How to think logically on a day-to-day basis: 8 tips

The ability to think logically is not an innate mental ability.. It requires years of practice, as well as growing in a cultural context where there is a level of development that allows it. For this reason, until several thousand years ago, practically no one was capable of perceiving reality from a perspective linked to logic.

Now, although mastering the habit of thinking logically requires some effort and Learning is essential to live in today's societies, both personally and in the professional. Fundamentally, it is something that allows us to make the most of our intelligence and ability to think in terms abstract, with all the applications that this has when it comes to adapting to an environment as changing as that of societies human.

• Related article: "Are we rational or emotional beings?"

Tips for learning to think more logically

Follow this series of tips to get used to thinking logically in most situations. Yes indeed, you will have to adapt these key ideas to the characteristics of your life.

1. Learn to distinguish ideas

It is important make sure we don't confuse concepts, making the same word actually have two imprecise meanings instead of only one that is clear and according to its definition. For example, it is not the same to refer to "the people" when talking about the inhabitants of a country, as talking about a State.

So, get in the habit of stopping to analyze if the most frequent terms you think of are consistent and if you don't mix concepts.

2. order your thoughts

What aspects are most important to you in relation to an issue? Is it reasonable that these are your priorities when analyzing a fact or phenomenon? Do you unjustifiably stick to a very specific element of a much more complex reality? Order thoughts and give them a certain hierarchy helps to think logically.

3. Analyze your leaps of faith

The information you have about the reality that surrounds you is limited, and therefore, to a certain extent, you will always have to assume things about facts you don't know. However… are those leaps of faith justified? Do your conclusions really follow from the premises from which you start? Or are you simplifying a problem simply to arrive at a conclusion that seems the most comfortable for you?

4. Avoid argumentative fallacies

Remember that fallacies are not erroneous beliefs, but failed reasoning. It is impossible for us to know if all our beliefs are correct or not, but we can analyze if there are consistency failures in our way of reasoning and arguing.

Therefore, familiarize yourself with the fallacies and check, on a day-to-day basis, if you fall into them. Most likely, you will do it several times, but these occasions should help you learn and correct your mistakes.

• You may be interested in: "The 10 types of logical and argumentative fallacies"

5. meet new people

The chance to interact with new people especially if they are people who think differently from us, is a great help when it comes to getting used to thinking logically. Because? Because finding ourselves in situations that challenge our intelligence and lead us to have to argue our beliefs.

Thus, exposing ourselves to the clash of different and incompatible ideas leads us to review our convictions and see if there are cracks in our belief systems, which

6. Detect patterns of simplification

Do you tend to attribute to individuals facts that are more complex and have a social root (such as poverty)? Do you think that abstract ideas can be treated like physical objects (for example, talking about the law of attraction)? These are common mistakes that lead you to think in a way that is far from logic and that give you a caricatured image of reality.

7. Take a distanced perspective

Don't let your desires and feelings drag you down when thinking coldly about important things. Not doing so usually ends up reaching conclusions according to how you feel, or those that best fit your desires. This is dishonest with oneself and does not do our chances of having a fuller understanding of what is really going on.

8. Beware of false references

Sometimes we fallaciously believe that the most realistic and logical option is the one that we interpret as the most moderate between two opposing options. However, this does not have to be like this. For example, it is possible that our references of what "the extremes" are are anything.

Our position on what racism is, for example, can be a midpoint between those who want to exterminate entire races and those who ignore the existence of these differences, if we stick to that logic. Therefore, before taking a position, we must ask ourselves if these extremes are representations of valid options in the first place.