The Best Way To Learn Critical Thinking

By Leo Gura - June 26, 2026

What Jordan Peterson says here is good and useful, but the best way to learn how to think is by doing philosophy. Not by reading philosophy but by doing philosophy. Philosophy is the art of asking questions and critical thinking. Writing and speaking without philosophy, without epistemology, without ontology, without truth-seeking, ends in what Plato called sophistry. Sophists are skilled at rhetoric but their ideas are ultimately shallow and corrupt, in the service of unconscious survival and ego. Proper thinking begins with thinking about epistemology. Once you’ve got some understanding of epistemology, then you can think properly about other aspects of life.

But, of course, writing is a great skill to develop alongside that. But my understanding of Reality does not come from writing, it comes from pure contemplation. Writing is secondary for me, even though it certainly helps me to clarify my understanding.

Another great way to develop thinking is by teaching. Teaching a subject forces you to think it through very carefully and explain it clearly to yourself. My understanding of Realty got so deep because I’ve been teaching it for 13 years, which forced me to clarify every bit of my own understanding. Every time I explain something to you, I get more clarity around it from me, I understand it more profoundly. So it serves both you and me. The more I explain the better I understand.

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