I found myself in a rare zen-like mental state yesterday and decided there were four levels of thinking exhibited by human beings today.
Level 0
Level 0 thinking is NPC thinking. It isn’t thinking at all. The brains of Level 0 thinkers are programmed by whatever media they consume, the greatest trick of which is to convince them they are the *real* critical thinkers. NPCs exist everywhere, and on all sides of the political aisle. The maddening thing about them is they’ll assure you that you are wrong, even if you show them solid, physical, real-world proof that their opinion can’t possibly be correct.
Covid masks and election season has brought out a particularly rich crop of L0s this year.
Level 1
Level 1 thinkers recognize that truth exists, and it is not subjective. They recognize they are surrounded by hordes of NPCs, and they’ve lost friends and relationships rather than surrendering their humanity to the programmers. Level 1 thinkers begin to examine everything in order to find the truth buried in the decaying societal heap our forebears have left us. It is easy to get stuck in level 1 thinking. You’ll see these people arguing with their fellow level 1s, insisting that if truth exists (which they all agree does) then there can be only one objective, truthful conclusion. And since they’ve landed at different places, the other person must be mistaken, has to go back to the start of the L1 maze, and study it again. If they avoid hitting their heads on the ceiling joists this time, they can join their better, properly evolved L1 peers and achieve Level 2.
Which they won’t, because “discovering the one, right, proper and holy truth” isn’t what Level 2 is about.
Level 2
Level 2 thinkers recognize that truth exists, it is not subjective, and it has been mindfully and cleverly hidden from us. For what purpose, they can’t necessarily say. Opinions vary. They recognize that a sequence of truths can lead to different conclusions, and that real truth is often more of a “landing zone” than an “X marks the spot”. They value Level 1 thinkers because they are thinking, even if incorrectly at times. Bad logic and incorrect facts can be addressed once Level 2 has been achieved. Getting to Level 2 thinking is rare: realizing it exists is a reality-changing prospect.
Level 3
Level 3 thinkers recognize that truth exists, it is not subjective, it has been mindfully and cleverly hidden from us, and that the only real truth comes from pursuing Logos. Logos is The Word, in the John 1:1 sense, not the horrible Bible translation sense. Jesus Christ is Logos. Every other religion denies Christ his proper place. They are lies, because they start from lies. Only Christians make it this far, and not very many at that. The new Level 3 thinker is in a dangerous place. “How can we get Level 1 thinkers to move to Level 2? How come so few find Level 3? Why, God, Why?!” The veteran Level 3 thinkers understand that they have no control over this, that God is sovereign, and they focus on pursuing Logos, praying for the wisdom to chime in with an encouraging thought or loving truth. You’ll rarely find Level 3 thinkers arguing with people, but you might find them quietly discussing topics among themselves.
What Say You
What do *you* think? Is there a 4th level I’m not aware of? Did I paraphrase a clever thinker of the past? Or perhaps I need to readjust my nose crayon, shut up, and vote.
–> Quizzer
Tempest in a Teardrop: The Churchians 
It’s a close analogy of reflexive theory, as solved and applied, but at higher levels than normally used. I’ll note that we must be careful not to fix ourselves into roles of Hero victim or a sacrificial Saint; sometimes, we need a human Scoundrel or an Archangel with a flaming sword to set things right, and thrust evil spirits back into Hell with their Master.
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I agree. I don’t think anyone sticks solely at one level or another, either.
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Level 4 – Acceptance. Level 4 thinkers recognize that truth exists, it is not subjective, it has been mindfully and cleverly hidden from us, and accept that simple truth without giving up on reality and rationality. Everything is wonderful, every day is a unique and special gift. Just accept it all so you can get on with living a good life.
Also known as Zen mastery. Stuff happens. Things are weird. Ain’t life great?
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Sounds great, but I’m not sure that’s a “thinking level”. Maybe there are four “attitude levels”. Or maybe I just can’t see it, but it is actually there.
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Great start. But I’ve seen people who are lower-level thinkers and yet far better people than I am. (Not saying I’m fixed at the top – I agree I probably bounce around somewhere on any given day, I especially hate it when I discover I’ve been a Level 1 on a subject.)
That might be Virtue. Thinking is capacity and Virtue is action?
Then Faith.
Hmmm. Multi-axis problem.
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I agree, multi-axis. I didn’t want to imply that “higher is better”, because I agree it isn’t. Also, it’s possible to be level 0 on some things but not others. I do know people who are level 0 on just about everything: they are annoying to deal with.
Maybe I’m just expressing the IQ differential communication/understanding problem but in a different way.
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Nope, I was just thinking it through because I liked the concept so much. And there are days I’m a lily in the field . . .
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