Lately, I’ve been thinking about thinking. In fact, over on Laura’s Writings, I’m on my second batch of thinking terms for the Tangentizing Dictionary.
As I finished the first round a few weeks ago, I immediately began to wonder what thinking might look like in community. For me, as always, wondering begins with definitions (practical flesh comes later).
Deliberative Thinking
- Discussion requiring preparation by and involvement of each person in the community and focusing on communal learning rather than speech-making
- Examination of ideas, combining the many perspectives in the community, with each person exercising the rights of and responsibilities for communal maturation
Investigative Thinking
- Detailed examination of an idea or situation, involving multiple examiners and ending in a synthesis of the results of the examination
- A searching inquiry with multiple seekers of truth and a synthesis of the resulting expansion of ideas
Liberative Thinking
- Thinking that releases the Body for communal idea creation by offering support before evaluation
- Thinking that tends to free natural idea creation by encouraging free expression from each and for all
Iterative Thinking
- Repetition through helical dialogue, adding to knowledge by revisiting topics
- Recurrence through cyclical dialogue, adding to knowledge by revisiting processes
