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00:00:00 The Independent Thinker Written by Patrick King Narrated by Russell Newton.

00:00:42 The Levels Of Mastering Independent Thought.

00:01:56 Level 1 - A Patchwork Identity.

00:03:27 Level 2 - Developing trust in the self.

00:06:22 Level 3 - Truly independent thought.

00:14:53 The Fundamentals Of Independent Thought.

00:15:15 Habit 1 - Critical reading.

00:18:10 Habit 2 - Not getting too fond of your own perspective.

00:20:30 Habit 3 - Being O. K. With Being Disliked.

00:23:01 Habit 4 - Always staying curious.

00:29:00 Socrates – teaches us about challenging assumptions.

00:32:09 Niall Ferguson – teaches us the power of counterfactual thinking.

00:34:05 Friedrich Nietzsche – teaches us about perspective.

Are you tired of being spoon-fed information? Do you want to make

smarter decisions and see through manipulation? Independent thinking is

the key to a more examined life. In this video, we'll dive into the

ideas from Patrick King's book "The Independent Thinker"

The Independent Thinker Written by

Patrick King

Narrated by Russell Newton.

What does it really mean to be an

independent thinker?

In the spirit of originality,

let’s begin not with the perspective

of this book’s author,

but with yours.

When you opened this book,

you had a few expectations about what

you’d find inside,

as well as some idea of why you were

reading such a book.

These expectations may be unconscious,

or you may be more aware of them.

But whatever they are,

they’re an excellent starting point

for the themes and ideas we’ll be

exploring in the chapters that follow.

The Levels Of Mastering Independent

Thought.

In choosing this book,

you’ve already shown a desire for,

or interest in,

independent thought.

Some part of you is already independent.

And yet,

ironically,

in picking up a book that guides and

teaches you how to be more independent,

you must necessarily already lack this

characteristic.

If you were truly independent,

you would not need the book,

right?

Take a moment to imagine in your

mind’s eye everything you associate

with an “independent thinker."

Imagine it now,

before you read on.

Imagine what it looks like,

sounds like,

and how you envision you’ll be once

you are a more critical thinker,

a more authentic individual and

self-governing agent able to live in

the integrity of their ideals,

instead of other people’s.

Now,

this somewhat disheartening start is

simply to illustrate that many people

are merely imitating autonomy in the

personal development world.

They have a picture of what they think

this looks like,

and they try their best to perform that

image.

Level 1 - A Patchwork Identity.

Maybe in your mind,

you’re attracted to the “cool

guy” aesthetic that certain

celebrities,

authority figures,

historical personages and fictional

characters put forward.

Maybe you like the attitude of the

rebel,

who is confident,

a little arrogant,

and so,

so appealing.

Maybe,

without realizing it,

you mimic the mannerisms,

beliefs,

thoughts,

and speech patterns of people you

admire.

Or maybe you buy into certain shared

cultural ideals of what intelligent,

independent,

enterprising or creative people ought

to look like.

Teenagers are masters at mimicry and

creating patchwork identities from bits

and pieces they find in their world.

It’s as though you show up to the

great Identity Marketplace,

being a blank slate yourself,

and pick and choose the costume and

role you like best.

It’s not a personality so much as a

curated collection.

While a 13-year-old going through a

goth phase in the 90s may be a blatant

example of this,

we all do it to some extent.

We even do this when we’re explicitly

trying not to do it (i.e.,

“I want to be a truly unique

individual!

Now,

let’s Google some other people who

are doing that and see how it’s

done…”).

This is the first level on the path of

independent thinking.

Level 2 - Developing trust in the self.

If you’ve been in level 1 for any

length of time,

you’ll notice something obvious -

it’s uncomfortable,

and it doesn’t really “work."

You don’t feel like yourself because

you aren’t yourself.

No matter how compelling and

well-crafted the patchwork is,

it’s still just a mask,

and it doesn’t contain you.

Now,

this isn’t a problem.

Humans are social creatures,

and imitation is a normal and healthy

part of engaging the external world.

