CreaSentisciente

By the end of 2020, I was drafting the introductory notes for a training and learning program aimed at developing critical and creative thinking. These notes are currently part of a larger work that is still under review. Nevertheless, following the current trajectory of my work based on altruism and generosity toward all people, and towards Life in general, it is my desire to share these notes openly with all my readers and even beyond, thus promoting, to the extent possible, a growth of critical and creative thinking in all areas of education and seeking new frontiers for the personal development of all individuals.

We are undoubtedly living in times that make it much more than necessary.

Since the notes are too extensive for a single article, I have divided them into several that I will deliver over different days.

Considerations Before Getting Started.

The original training program called [Thinking & Action] was based on the Critical-Creative Model of human thought, or Mcch-p (by its acronym in Spanish), named this way because thought is not an exclusive quality of the human species.

This model, which aims to understand how to develop complex thinking, is subject to the same standards as what it seeks to demonstrate. In other words, complex thinking is a process that is continuously constructed, and both the model and this program follow this same principle. Its objective is humble. It only aims to show the path to follow so that people can develop increasingly critical and creative thinking.

The program is developed following a model that is not strictly methodical. As you will see, critical and creative thinking does not have to follow a predetermined order or a specific methodology.

To carry it out, the training program synthesizes and connects different disciplines or areas of knowledge, in order to confront you with a reality: the excellence of thought is a complex task. The theory that will be presented here only serves to lay the foundations for the practical experimentation that you will need to carry out in your real life. This experimentation must be conducted with your actual needs.

Given that this is its true purpose: if critical and creative thinking improves our quality of thought, its implementation will be the enhancement of our quality of life.

NOTE. There is no reasonably consistent explanation for why we can conclude what induces different people to develop different interests, even having undergone the same process of learning and development. If no one can experience more than one consciousness in their life, what can be affirmed is that this one is unique and unrepeatable. Their thoughts, actions, and experiences will determine their perceptions and feelings that will shape their reality (see PRINCIPLE 3 in the following articles).

About the Theory.

In relation to the theory that will be presented, two aspects must be highlighted.

1. The interconnection of various areas of knowledge is done superficially. There is no in-depth exploration of any of them. The aim is not to fill with abundance the understanding of any subject. What is intended is to learn to discover the interconnections that exist between what we can think and our entire environment. This opens the door to what we are truly seeking in this program: how we are thinking about what we think.
2. The theoretical contents are mainly written in plain text. There are no videos, no animated slides, or anything of the sort. Emotional persuasion is the simplest to achieve. But my purpose is on the opposite side. The ability to imagine is essential for a person who develops with complex thinking.

It is practically impossible to include in theory all the possibilities of concepts, debates, ideas, or discussions that can take place in a training program. These contents are just the first step of the journey.

Each of the theoretical units is an invitation to create questions, to build ideas, to engage in critical judgment, and to foster creativity. Always remember that the correct answer is hidden behind the right question. It’s not easy, I know. But the most important thing here is to construct and ask the right questions. It’s not about seeking answers.

Inherent Difficulties of Complex Thinking Process.

In the upcoming articles, I will present what I would like to call ‘limits or boundaries’ that often hinder or counteract our critical and creative capacity. This does not exclude other aspects that could occasionally affect this capacity, but we will observe that these limits (whether all or just some) are quite widespread among people, including ourselves. However, before that, we will examine certain contradictions.

To begin, keep in mind that we are going to start from the following 4 premises:

1. If I am alive and awake, I am very likely thinking (we must abstract various states of meditation).
2. Thought is always subjective and personal; therefore, my experience will also be.
3. The mind tends to respond naturally in an egocentric manner.
4. The human being is primarily an emotional being. Thinking appropriately and effectively requires harmony between the inevitable emotional condition and the practical use of our ability to develop complex thoughts.

The following contradictions are frequently and widely repeated. At some point, we all tend to fall into one or more of them:
Subjectivity vs. Objectivity
Emotion vs. Rationality
Conflict vs. Empathy
Explaining vs. Persuading
Cooperation vs. Competition

Introduction to Critical and Creative Thinking (CCT)

Critical and creative thinking (which I will refer to hereafter as CCT) is the fusion of two phases of the same process. This process is, in the words of Richard Paul: ‘the ability to evaluate and restructure our thinking in order to improve its quality.’

But I will add the following: with the purpose of improving and expanding our ability to respond to any situation. Our mind generates thoughts naturally, but these thoughts do not always have the necessary quality to address a situation, a problem, a conflict, or a simple question. This quality is measured by our ability to respond.

With the word ‘fusion,’ I do not intend to establish any novelty, but rather to accept a reality. Critical thinking and creative thinking are not two independent, autonomous, and disconnected mechanisms. I believe this is not true. In this program, we will handle the following idea:

I will also refer to the CCT at times as ‘complex thinking’ and ‘higher-order thinking’. To avoid any confusion, I will clarify that the three denominations refer to different but interconnected characteristics of the same process:

• With ‘complex thinking’ I refer to its aspect of non-simplicity. That is, it implies a considerably high number of variables that determine its complexity. However, it is important to emphasize that even though it is complex due to its non-simplicity, we should never consider it as complicated. In other words, it is a comprehensible process.
• By ‘higher-order thinking’, I refer to its meta-cognitive aspect. In other words, it is a process that is not limited to working with basic cognitive skills such as learning or reasoning, but involves the evaluation of those cognitive skills. It is like observing oneself on stage while being in the audience.

Now we will outline in a simple way, according to Paul’s research, the CCT process. To do this, we need to differentiate the process into 4 levels or sub-phases:

1. CRITICISM (I evaluate your reasoning)	2. SELF-CRITICISM (I evaluate my evaluation of your reasoning)
3. CORRECTION (I correct, modify, or adapt your reasoning)	4. SELF-CORRECTION (I evaluate and correct my correction, modification, or adaptation of your reasoning)

At this point, Richard Paul distinguished between ‘weak thinking’ and ‘strong thinking.’

A skilled thinker who does not manage to develop levels 2 and 4 will, in no case, be able to achieve excellence in thought. Carrying out levels 1 and 3, or in other words, criticizing and correcting is relatively simple. It requires some ‘skill’ and/or knowledge about the subject.

But levels 2 and 4 involve confronting our egocentric nature and having developed a series of intellectual characteristics typical of the CCT, among which integrity stands out particularly in this case. Integrity consists of applying the same standards and rigor to your reasoning and my evaluation.

Paul distinguished between monological thinking, which focuses solely on a single point of view, and multilogical thinking, which is capable of considering various viewpoints. This does not mean that there are no problems that can be solved monologically; rather, when faced with a multilogical problem, it is necessary to expand to dialogue. This might seem quite obvious, but it is precisely the ‘most obvious place,’ the first one that tends to be overlooked more easily.

Thus, this is not always straightforward or possible. Because uncritical thinking and intellectual simplicity run rampant in the world. Complex thinking, or CCT, is, in all its dimensions, a constant challenge for a person. A constant struggle in a practically inevitable conflict.

That’s how it is, at least for the moment.

In the next article, we will explore the inherent contradictions.

© 2025 Roberto Arévalo López