Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Critical Thinking and Sexual Decision Making




     When it comes to thinking and sex, many people would say there’s not much though going on.  For this reason, it is extremely important that some forethought take place in the form of critical thinking.  As Rathus, et. al. (2005) indicates, “The willingness to challenge the conventional wisdom and knowledge that many of us take for granted” (pp. 7-8).  For accurate and informed sexual decision making Rathus, et. al. (2005) has provided eight principles of critical thinking: be skeptical, examine definitions of terms, and the assumptions of premises of arguments.  Use caution in drawing conclusions from evidence, consider alternative interpretations of research evidence, and the kinds of evidence upon which conclusions are based, do not oversimplify, or overgeneralize.
     In a marriage there are many occasions in which decisions about sex and sexuality are made.  Personally, when sexual issues began to surface (e.g. erectile dysfunction and reduced levels of intimacy), questions of whether or not there was infidelity or even if my marriage was worth the extreme levels of stress plaguing daily life were but a few.  Skepticism is one of the first forms of critical thinking that needs to be maintained; there are many people who offered advice but not all of it good.  Another important principal is to examine definitions of terms, as many books and thoughtful advice come in the form of unrealistic terms.  Much like the assumptions or premises of arguments; if he loved you… Love had nothing to do with the situation.  I discovered the hard way it is important to use caution when drawing conclusions from what appears to be evidence.  Many issues may look similar and have nothing to do with each other.  Although there are remaining principals to critical thinking, I have provided only a few to reflect how important critical thinking is concerning sexual decision making; not just the act but the ramifications of life.



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