But eventually,

as we develop and mature into our

authentic selves,

imitation is not enough.

In level 2,

you gradually experiment with being and

acting in the world as yourself,

without a mask and the influence of

other people.

You begin to tire of other people’s

filters and interpretations and become

curious about your own,

which you realize are valid.

In all honesty,

becoming an independent thinker can

feel scary,

awkward and outright weird.

It can also feel lonely,

like you are suddenly far away from the

warm,

comfortable crowd and have to suddenly

take full responsibility for your own

reality.

So,

in this stage,

you are experimenting with being more

independent,

falling back into convention,

playing with trial and error to test

your perceptions,

and developing resilience for being

truly autonomous (yes,

autonomy is a muscle that needs to be

strengthened!).

You realize that dependence on the

external has its advantages and that it

comes with a cost.

While it can be intimidating to tune

out other people’s opinions,

culture,

society’s expectations and so on,

it can also be incredibly rewarding to

remind yourself of your own sense of

right and wrong,

your innate feeling of what you want,

and your deepest core values.

Level 2 can be tricky,

because it’s here that we start to

encounter our own mindsets,

biases and assumptions at a level

deeper than their superficial

presentation.

We realize that we,

like everyone else,

possess a reality filter.

We don’t encounter reality,

but reality as it appears after it’s

been pushed through this filter.

The filter takes shape according to our

past experiences,

family history,

cultural environment,

religion,

education,

the historical period we live in,

and class… .

We all take in the same data,

but we come to different

interpretations of what that data means

because of our different perspectives.

The question at level 2 is,

are the filters working for you?

What do you want the filters to be?

Can you live without filters at all…?

Level 3 - Truly independent thought.

Follow that line of reasoning long

enough,

and you start to understand something

important - choice.

As an individual,

you can choose what material you take

in,

choose how you respond to it,

and choose what you wish to create and

put out into the world.

And in that act of choosing,

you express and experience your own

perspective,

desires,

and will.

When you choose,

you self-create.

When you allow others to choose for

you,

then they create you.

When we are independent thinkers,

we have our own weight and gravity,

and stand strong in ourselves,

regardless of what others are doing or

thinking.

We are tuned into our inner compass,

values,

and selfhood.

We look within and evaluate actions and

ideas according to our own criteria,

and not criteria we’ve borrowed from

others or had foisted on us when too

young to realize.

We are free,

and we are consciously participating in

our life rather than passively

receiving it,

pre-digested by others.

We take responsibility for our

worldview and perspective (yes –

it’s our responsibility to know and

maintain the state of being we choose)

and engage with the external world with

an unshakeable sense of our own dignity

and value.

We are comfortable testing our own

assumptions and the assumptions of

others.

We don’t just think but reflect on

our thinking (i.e.,

metacognition),

and we realize that we always have the

power to choose our behaviors,

thoughts and beliefs.

We try to understand things from the

inside out rather than happily

believing everything we’re told.

We are no longer an echo of someone

else’s values or actions or

perspectives,

but our own original voice.

Sounds great,

right?

“Think for yourself” is something

people say,

but it is an incredibly difficult thing

to do.

The world is filled with readymade

opinions,

untested assumptions,

unintelligent biases,

lazy thinking,

denial,

escapism,

imitation,

and unchecked ego.

Ask yourself,

when was the last time you had a truly

independent thought?

Something that your own mind generated,

and which didn’t come directly from

more forceful personalities and

ideologies around you?

The conventional,

unadventurous thinker goes out into the

world and asks,

“what are the rules of the game here?

What am I supposed to be doing?"

In this way,

he passively asks for the external

world to tell him what to value,

focus on,

feel,

and want.

The independent thinker goes out into

the same world and instead asks,

“what can I create here?

What’s happening,

and how can I learn more about it?

What could potentially be?

What do I want to do?"

There is only one way to think and be

for conventional thinkers,

and they figure that out by looking

outside themselves - other people’s

opinions,

culture,

politics,

whatever.

