#117: Thinking Through Others, Via Negativa & Overthinking
3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Thinking for Yourself
I. Thinking Through Others
According to author Scott H. Young, thinking for yourself is impossible without first thinking through others. He explains:
You think for yourself first by learning a lot of the thoughts of other people. Other thoughts and ideas don’t pollute originality and independence, they create the preconditions for it.
The person who claims to think for himself, yet scorns learning from other sources, invariably is under the hidden influence of a source he doesn’t recognize. The only way to truly think independently is to have enough knowledge to spot the hidden assumptions that underwrite your current views.
—Scott H. Young, How to Think for Yourself
II. Via Negativa
Via Negativa is an approach to thinking that hinges on an elimination tactic. Humans are not so good at acting supremely smart. We’re much better at knowing what we should definitely not be doing. Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains:
[I]n practice it is the negative that’s used by the pros, those selected by evolution: chess grandmasters usually win by not losing; people become rich by not going bust (particularly when others do); religions are mostly about interdicts; the learning of life is about what to avoid. You reduce most of your personal risks of accident thanks to a small number of measures.
—Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Antifragile
You may not know if you will finish that essay in time. What you do know beyond the shadow of a doubt is that doom-scrolling through Twitter will definitely not get you there faster.
Intrigued? Read my essay on Via Negativa: The Power of Knowing What Not to Do.
III. Overthinking
At the other extreme, too much thinking poses a cognitive hazard. British writer and philosopher Alan Watts knew how overthinking can cause us to lose touch with reality.
Most of us think compulsively all the time. That is to say we talk to ourselves. And I remember when I was a boy we had a common saying: ‘Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.’
Now obviously, if I talk all the time I don’t hear what anyone else has to say. And so in exactly the same way, if I think all the time, that is to say I talk to myself all the time, I don’t have anything to think about except thoughts.
And therefore I’m living entirely in the world of symbols and I’m never in relationship with reality.
—Alan Watts
Like Alan Watts? I’ve collected some of his best quotes in one of my long-form articles. 🐘
Have a great week,
Chris
themindcollection.com