"It's fair to say I'm stepping out on a limb, but I am on the edge and that's where it happens." - from Darren Aranofsky's 1998 film PI.
Abstract
Critical thinking involves stepping over the ledge, approaching subjects in a way that others may find tedious or unconventional.
Treatment
Critical thinking involves self-improvement, it may also mean going beyond other people's comfort zones.
On his critical thinking website, I feel Professor Brad Dowden, doesn't go far enough.
He cautions individuals about using critical thinking in extreme ways. He states, "A critical thinker is not a hypercritical thinker. The point isn't to be so critical that you find fault where there is no fault or that you make mountains out of molehills by overstating small problems" (2002).
Though he means to caution students about straying too far away from conventional logic, I think he may be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
During my time as a writing tutor at Indiana University, much of the course material we reviewed involved critical thinking. In particular, I think Gary Colombo may have challenged Dowden a bit to go a little farther.
The author, who edited the book “Rereading America,” talks about how critical thinkers are involved thinkers. Columbo (2001) states, “Good critical thinkers in all academic disciplines welcome the opportunity to challenge conventional ways of seeing the world; they seem to take delight in questioning everything that appears clear and self-evident” (p. 6).
I find the parallel interesting between one author who talks about not making molehills, while the other suggests that thinking involves going back over what another person may have dismissed as minutia.
The other thing I learned was my surprise at how one of these professors use critical thinking as a means of self-empowerment. Richard Paul, owner of the Critical Thinking Community uses critical thinking as a staging point to sell empowerment videos and seminars, akin to a self-help program. In his article "Critical Thinking in Everyday Life: 9 Strategies" many of the tips he gives are more about emotions and character than the actual thinking process.
5. Reshape Your Character.
6. Deal with Your Ego.
7. Redefine the Way You See Things.
8. Get in touch with your emotions.
(2001).
While this may just be a sales tactic influenced by his target market, his strategy seems to not focus so much on the craft of thinking, but rather the individual thinker.
This is a strategy that I think Colombo (2001) would pay attention to and perhaps agree with. He says “In short, a critical thinker is an active learner, someone with the ability to shape, not merely absorb knowledge” (p. 2).
It seems to me that the direction of Columbo's words also focus on the person - in order to be an active thinker, he seems to suggest, one must evolve themselves.
On his critical thinking website, I feel Professor Brad Dowden, doesn't go far enough.
He cautions individuals about using critical thinking in extreme ways. He states, "A critical thinker is not a hypercritical thinker. The point isn't to be so critical that you find fault where there is no fault or that you make mountains out of molehills by overstating small problems" (2002).
Though he means to caution students about straying too far away from conventional logic, I think he may be throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
During my time as a writing tutor at Indiana University, much of the course material we reviewed involved critical thinking. In particular, I think Gary Colombo may have challenged Dowden a bit to go a little farther.
The author, who edited the book “Rereading America,” talks about how critical thinkers are involved thinkers. Columbo (2001) states, “Good critical thinkers in all academic disciplines welcome the opportunity to challenge conventional ways of seeing the world; they seem to take delight in questioning everything that appears clear and self-evident” (p. 6).
I find the parallel interesting between one author who talks about not making molehills, while the other suggests that thinking involves going back over what another person may have dismissed as minutia.
The other thing I learned was my surprise at how one of these professors use critical thinking as a means of self-empowerment. Richard Paul, owner of the Critical Thinking Community uses critical thinking as a staging point to sell empowerment videos and seminars, akin to a self-help program. In his article "Critical Thinking in Everyday Life: 9 Strategies" many of the tips he gives are more about emotions and character than the actual thinking process.
5. Reshape Your Character.
6. Deal with Your Ego.
7. Redefine the Way You See Things.
8. Get in touch with your emotions.
(2001).
While this may just be a sales tactic influenced by his target market, his strategy seems to not focus so much on the craft of thinking, but rather the individual thinker.
This is a strategy that I think Colombo (2001) would pay attention to and perhaps agree with. He says “In short, a critical thinker is an active learner, someone with the ability to shape, not merely absorb knowledge” (p. 2).
It seems to me that the direction of Columbo's words also focus on the person - in order to be an active thinker, he seems to suggest, one must evolve themselves.
Conclusion
If I have walked away with a lesson from this, it is a more determined focus to not just pass through the next four years on auto-pilot and rote repetition. I think these articles encourage me to take a flying leap over the edge, empower myself in the process, and have a clear sense of what it is I'm going to land on.
Sources
Sources
Dowden, B. Critical Thinking Skills. Retrived from
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/d/dowdenb/4/ct-def/def-of-ct.htm
Paul, R. & Elder, L. Modified from the book by Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2001). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life. http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/sts-ct-everyday-life.cfm
Colombo, G. (2001). Thinking Critically: Challenging Cultural Myths. In G. Colombo, R. Cullen, & B. Lisle (Eds.), Rereading America, 6th ed (1-15). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/d/dowdenb/4/ct-def/def-of-ct.htm
Paul, R. & Elder, L. Modified from the book by Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2001). Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life. http://www.criticalthinking.org/articles/sts-ct-everyday-life.cfm
Colombo, G. (2001). Thinking Critically: Challenging Cultural Myths. In G. Colombo, R. Cullen, & B. Lisle (Eds.), Rereading America, 6th ed (1-15). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.
