Epoche

I wrote this a while back and came across it when looking for my blogs. I read it and thought that it sounded pretty funny because I could actually see someone taking all these steps to think about something. And then I thought about the Skeptics and the concept of epoche (or suspension of thought).Critical thinking is a mental process in which an individual obtains information regarding a topic and makes a logical association between that topic and their own belief. This being said, one can compare the concept of critical thinking to gathering flowers for an ornate arrangement. This task is complicated because one must first decided for what event this arrangement will be made; for not all flowers are appropriate at all gatherings. In this way critical thinking develops. Critical thinking is complicated in that it has many varied parts to the process. The first step in critical thinking is to decide which topic you will be thinking about and what stances there are in the discussion of this topic. You must decide which view of the topic fits your style of thinking best. By doing this you have eliminated many of the inappropriate assumptions that you might develop if you would have analyzed the topic from randomized viewpoints contrary to your own. After this one must find which flowers would survive best in the surrounding in which they will be placed; whether this means a table in a vase or a wreath or some other sort of adornment. Then one must progress to the task of gathering the flowers for this presentation. They must be varied, because you do not want make the arrangement colorful and you do not want to discriminate against a specific species of flower. These flowers must also complement each other in order to make the arrangement fit some sort of order. When complete, the final arrangement must be pleasing to you, because if it is not, then there is no point in putting together this arrangement.

I wrote this a while back and came across it when looking for my blogs. I read it and thought that it sounded pretty funny because I could actually see someone taking all these steps to think about something. And then I thought about the Skeptics and the concept of epoche (or suspension of thought). It’s strange to think that there were individuals that at one time took the time to stop and think because it seems like now a day we just act on impulse and desire. I feel like the concept of stopping to think involves nothing more than just working the idea over in your mind as you are putting it to action.