What Does MetaThought Mean?

Names are important because they carry meaning.

I named my production company "MetaThought Productions" after a textbook called "Tools of Critical Thinking: Metathoughts for Psychology" by Pepperdine University Professor David A. Levy.

My mission statement explains further:

Our mission at MetaThought Productions is to expand consciousness by exploring the limitations of our attitudes and beliefs. By "thinking about how we think," then we can gain the perspective to be able to break out of our dominant paradigms. We accomplish this by producing multimedia outreach tools for liberals and progressives that stimulate dialogue with conservatives. The Echo Chamber documentary intends to build understanding between the polarized ends of the political spectrum by providing an emotionally engaging catalyst for discussing grievances with the mainstream television news media.

MY INTRODUCTION TO LEVY’S TEXTBOOK
Levy’s critical thinking textbook was one of the first books that I re-read as part of my research for this project. I originally purchased it for my cognitive psychology course that I took when I was an electrical engineering student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

This textbook that does a great job of explaining and teaching tools for how to think critically. Needless to say, it has provided a strong theoretic foundation for this project.

I would like to pass along many of the lessons from by wrapping them in the context of emotionally engaging political issues such as the media, and transmitting them through the documentary and through this website.

WESTERN CULTURE OF THINKING
As I was re-reading a couple paragraphs from Levy's critical thinking textbook, I noticed how much my perspective has changed over the past year.

Western culture is extremely grounded in science and thinking, while the Eastern way of thinking puts more of an emphasis on trying to quite the mind in order to be able to experience the spiritual aspects of life. Techniques such as yoga or meditation try to integrate the body, mind, and spirit.

I am still very much grounded in the Western culture of thinking and science -- as is most of my intended audience for this film. But I am also becoming more aware of the role of the body and spirit and not just the mind.

LAUNCHING THE JOURNEY
The sentiment contained in the first two paragraphs of the Preface from Levy’s "Tools of Critical Thinking" is what set the tone for exploring how the mainstream news affects public consciousness:

Thinking -- one of the most essential of all human characteristics. Thinking is inexorable component of almost everything that we do. We use it to understand and control the world around us. It guides us in formulating problems and seeking solutions. It underlies our loftiest goals and our deepest fears. It is the very basis of learning and knowledge. It is fundamentally linked to language itself. In fact, it’s nearly impossible to imagine any human experience that is completely void of the thinking process.

But do we ever think about thinking? Although we may focus on the content of our thoughts -- that is, on what we think -- what about the way we think? Or how well we think? Or why we think? In other words, how often do we subject our thinking process to critical analysis?

This book had a huge influence on me, and continues to influence me.

It's interesting to notice that I now see that Levy is a little too stuck in the Western paradigm when he says that "it’s nearly impossible to imagine any human experience that is completely void of the thinking process."

GOALS OF THIS JOURNEY
By analyzing how human beings think provides a common ground for conservatives and liberals to discuss their ideological differences. Both ends of the political spectrum are using the same essential "computer hardware" -- the difference is that our differing moral value systems provide different "operating systems" which in turn dictate the differing "software programs" that run our differing attitudes and beliefs.

I ultimately set out to comprehend the factors that influence how individual Americans come to decide to either passionately support or oppose the Bush Administration. I figured that analyzing the television news media might give me some interesting insights into this question.

As I enter the last phase of this journey, I can certainly say that many answers to these questions can be found by analyzing the media from the perspective of sociology, social psychology, political science and mass communications.