But to think independently,

you need to turn within and generate

your own original response,

your own authentic perspective and your

own view on life.

This is infinitely more valuable than

anything you’ve simply been told,

because you value yourself,

and you trust what you know,

and what you’re capable of.

It's a guarantee that almost all the

content you encounter out there in the

world is,

essentially,

telling you what to do,

think,

feel,

or focus on.

News headlines,

social media noise,

junk on the T. V.,

advertising pasted on every square inch

of your life,

peer pressure,

endless political squabbling... You

just drift along and go with it without

your own independent thought.

But the next time you see a talking

head on a pixelated screen,

realize that you have a choice.

You can become conscious in that moment

and ask yourself,

“this is what this person is creating.

That’s them.

But what do I think?

What do I want to create?"

Independent is not the Same as

Contrarian.

When I was a teenager and just becoming

aware of the possibility of independent

thinking,

I got into the habit of mistaking

cynicism and distrust for critical

thinking.

I had correctly learnt that the media

often lied,

and so every time someone mentioned a

news article,

I would say something like,

“come on,

you don’t honestly believe everything

you read,

right?"

This annoying habit had come from the

unconscious belief that if I wanted to

stand apart and be independent,

all I had to do was push against the

popular opinion.

I would never have admitted it at the

time,

but I assumed that intelligent,

switched-on people were necessarily

argumentative and oppositional.

However,

I was a contrarian,

and not a truly independent thinker.

What’s the difference?

The clue is in the name - a contrarian

is contrary to,

or against something.

You know the bratty two-year-old who

will tell you the sky isn’t blue just

because you said it is?

This is the position that has,

as its essence,

the fact that it’s not some other

position,

but that’s all it is.

It’s the “anti” position.

However,

an independent thinker forms their

opinions and ideas from scratch,

not merely in opposition.

They do not care about what they

disagree with or dislike.

For them,

critical thinking is not a competition

with a winner or a loser.

Something within them guides the

formation of their opinions – their

own experience,

logic,

reasoning,

desires and values.

Sure,

the outcome is often at odds with

convention.

But being at odds is not the goal.

There’s usually a hearty dose of

emotional bias,

excitement,

passion,

or ego driving their resistance for a

contrarian.

For independent thinkers,

though,

the thought process is less flashy,

more reason-driven,

and,

well,

not as glamorous!

Meanwhile,

for contrarians,

the goal may be to bolster a certain

ego-image,

or it may be a deeply unconscious

psychological need to dominate,

to be heard,

to stand out,

or to protect against assumed attack.

The focus and direction of such

thinking is external – it pushes

against other people and attempts to

certainly affect other people.

Some find them fun and interesting and

creative and brave,

while others find them annoying and get

tangled in arguments with them.

But for independent thinkers,

other people are… beside the point.

The goal is to understand.

To figure things out.

What other people think?

Largely irrelevant.

Now,

contrarians and independent thinkers

often arrive at the same conclusions,

but the question is why they end up

there.

They’ll often do the same actions

(for example,

“question everything”)

but for very different reasons.

Often,

a genuinely independent thinker will

win the admiration of others,

who then attempt to mimic that person

(see level 1 above)

and attach themselves to that worldview

to be contrarian.

But the independent thinker does not

consider the popularity of his position

as an indication of its value – he

isn’t interested in fame,

but he also doesn’t relish notoriety!

The Fundamentals Of Independent Thought.

Let’s look at ways to develop

autonomous,

critical thinking in ourselves.

Independent thinking is not a

personality trait or fixed behaviors

but a continually refined attitude

expressed in habits.

Habit 1 - Critical reading.

To practice and strengthen your ability

to generate your own opinion,

you need to take in information from

various sources and engage with it.

Passive reading merely absorbs the

content with no individual response.

But critical reading is where you

practice passing the material through

your filters,

turn it over in your mind,

and examine it on many levels.

There are two ways to read - Reading

the words (i.e.,

comprehending the surface level meaning

being conveyed),

and.

