Nature of Logic and Perception

Nature of Logic and Perception

Critical thinking is the process in which one challenges their emotive, self-centered way of thinking. It causes one to test their own assumptions and question their reasoning. Critical thinking is the process in which one mentally explores deeper than the superficial matters at hand into the deeper layers in order to find out what the real issues are. Successful critical thinking is a process that allows one to creatively problem solve, seek innovative solutions, and essentially "think outside of the box." It also allows one to become more open minded to various situations. Logic and perception both play a role in critical thinking. However, when it comes to weighing their beneficial impact on the critical thinking process, logic and perception are by no means equal. While logic is firmly rooted in reason, perceptions are just as firmly rooted in one's senses, and can easily be corrupted. Therefore, perception is certainly not reality. This is a lesson that I had the opportunity to have reinforced in a recent in-house promotion at work.

Critical thinking is dependent

on the ability of the thinker to be able to successfully think logically. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, logic is defined as "the science of reasoning, proof, thinking, or inference." Therefore, being able to think logically would assist in one's critical thinking abilities. Logic is not tainted by human emotion, and is therefore can be considered a reliable tool to accompany the critical thinking process.

Perception is defined as "the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses," (Oxford English Dictionary, 2001). Since the senses are susceptible to personal interpretation, they are therefore potentially unreliable sources of data. If one is able of rationally thinking through the information that they perceive, then they are more like to make accurate assumptions. However, if one is highly emotive, they may not be able to separate the emotion from the data they perceive and therefore may make an inaccurate assumption. Personally, I feel that I am highly sensitive to my surroundings. I tend to perceive data from my environment, and unfortunately, do not always analyze it enough for validity. This was the case in a recent promotion that I received within the organization in which I am employed.

Two years ago, the company that I formerly worked for lost their contract to another defense contractor. The new company had a different management structure than the previous company. The incoming company implemented frontline supervisors in every section. Previously, employees were essentially self-managed, answering only to their section manager on a monthly basis. Implementing Project Leads implied a level of supervision that employees weren't familiar with. However, our section's team was small and tightly knit, and we were not concerned about the idea of one of us being promoted to Project Lead. At least, that was my perception of the situation. Ultimately, I was offered the position of Project Lead in our section. Initially things ran smoothly as we adjusted to the new reporting and monitoring requirements that are inherent with direct supervision. I also quickly had to adapt to motivating my employees, and hone my leadership qualities. Within a month's time, I had one employee whose productivity began to seriously decline. When we met to discuss the situation, she assured me that everything was "alright." My senses told me that she was being