According to Dr. Martin Luther king junior critical thinking is a vast field that encompasses various aspects of everyday life. It is therefore much more complicated than simply engaging in mental activities aimed at arriving at a certain conclusion. According to Dr. Martin Luther king true education encompasses a coalition of character and intelligence. He further stresses that the most dangerous villain might in fact turn out to be the most intelligent member of society who just so happens to be at a state of moral bankruptcy. Thus morality is very important in critical thinking and arriving at an amicable solution that has the well-being of the entire society in mind as opposed to the mere interests of a greedy individual. Without character intelligence thus ceases to have true meaning or rather any true tangible value in mainstream society. Intelligence merely arms an individual with the necessary skills to see past the problem at hand and onto the solution that one hopes for. Character on the other hand arms an individual with the ability to gauge the validity of the various solutions at hand keeping in mind that the general well-being of the entire society takes precedence over any personal desires or rather inclinations and aspirations.
On a personal level there have been numerous situations where intelligence did not just cut it. In order to truly arrive at an acceptable precedence there had to be a coalition of both intelligence and character and especially with emphasis on matters morality. Having been an intern at a local bank the future seemed rather bright for me in the banking industry. Networking to the highest echelons of power at the local bank was rather easy and sooner than expected lunches and corporate dinners with the local bank manager became a thing of the norm. Anyone fresh from college clearly understands the significance of networking power. Who you know and who you do not know might as well be the nail on the coffin with reference to how far you go n he banking industry and in your career as a whole. Being on a first name basis with my manager was a thing hard worked for but clearly worth every ounce of hard work for a sophisticated strategist not unlike myself. As I got closer to my manager my circle of friends in the corporate executive world also widened and soon I knew almost every local bank manager in my area code and more importantly every local bank manager in my area code knew me. The track to reputation building in the banking industry seemed to be well under my grip, a firm grip at that, and the future seemed brighter than ever.
One evening my local bank manager called me to his office and asked me to stay a while longer after closing hours after everyone else had left. Apparently he had a matter of great importance to discuss with me. I gladly agreed because despite him being my boss he was also a friend and a good one at that. After everyone had left he called me to his office for a cup of tea and then the discussion began. Apparently he urgently and desperately needed my help with a pertinent issue associated with the bank. The request was aid in the fabrication of certain invoices and documents that would see the manager and all his accomplices handsomely rewarded for their services. Thinking about the situation for a moment going along with the plans of the manager seemed to be the most intelligent thing to do. Could most definitely use the extra money and with this rather small service my relationship with the manager would have been inscribed in stone and as such moving up the corporate ladder in the banking industry would have been a piece of cake for me. Every fiber in my being clearly told me to go ahead with the request of my supervising superior. With this small request fulfilled I would be in a position to ask for favors from the manager and he would more likely than not agree with my requests. If I scratched his back in this current predicament he would most definitely respond with an in kind act in the event that I also needed some sort of aid from him or from any of his friends.
That evening saw me sitting down at home and thinking critically about the proposal that was at hand and the impending implications of the actions I was being requested to perform.
I found myself at war with none other than my very own self on whether to go along with the requests of my manager or simply to say no to him. My moral side would not let me commit an act of fraud yet my ambitious and entrepreneurial side ached to climb higher in the echelons of power. After careful thought I decided not to go ahead with the plan since it was immoral and simply an act of theft.