Reading beyond the words (i.e.,

not automatically assuming the words

are a perfect and truthful

representation of reality,

and becoming curious about how and why

the words have been written as they

have).

For example,

you may read a popular current events

magazine piece about the dazzling new

frontiers of cryptocurrencies and how

tech empires are being built to reshape

the digital world.

If you are just reading the words,

you merely try to comprehend and absorb

the material as it’s given.

You assume the excitement and optimism

in the piece is natural and obvious,

and the author’s opinion is an

objective reflection that this topic is

exciting.

At the end of the piece,

you think what the author thinks.

Or you could read the words,

and also read what isn’t written -

What is fact,

and what is just presented as fact?

What are the assumptions the author is

making?

In what ways is the reader being led,

convicted or even manipulated?

Why was this piece published and not

literally any other piece?

Who is this author,

and what is their incentive –

economically,

psychologically or culturally?

Who benefits from you reading this

article and going along with its

premise?

What is the evidence for the view being

put forward?

Independent of what the author thinks,

what do you think about this topic?

You could read to find out what other

people’s opinions are so that you can

have them too.

Or you can read to gather information,

analyze it,

and use it to inform your own position.

It’s a mistake to think that

“critical reading” means exposing

yourself only to that material you

already like and agree with.

But an independent thinker is not

threatened by low-quality or

challenging information – because

they trust their ability to appraise

and evaluate whatever is in front of

them.

Habit 2 - Not getting too fond of your

own perspective.

Don’t be the person who finds their

position and then clings onto it

forever after,

no matter what.

Humans have a natural bias for

protecting and defending the opinions

they already hold.

They naturally seek information that

confirms these opinions,

and work hard to discount everything

that directly challenges it.

To be an independent thinker,

you need to get into the habit of

poking holes in these cherished

opinions.

Now,

this is not a cognitive or intellectual

exercise.

It’s a psychological one.

Most people have ample brain power to

see the plain truth.

However,

even ultra-intelligent people

jeopardize themselves when allowing

bias,

ego and fear to control them.

Getting too attached to your

perspective means you don’t abandon

it when you should – i.e.,

when confronted with ample evidence

that something is rubbish.

Many people like to style themselves as

smart philosopher types yet only seem

to invoke their vast intellectual

powers to reinforce sloppy beliefs and

opinions they formed without a second

thought.

Be independent of other people’s

opinions,

but free yourself from the chains of

your own outdated opinions,

too.

This takes two things - humility and

curiosity.

Thinking novel,

original thoughts means we have to go

outside our comfort zone.

The biggest threat to generating a

truly unique and new idea is the

assumption that you have the best idea

already!

Independent thinkers can think outside

themselves and try different worldviews

for size.

They genuinely want to see the world

through the eyes of people different

from them.

That means that they don’t engage

others to argue or win them over but to

actively expand their own understanding.

They don’t read new material,

get into conversations about the idea

that they need to defend themselves,

or forcefully make their point until

the other person recognizes them as the

winner!

Habit 3 - Being O. K. With Being

Disliked.

Independent thinking means thinking

that is not dependent.

But,

dependent on what?

The thoughts,

opinions,

reactions or behavior of others.

So,

you think what you think even if other

people don’t agree,

don’t understand,

or actively don’t like you because of

it.

It comes down to how you view the

purpose of thinking - For conventional

thinkers,

an opinion or thought is an identity

marker,

or a stick to beat others with.

It’s something done to win other

people’s approval or comply with

norms and fashions.

They engage at the superficial level,

i.e.,

within the realm of other people’s

thoughts about reality.

For independent thinkers,

the primary goal is always to learn,

understand,

and directly engage with reality.

Therefore,

having their thoughts and opinions

disliked is not a problem.

It’s far more satisfying to be

respected than to be liked.

Being the same as people around you can

outwardly make you feel safe and

accepted.

Isn’t it better to witness and

appreciate the differences in one

another and still respect them and

cooperate,

not in spite of differences,

but because of them?

