CRITICAL THINKING – AS A MAJOR FACTOR IN THE FIGHT AGAINST DESTRUCTIVE CULTS

Despite the fact that it is often put forward allegations of excessive rationalism of our times and the need to "live heart" and feelings, the real situation is significantly different. In fact, as repeatedly proven social psychology, modern man in most cases, is not guided by a true reflection and social reflexes and emotional reactions. The main fundamental principle of social psychology tied for first place among the factors that determine a person's behavior, beliefs, again: "The impact of any" objective "stimulus situation depends on personal and subjective importance attached to it by man. Just ... a situation that is interpreted by man, is the only true stimulus " [1].

For many normal social situations or circumstance is relatively harmless, or even inevitable, but it is extremely dangerous in terms of aggression of destructive cults. One of the main reasons for the success of destructive cults - operation of the human need for certainty and a clear reference points, needs at least an illusion-to-one and easy recognition of truth and falsehood, good and evil. The only means of modern culture and the whole of human civilization, which can simultaneously quench their thirst for certainty by clear benchmarks, and significantly reduce the risk of immersion in the illusion - is critical thinking. The existence and relative success of destructive cults indicate just the fact that the world is not "too rational" (that cults are strongly advocate the "liberation of the mind", "following of feelings and emotions," etc.), but rather, in the Many people do not reach at least the minimum necessary degree of rationality.

Accordingly, the problem of a healthy mind in connection with destructive cults should be viewed as a problem of deficiency of this essential component in today's culture. Destructive cults not only deprive people of the critical (healthy) thinking how much use and exacerbate or its complete absence or weakness and lack of skills per se. And it is in this environment, and they get so wide spread and serious. Imperfect manifestations of the human psyche often imperfect only in certain circumstances and in certain respects, and in others may be perfectly appropriate and justified. These weaknesses can be seen as the inevitable moments of cultivation by man of his best qualities.

Practice shows that whatever detailed negative information about destructive cults can not solve the problem and is efficient not for all. Besides, a complete and sustainable rehabilitation of destructive cults’ victims is possible only in case of the formation of critical thinking and realistic “self-image” in their minds.

Destructive cults are not an isolated problem that should be solved with the use of isolated means. They are, just like any destructive phenomena, the indicators of much more fundamental problems of modern society. That is why it is necessary to formulate and solve them with utmost consideration and care. They can be referred to as the ‘diseases of growth’ when there appear certain disproportions in the development of different sub-systems of such complex systems as society and personality. A person comes across the problems concerning which he/she doesn’t have enough experience and hence he/she doesn’t have reliable and tested skills of their solving, neither he has spontaneously formed or consciously built cultural mechanisms to master and cope with them effectively. On the cults side there is the deficiency of the cognitive skills that are necessary for the new epoch; basal cognitive vulnerability; instability of social and individual psychological systems. To provide the health of person and society it is necessary to terminate the deficiency in the intellectually-reasonable culture of society, decrease cognitive vulnerability of a person and push the cults in their weakest point — inability to oppose anything to real reasonable critical thinking. The today achievements in the sphere of social psychology and in teaching the skills of critical thinking allow us organizing quite an efficient preventive protection from the influence of criminally-manipulative groups as well as helping their victims. The principles and the skills of critical thinking together with the adequate social psychological knowledge about the real features of a person and social interaction have such a universal, evident and pragmatic character that they can be the firm ground to master and cope with any subjective distortion and delusive ideological barriers.

Critical thinking - is the most important factor for the channel not only undermine the positions of destructive cults, but also any other attempts manipulative exploitation of imperfections of the human mind and thought.

The basic principles (signs) and healthy skills (critical) thinking can be divided into two groups:

• basic philosophical and methodological principles, including the relevant provisions of the general scientific and philosophical, as well as some of the specific provisions of the fundamental science of psychology;

• specific instrumental principles.

If obschemirovozzrencheskie formulate the principles of healthy thinking, they will be like the following:

• Recognition and acceptance of the fundamental cognitive imperfection of any human being;

• recognition of his inexhaustible capacity for self-deception and illusion due to indirect and not direct contact with reality;

• recognition that such imperfection can be substantially corrected (offset) certain skills due to objective reality, and the reality check of himself;

• recognition of the existence of issues without (human) responses and phenomena without (human) sense, that is, just the unknown (or unknowable), uncertain, unknown, unknown;

• rejection of the extreme desire to provide answers to all the questions and give all the meaning in the form of unjustified revelations and fantasies passed off as truth;

• recognition of uncertainty (no faith, no knowledge) in a number of issues as a normal aspect of human existence;

• recognition that only a person's very existence in tangible real world is infinitely self-sufficient basis for a rich and meaningful life without the involvement of the supernatural or extraterrestrial "causes" and "senses";

• the recognition that a person as an individual has only one life to which and after which there is a human life, such as this-worldly and yet extremely lonely;

• confession of faith only in the best reasonably as one of the essential components of the mind and life of a person, but does not justify the rejection of critical thinking, or the results of critical thinking.

Specific features of the instrumental healthy thinking is best seen in comparison with the ordinary way of thinking [2].

Comparison of characteristics of ordinary and critical thinking [3]:

Comparison of the best qualities and shortcomings of thinking [4]:

If the pattern shown on the two sides of the table thinking to try to compare the major antimanipulyativnye social and psychological qualities of a man with his vulnerable side, you get something like this:

Compare antimanipulyativnyh and promanipulyativnyh personality traits [2].

The juxtaposition of the three tables in the quality of thinking and behavior in reality are not mutually exclusive, but represent different parties and different degrees of manifestation of one and the same - a controversial person in controversial circumstances. As there is a world of absolute good and absolute evil, and there is only a sophisticated mix of pros and cons of having a real, and in this sense the situation for absolute positive or negative value - but only in relation to human life and human perception - so there is no absolutely good and absolutely bad characteristics of human thought and behavior.

In the end, I would like to note once again that the only means of modern culture and the whole of human civilization, which can simultaneously quench their thirst for certainty by clear benchmarks, and significantly reduce the risk of immersion in the illusion - is critical thinking.

Literature:

1. Ross, L., R. Nisbett person and the situation. Perspectives of Social Psychology / Per. from English. - Moscow: Aspect Press, 1999. - S. 46-47

2. http://evolkov.net/critic.think/articles/Volkov.E.Healthy.thinking.against.

cults.eng.html

3 Lipman, M. (1988). Critical Thinking: What can IT be? Educational Leadership . (46) 1, 38-43.

4. Paul, RW (1990). Critical Thinking: What every person needs to survive in A Rapidly changing World . - Rohnert Park, CA: Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Critique, Sonoma State Univ.