The “Family members of Intellectual Thinking” include but are not limited to, thinking types, thinking patterns, thinking styles, and thinking skills. These contents are not the works of the author, but the contents that the author simply searched and sorted out on the Internet. The author is mainly committed to the study of Metaphysics and has limited knowledge of Intellectual Thinking. In order to facilitate readers to better understand the content of the author’s “Family of Consciousness “, the content of the Thinking Family is hereby organized as follows; it is for reference only and has no other meaning:

Types of Thinking

Reverse thinking; abstract thinking; linear thinking; visual thinking; intuitive thinking; directed thinking; innovative thinking; analytical thinking; divergent thinking; convergent thinking.

Forms of Thinking:

There are three main forms of thinking: visual thinking, abstract thinking, and intuitive thinking. They are divided as follows:

  1. Visual Thinking – Visual thinking is a thinking process that relies on concrete images, also known as intuitive thinking. Artists and writers often use visual thinking in their creative activities, so it is also known as artistic thinking.
  2. Abstract Thinking – Abstract thinking is a thinking process that uses concepts, judgments, and reasoning to reflect reality, also known as logical thinking. Abstract thinking abstracts the essence of things without considering their concrete images, thus possessing abstract characteristics.
  3. Intuitive Thinking – Intuitive thinking is a special form of thinking that occurs suddenly and rapidly without conscious awareness, also known as enlightenment thinking, intuition thinking, or sixth sense.

Modes of Thinking:

There are multiple modes of thinking, broadly speaking, thinking is the brain’s indirect reflection of objective reality, reflecting the essence of things and the regularity of their connections. This includes both logical thinking and visual thinking. In a narrow sense, thinking usually refers to logical thinking in the field of psychology. The main modes of thinking can be categorized as follows.

The way of thinking is the internal program of people’s brain activity, which plays a decisive role in people’s words and deeds. Ways of thinking are ostensibly immaterial and material. This interplay of immateriality and materiality, “nothing creates existence, existence creates nothingness”, can constitute a contradictory movement in the evolution and development of the way of thinking. The following are the more commonly accepted methods:

  1. Visual Thinking Method: A method of thinking that uses imagery. Its important characteristics are imagery and emotional appeal, which distinguish it from abstract thinking.
  2. Deductive Thinking Method: It is a thinking method that starts from the general and moves to the particular. Specific forms include syllogistic reasoning, hypothetical reasoning, and alternative reasoning.
  3. Inductive Thinking Method: It is a thinking process that infers general rules and common conclusions from specific examples based on certain principles inherent in the general.
  4. Associative Thinking Method: Similar association, proximity association, contrast association, cause-effect association.
  5. Reverse Thinking Method: It is the counterpart of goal-oriented thinking, a thinking method that deduces conditions and causes from a goal point. It is also an effective method of innovation.
  6. Transplant Thinking Method: It refers to the creative thinking method of applying scientific and technological achievements from One field to another. Biomimetics is a typical example.
  7. Convergent Thinking Method: Also known as seeking commonalities thinking. It is a thinking process and method of seeking a correct answer from different sources, materials, and directions.
  8. Goal-Oriented Thinking Method: After establishing a goal, it is a thinking method that gradually achieves the goal step by step. Its thinking process has direction and hierarchy.
  9. Divergent Thinking Method: It is a thinking process that starts from a given point of information, then uses known knowledge and experience to speculate, imagine, and think in different directions, recombining information from memory and presenting information to generate new information. It can be divided into three levels: fluency, flexibility, and originality.

Thinking Techniques:

Thinking techniques also vary depending on different opinions. The following are commonly accepted classifications:

