The Irrational Ape: Why Flawed Logic Puts us all at Risk and How Critical Thinking Can Save the World

by David Robert Grimes

The analytical aspect of this is vitally important. If we can learn how to trace the path of each assertion to its logical terminus, we can derive much more reliable conclusions than instinct or intuition alone would allow. Perhaps more difficult is to subject our own beliefs to the same scrutiny we’d apply to the convictions of others. We must let evidence guide us, and be prepared to jettison incorrect ideas and beliefs, no matter how comforting they might be. The question isn’t whether we like the resultant conclusion or whether it fits our preferred view of the world; only whether it flows from the evidence and logic or not.