Mature adults can disagree without it

threatening their relationship or

causing trouble.

They also don’t expect everyone else

to be identical to them as a condition

of their friendship or affection.

They enjoy and relish challenges and

differences.

They like the friction and find it

useful and generative.

A group where everyone thinks the same

is not experiencing true harmony and

closeness;

rather,

they have all merely agreed to mimic

one another in non-threatening ways.

There is one big difference between the

contrarian thinker and the independent

one - the ego.

For the former,

the most important is the ego,

and their way of thinking and being in

the world is present to serve that.

Meanwhile,

the most important thing is genuine

insight,

understanding,

creativity,

and mastery for the latter.

If the selfish ego hinders that,

then that ego is dropped,

every time.

Habit 4 - Always staying curious.

The ego wants to have all the answers,

like a precious possession to be

hoarded and guarded from others.

Conventional thinkers prefer the

feeling of being seen to be right than

they do actually being right.

One final habit that sets independent

thinkers apart is their commitment to

curiosity,

instead of clinging to assumed

“facts” and never questioning them.

Genuinely questioning the world is a

lot harder than it looks.

How many of us assume that if someone

quotes a scientific paper in their

argument,

this is automatically sound and has to

be accepted?

How many of us see statistics and

assume that it is correct – because

numbers are more trustworthy than

words,

right?

How many of us believe that if a Doctor

of Philosophy expert in their field

says something,

it must be true?

Well,

this information may be true.

But if it is true,

it’s not because it was in the right

publication,

or written by the right author,

using the right terminology.

It’s true because we could find

enough sound evidence to support the

fact.

This is a subtle but major distinction.

As independent thinkers,

we question everything,

including the ingrained and culturally

sanctioned methods of questioning what

others have taught us!

You are most at risk for sloppy and

useless thinking when you are most

blind to your own shortcuts,

assumptions,

prejudices or expectations.

It’s great to challenge all the

biases you’re already familiar with,

but what about all those biases

currently invisible to you?

How are you going to uncover them?

Independent thinkers are driven not by

the desire to conform and win

everyone’s approval,

but they are also not reacting

defiantly by being automatic rebels.

Instead,

they care most about real,

valuable ideas,

thoughts they generate themselves,

and using that power of thought to its

maximum potential.

Independent thinkers are driven by a

passion far greater and more lasting

than the compulsion to aggrandize the

self – they want to improve in life,

learn,

grow,

and bring illumination and

understanding to the world in general.

It’s a much bigger prize,

isn’t it?

What independent thinking actually

looks like.

At this point,

let’s clarify a few characteristics

of the independent thinker -

•They can gain awareness of their own

thinking as thinking,

and take conscious control over it

rather than passively and unconsciously

going along with others.

•They trust their own perceptions,

will,

desires and interpretations and do not

automatically privilege other people's

over their own.

•They are comfortable going outside

their comfort zone,

and don’t mind admitting errors or

being disliked for their positions.

•They take in enormous amounts of

information but actively engage with

it,

not just on a superficial level but

also critically.

•They know their cognitive biases,

expectations,

blind spots,

and the ever-present ego and try to

minimize any disturbance to their

genuine understanding.

A conventional thinker occupies a

mental model unconsciously,

and the model they use may be something

of someone else’s creation.

An independent thinker knows many

mental models,

and owns their responsibility to choose

which one to occupy,

and for what reasons.

This section will look at a few key

historical figures who are broadly

considered to embody the above

characteristics.

These thinkers and theorists have

demonstrated thoughts and opinions so

genuinely novel and independent,

that they always have changed the

course of history or else drastically

broadened the existing paradigm.

But in reading about these people,

we are not trying to answer the

question,

“how can I be more like them?"

That is simply level 1 thinking!

Instead,

we want to see what we can learn from

their experience,

and understand what it says about our

own.

You may wonder if independent thinkers

are always philosophers and scientists.

Independent thinking can manifest as

the scientific method,

but this is not all it is.

