Chapter 3/3

Good thinking at its best, includes considerations of three different but interconnected sorts. First we must consider perspectives other than our own: we must think DIALECTICally. Further, we must consider the implications of our ideas: we must think logically. Finally, we must consider our own mind, heart, and aim in life: we must think purposively. In keeping with these three essential Good thinking at its best, includes considerations of three different but, the book comprises three parts.

Part One lays out the basics of the DIALECTIC and explores its fundamental nature, which is consideration of others and other ways of thinking and living. It expands DIALECTICal thought and shows how it is involved in all aspects of our daily lives and what it can contribute to those lives. It also introduces the concept of bipolar understanding. When we become aware of the bipolarity that pervades our world, many of our disturbing dilemmas and contradictions evaporate. Our lives adjust to a more rhythmic and harmonic resolution of common tensions.

Part Two offers a user-friendly survey of the most useful elements of logical thinking. Much of part two we already know as commonsense, but it will help to bring that commonsense into sharper focus. It describes the fundamental nature of logic: a method of assuring consistency in what we say, how we think, and ultimately, how we live. It distinguishes, in clear and simple language, the difference between deductive and inductive logic.

Part Three addresses the content and purpose of our thinking. As I said earlier, the DIALECTIC is the key to good thinking; it is the heart of the book. Logic sharpens the abilities of the DIALECTICal thinker. It makes you more than a good thinker; you become a better thinker. But neither of these tells you what to think nor even why you think, any more than a pencil or a word processor tells you what to write or for what purpose. Neither the DIALECTIC nor logic has any content. They can be used effectively by both the scoundrel and the saint--as well as the rest of us.

If we are to become the best thinker possible, we have to consider who we are and what we are about in life. Part Three helps us clarify what we believe to be the truth about life, what we are personally convinced of: our basic convictions. In part three we will become more aware of our personal values--not only what we believe to be true, but what we believe to be important and worth giving ourselves to. It challenges us to determine and decide what we want out of life, and more importantly, what we want to become. Finally, it shows that all our thinking, DIALECTICal and logical, is rooted in and aimed toward the things emphasized in Part Three. In the end, it pulls the entire book together, correlating the elements that go into making us the best thinker we can possibly become.