliever as a ready allegation against those who care to think, to the extent that trials were set against any attempts in the direction of change(paul Ehrlich 2000, p395) . The most eminent victims then were, Copernicus, Galileo Galileo, who was forced by the authority of the court to state that earth doesn't turn around itself, and Isaac Newton for his gravity theories and laws.

Critical thinking is the process of exploring the hideouts of Dogma, those based on submissive ( Nicola Smith 2011, p 122 ) obedience and passive acceptance of prevailing and conventional thoughts. It's the mental motivation that is based upon:

1-           Studying the quality of any idea deeply, depending upon its logical evidence and believing in relative thinking.

2-           The conditions and the situation that affected the synthesis of a certain idea.

3-           Its consequences and impact on solid ground. ( Jens Peter 2010, p 312 )

4-           Exposing the interests and beneficial points for parties supporting the idea and refuse discussion and negotiation.

5-           Abolishing claims and the calls aiming to (Hitomi Takemura 2000, p 20) spread the culture of the herd or absolute approval of radical beliefs that have extreme support for a certain political, religious, or social trend.

6-           Exposing hidden interpretations that silently sway far from being discussed. Rejecting unipolar thinking or enclosing the thinking process in a certain individual or group.

7-           Full commitment to progress, change and ongoing transformation of reality through adopting progressive dialogue, that depends upon intellectual evidence.

Critical thinking is the priority which primarily based on exercising true life. In other words criticism addresses the thoughts of exercise itself through( Peter Morton 2010, p 114) stressing upon inspecting all the phenomena that surround man. That said, the main approach and solid base for criticism require original procedures for human thinking to produce an active, positive and life interlaced process, not being a superficial, fake or merely a complementary procedure.  It's an explanation to all that is deliberated of relations, functions, goals, objectives and facts. It is the means by which we distinguish between what prevails as possible and logic and what we desire to accomplish and achieve. Here, the critical mind emerges as the active part of man's actions and activities that exceeds being simply a complementary moment or step in a certain process that includes many decided steps that are made to reach a certain goal or to accomplish a certain objective. Man cannot take one step forward or pursue towards a certain goal unless there is an ongoing function circulating inside his mind: where am I?  What do I want? Where am I heading to? here, criticism is not a disordered anxiety nor is it a phobia that dominates our human senses; it also isn't a psychic behavior but the core of interactive action to ( William james 2002, p 29) ) produce the ideas required to sustain thinking. It's the trigger, the motor, and the main provider for any possible intellectual activity. For any possible thinking activity, Critical thinking is the active presence in the pulse of life itself, as it manages the active participation in crystallizing the meaning that covers the different aspects of life, regardless of it being natural or theoretical, ( Agenieszka Barszczewska 2011, p 169) where innovation and creativity would produce renovation and change to all that already exists and prevails, to be innovative in the direction of activation and flourishing, not to be submissive to relations already set by conventional powers that pursue to spread minor ideologies and beliefs.

Socrates, the Greek philosopher, started his philosophy lessons with the phrase: come to know yourself . ( James Engell1989, p 177) From then it was the launch of organized critical thinking concerning this innovative creation, or in other words: the human's soul, considering it the only means to bond a sound relation with the world surrounding us. Therefore it was like a philosophic leap that enabled thinkers to explain this world. The first spark was to induce the desire for creativity, innovation, action, achievement and exercising results by focusing upon differentiation inside the very soul, where the pursue to compensate between spontaneous logics and the desire to adapt unplanned provisions with the abundant details of our world through a continuous dispute that is based upon interaction across the system of creativity, innovation and renewal.

 In Arabic as we follow the thread to the origin of the word (criticize) or (naqd), we find that it refers to the process of separating the true coins from the fake ones. In Arabic tongue it is the autonym of falsehood and this term was meant primarily to distinguish the original currency from the fake ones. (the original Arabic version of this book has more details on the Arabic root for Arabic  native speakers.)

On the other hand, criticism from a scientific point of view is the rational standard based on concrete foundations of visions, ideas, thoughts, concepts and terms that are commonly in use for a certain subject. The goal is to release scientific thinking, set a comprehensive conduct, and make decisions to prosper knowledge.  Exercising critical thinking never seemed to be absent from humane conduct, but as whole, the growth of civilization and development of human activities and behavior, was but only the natural result for the conduct that man has adopted towards increasing cultural, beauty, religious, social and political issues. The starting point was man's endeavor in life by crystallizing questions according to critical status concerning venue and surrounding nature. If it weren't for the critical mentality that man has adopted, we wouldn't have witnessed these architectural monuments, all these magnificent landscapes that were presented to the world in the forms of statues, monuments, murals, decorations and creativity in styles and fashion. Man couldn't have accomplished what he  ( Aziza SEID 1995, P12) ( In Arabic language) had if it weren't for the gift of differentiation and his intellectual capacity that enabled him to be open towards religion, beliefs, and to adapt himself in linkages with relatives, marriage and family in addition to the feeling of belonging to one's country and the virtue of citizenship.  This is also important in our continuous march in  ( Michail Hattersley 2009, p 55) the fields of labor and production therefore differentiation and setting comprehensive conducts towards our surroundings built the tremendous parade of human civilization.