Seeking evidence,

establishing the truth through

experiment and falsifiability,

and using reason and logic are all used

in the sciences,

but they are more rightly a part of a

broader approach to reality.

You need not be a scientist to be an

independent thinker!

As long as you are questing for deeper

understanding and will consider your

role in the equation,

so to speak,

then you are a critical and independent

thinker.

The people we’ll discuss below all

liberally used analytical,

logical,

conscious,

and reflexive mental models.

These models gave them a richer and

more lively perspective on reality than

people who merely swallowed convention

without a second thought.

You could argue that independent

thinking should just be called…

thinking.

Everything else is a knee-jerk

reaction,

habit,

ego,

coping mechanism or piece of culture.

Let’s see what we can learn from the

independent thinking heavyweights.

Socrates – teaches us about

challenging assumptions.

Socrates was basically a one-trick pony.

That trick?

Asking questions.

That’s it.

Socrates wanted to understand.

He wanted to dig dep,

and when he thought he found an answer,

he questioned that.

He knew that correctly honed mental

faculties were humanity’s saving

grace,

and he took it as his mission to use

dialogue,

logic and reason to uncover the truth.

Besides Socrates’ philosophy,

he was known for what’s now called

Socratic dialogue.

Reality is revealed to us when we

engage with our ignorance.

In curiosity,

we ask questions,

and keep on asking them.

We question even our questions,

and our means of interpreting the

answers.

We start from the bare bones,

assume nothing,

and take small logical steps to

discover what we absolutely can know.

Socrates would demonstrate this

dialectic to uncover hidden assumptions

in a literal conversation.

Step by step,

the Truth is revealed.

In classical Socratic dialogues,

two people discuss higher concepts like

virtue,

the nature of knowledge,

and art.

But we can use a similar approach to

uncover assumptions in our everyday

lives.

We can ask questions such as - “What

do I mean by X. Y. Z. ?"

(what assumptions have I made about

definitions?)

“What is my evidence for thinking

this?"

(do I have any reason to believe it?)

“What do I know here?"

(and what am I simply guessing?)

“What am I (or you)

not seeing?"

(I may have made an error by omission)

Getting a handle on your own

assumptions means being willing to

think from scratch.

Consider even what you think is obvious

and ask,

is it really that obvious?

Is it a given?

You might ask yourself a series of the

above questions five times in a row to

get to the root of your deepest held

assumptions.

This process might not illuminate the

truth,

but it will show you more clearly any

impediments to seeing that truth!

“I think I’ve got cancer."

Is that so?

“Well,

I’ve got this weird lump,

and I know what that means… cancer!"

Does a lump always mean you have cancer?

“Well,

I don’t know.

But I’ve read that it’s a big

warning sign."

Is what you read absolute proof that

you have cancer right now?

“Well,

no,

obviously not.

But I could."

What is the evidence?

“There’s no evidence exactly…”

So,

what do you really know?

“Uh.

I guess the only thing I really know is

that I have a lump."

Niall Ferguson – teaches us the power

of counterfactual thinking.

Famously a historian who wrote about

alternative history (specifically,

what life would have been like if

Germany had won World War I. I. ),

author Niall Ferguson was a master of

using the all-powerful phrase,

what if?

Counterfactual thinking is an

out-the-box approach that is

intrinsically innovative and creative.

Every independent thinker must be

familiar with the process of seeing

what is… and being curious about what

isn’t.

For example,

in business,

you could use counterfactual thinking

to look at past failures and imagine

how things could have played out

differently,

thus devising an improved strategy that

prevents those mistakes in future.

If you’ve asked a question and gotten

a puzzling answer,

it’s counterfactual thinking that

helps you imagine what the right

question would look like.

This thinking style is a little strange

and unfamiliar to those used to working

only with what’s right in front of

them.

Still,

for those natural inventors and

creatives of the world,

thinking about what could be is as

important as thinking about what is.

