Types of Thinking

Abstract

We begin by describing a conversation between two executives and show the way they think differently about the subject of data privacy. We then illustrate with examples of the distinction between two types of thinking, logical and dialectical thinking, and outline four principles that underpin our notion of dialectical thinking. We go on to discuss the connection between dialectical thinking and dialogue noting that both internal and external dialogue often has a dialectical structure. We close by offering a definition of dialectical thinking.