  1. Inductive Thinking: Thinking that deduces general rules and common conclusions from specific instances.
  2. Deductive Thinking: Applying general rules to specific instances. In logic, it is also called deductive reasoning. It is a thinking method that starts from general principles and extends to individual specific instances.
  3. Critical Thinking: Thinking while evaluating and criticizing One’s own ideas or hypotheses. Critical thinking has always been emphasized in problem-solving. Critical thinking includes elements such as independence, confidence, thinking, not superstition, open-mindedness, and respect for others.
  4. Focused Thinking: Extracting logical connections from a variety of information to derive specific conclusions; comparing and studying various solutions to derive a solution belongs to this mode of thinking.
  5. Lateral Thinking: A thinking approach that utilizes “out-of-the-box” information to discover pathways for problem-solving, similar to the peripheral vision of the eyes. Lateral thinking is a method of thinking that draws inspiration from other domains.
  6. Divergent Thinking: Also known as exploratory thinking. It involves exploring multiple answers to the same problem, commonly seen in mathematics with multiple solutions or in language with words having multiple meanings.
  7. Confirmatory Thinking: The thinking process of using One’s acquired knowledge and experience to verify a particular conclusion. Confirmatory thinking involves the structure of a thesis, arguments, and modes of reasoning. Everyone uses confirmatory thinking in their daily lives.
  8. Reverse Thinking: Thinking from the opposite perspective to see what the results would be.
  9. Horizontal Thinking: Simply put, it refers to thinking from different perspectives, considering different angles. This type of thinking mostly involves finding breakthroughs in problem-solving by examining related elements. Horizontal thinking often revolves around analyzing the same problem from different angles or finding answers through the analysis of various related elements.
  10. Progressive Thinking: A thinking process that starts from the current step and progressively moves towards a deeper goal. It is similar to multi-step operations in mathematics.
  11. Imaginative Thinking: Thinking through association and creating new images based on known information. It involves the process of going from “this” to “that” based on new combinations, building upon existing materials.
  12. Decomposition Thinking: Breaking down a problem into its various parts and seeking answers from each part and their relationships.
  13. Logical Thinking: Answering questions through judgment and reasoning. It is a form of logical thinking that involves analyzing, judging, and drawing conclusions about a particular object, followed by extrapolation.
  14. Comparative Thinking: Thinking through the comparison of two similar or different objects to identify their similarities, differences, essence, and characteristics.
  15. Cross Thinking: Searching for answers from One end, temporarily pausing at a certain point, then searching for answers from the other end, also pausing at that point. The two ends intersect and communicate, leading to the discovery of the correct answer. This type of thinking is often employed when solving complex problems.
  16. Transformational Thinking: When encountering obstacles in the problem-solving process, transform the problem from One form to another to make it simpler and clearer.
  17. Leap Thinking: Skipping certain intermediate steps in an object, omitting minor processes, and directly reaching the endpoint.
  18. Intuitive Thinking: A thinking process that grasps the essence of things in One sudden contact. It involves drawing conclusions first and then providing evidence. This type of thinking requires accumulated knowledge and understanding of the essence of things. Intuitive thinking consists of a dynamic structure composed of the conscious mind → subconscious mind → conscious mind, differing from other forms of thinking in terms of its holistic nature and leaps.
  19. Percolation Thinking: When analyzing a problem, perceiving the complex and interpenetrating factors and solving the problem through the analysis of these underlying relationships.
  20. Comprehensive Thinking: The combined application of various thinking methods. Many problems cannot be solved by relying solely on One thinking method; multiple thinking methods need to be comprehensively applied to find solutions.
  21. Core Thinking: Focusing only on the essential aspects of things and disregarding any cluttered elements. Individuals with extensive knowledge possess this type of core-concentrated thinking, viewing the world as stripped-down. It is different from the initial singularity in the core thinking process, as this point has not yet been positioned.
  22. Virtual Thinking: In the rapidly evolving network era of the 21st century, scientists have had to qualitatively define the meaning of virtual thinking. It is a real thinking process that takes self-core as the reference point, the brain as the initial virtual reflection platform, and network information as the external virtual reflection platform.

Regardless, thinking is a part of consciousness. Having good thinking abilities does not necessarily mean having a high level of consciousness. The level of thinking ability is not directly linked to consciousness. In the real world, there are numerous examples of individuals with high intelligence but low consciousness. Please refer to the author’s blog posts “Mind and Consciousness” and “Values, Outlook on Life and Worldview” for more information. Learn more…>

The author emphasizes once again that thinking is a form of consciousness. Therefore, it can only exist in three main forms: bodily consciousness, mental consciousness, spiritual consciousness; or a combination of multiple, ordered, or unordered modes of thinking consciousness. Consciousness (it’s level) determines a person’s thinking (the level of their intelligence). Learn more…>

REALTED: Family of Consciousness | Consciousness and Thoughts | Mind & Consciousness

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