When you ask what if,

you step out of your comfort zone,

drop all assumptions and pet theories,

and take a leap into the possible,

potential,

and theoretical.

This is where novel solutions are

found,

new ideas are explored,

and fresh views are taken on old

situations.

In a way,

Socrates was also a counterfactual

thinker in the sense that he repeatedly

asked,

“what if everything I think I know is

actually wrong?

What then?"

Friedrich Nietzsche – teaches us

about perspective.

Nietzsche was a philosopher who knew

how much ego stood in the way of

understanding,

and he made liberal use of teasing,

criticism and humor to poke holes in

the prevailing yet unexamined

ideologies of the time.

Rather than being a nihilist,

Nietzsche was instead keenly aware of

the fact that every person inhabits a

particularly conditioned perspective,

informed by where they’re born,

when,

how they’re educated,

who their parents are and what their

culture teaches them.

Unaware of their impact,

we are slaves to these influences.

But if we become aware of our

circumstances,

we give ourselves choice.

We master ourselves and the world at

large,

and become the creators of our

experience rather than at its mercy.

Nietzsche believed that one way to get

outside of these perspectives was to

liberally try on as many as possible,

and genuinely see the world through

other people’s lenses.

Nietzsche said,

“There is only a perspective seeing,

only a perspective "knowing";

and the more affects we allow to speak

about one thing,

the more eyes,

different eyes,

we can use to observe one thing,

the more complete will our "concept" of

this thing,

our "objectivity," be."

Thus,

all there is in the world for us as

human beings are different subjective

perspectives of that world.

But if we can appreciate as many

perspectives as possible,

we gain a richer and more intelligent

view of that world.

For Nietzsche,

there are no facts,

only interpretations,

and every person adopts their worldview

and mental models to serve their needs.

Our egoism is merely a narrowing of

perspective;

to free ourselves as much as possible,

we need to widen that perspective and

mix it up.

One great way to do this - find a point

of view that is diametrically opposed

to your own,

and pretend it is your own.

Make arguments for it.

Imagine that,

in its way,

it makes complete and perfect sense.

Genuinely engage with people who

disagree with you – imagine that in

doing so,

you are accessing another aspect of the

issue that you were previously blind to.

Your world becomes bigger.

Summary -

•Independent thinkers can think

logically,

clearly and autonomously,

outside the pressures of their

cultures,

upbringings,

past experiences or historical period.

They are conscious and aware,

rather than reactive and automatic,

and can truly think (and experience)

for themselves.

•Cultivating independent thought

takes time and effort.

The first stage is to assemble a

patchwork identity as an independent

thinker,

and mimic others we see around us.

The second stage is to gradually

develop trust in our own perceptions

and intellectual faculties,

while occasionally deferring to

convention.

The final step is truly independent

thought.

This free,

adventurous,

creative,

and proactive thought originates purely

within us.

•The fundamentals of critical thought

include learning to take in information

(especially reading)

critically,

dropping the ego so that you don’t

get stuck in any one perspective or

opinion,

having the bravery to be disliked for

being different,

and maintaining an open and receptive

rather than closed mind.

Conventional thinkers differ from

independent thinkers in their approach

to reality itself,

and how they see the function of

thinking.

For the former,

it’s to bolster the ego.

For the latter,

it’s for the thrill of encountering

reality directly.

•Independent thinking is a way of

being that can be practiced and

nurtured.

We do this by cultivating awareness,

dropping ego,

and learning to engage critically with

the information we take in.

This is not the same thing as being a

contrarian,

who goes against the grain merely to

rebel.

•Many famous independent thinkers

throughout history shed light on how we

might develop the capacity in ourselves.

Socrates teaches us the power of asking

questions and uncovering our

assumptions by taking nothing for

granted.

Niall Ferguson teaches us about

counterfactual thinking,

and imagining answers to the question

“what if?”,

and Nietzsche teaches us the value of

perspective-switching to enrich our

perception of the world.

This has been

The Independent Thinker Written by

Patrick King

Narrated by Russell Newton.