Critical thinking is a skill that could be acquired through continuous challenging work, serious follow up, penetrating observation, thoughtful reading, and accumulation of knowledge. Some might be gifted with the sense of critique, through the talent of observation, but it surely would remain short of strict methodology to acquire information or knowledge because criticism by itself is an organized process that reveals defects and excludes them, according to Karl Popper, from this rises the importance of logical conclusion and analyzing given information, in order to be capable of facing the problems resemble the obstacles in the way of scientific research in any field of knowledge , extending to all fields of life. Critical thinking is not an emerging process that lights up in a certain situation, or a temporary desire a man needs to meet to investigate a certain case, but it's a comprehensive path in life, given its role in synthesizing decisions, regardless of time, place or type. It's a humane conduct that a man endorses towards the world that surrounds him. It's the renewable and intuitive vision that is actively participating in accommodating with the different details, conducts, information, alterations, ( Henry Sussman 2005, p 153) and developments that the today's world is excessively flushing through the era of information technology and its out of control abundance.

What are the available and possible tools to face this thrust the world is witnessing today? Is it satisfying to merely describe and study the details and their accumulation? Or is it that reality imposes several facts that are in the same direction of the new ones. The era of rationality that humanity has first dedicated since the 17th century and according to Toynbee, was principally based upon (thinking power). ( Richard Paul, 2007, p 137) , According to Toynbee, the British historian, man should be keen on developing it, and promoting it through programs and plans that enable it to be part of the societal and cultural system, not merely a slogan, that advocates an emerging idea or trend.

It's globalization, being the medium to rebuild the international relations from the American unipolar point of view. It's the cultural struggle that presented new struggles and tensions, between the radicals who defend their original mindsets, ( Wenjiang Du, p 313)    considering globalization a grave threat upon their system, and between the modern mindset that believes in plurality, coexistence, and accepting the others, these calls were made by the international community, as a response to the communication's effect of streaming people into one pool, reaching to the extent that our administrative and social relations are attended via screens of computers. It's the era of computer chips, where you find the E- card, E- government and E- markets.  This correlation and crosscutting are actual facts we witness, in procedures taken to impose food security and to deal with transportation problems and teaching and training issues, and how to address development as a concept based on follow-up, assessment and setting applicable standards and terms. This is the era of innovation , creativity and open minds, a mindful response to the accelerating tone of building up relations in life that are the natural need in the scope of scientific transformations and( Saeib aloosi , 1985, pp 71-79,( In Arabic language)   development and resulting risks.There is no place for fear or uncertainty, the mobilizing power for this era is a furious competition and a neither lenient nor stop adventure.

Q3: Practice and information revolution, how the way?

The revolution of information that the world is witnessing recently, revealed the excellence of science and technology that man has achieved throughout his history of building the human civilization. It's the revolution of communication that has emerged in the forms of satellite channels, networks, mobile sets, and successive versions of laptops and tablet computers. These are the new features that resulted from the symbolized economy and the development and accelerated activity of the banking system. It represents transparent clarifications by publishing the details of cultural, social and political activities as whole. It's democracy or the direction towards adopting the political paragon of freedom, equity, justice, human rights and international legitimacy.

There is no means to create reality without understanding it, that’s how the Marxian mindset interpreted  ( Marios Camihis, 1979 ) the nature of the relation between technical and scientific development in an approach to stabilize and sustain reality. Controlling it would be by understanding it deeply including all its details. This control was deteriorated quickly, for what science and technology have controlled by understanding nature and its details, it has become today the main cause of losing this control.  Today both are blamed for pollution, greenhouse crisis, raise in psychological stress, depression, raise of unemployment, risks of nuclear leaks, and global markets' crises. Here we witness the retreat of (clear and absolute) that were the main pride of science and technology, during the past and a half century of the human race, pushing the world into the turn of ambiguity and phobia, towards catastrophes that still lie unknown.

Free thinking knocked the doors of humanity once it was first introduced by the philosophers of enlightment to emphasize upon the relation between (comprehension and creation) it's the controversy between deep understanding of reality(Anthony Giddens 2003) that is acquired by logical thinking, to be apt to form and construct reality. It's the action of (freedom and control) where man is freed from the burdens of the past, and eventually seizing the abilities to have control upon reality, subsequently, ( Natasha Gill, 2010, p 67)   stepping towards future with concrete steps.

Meaning and Reality