Transcript Pre-launch – people need to understand just what it means

WHAT IS CRITICAL
THINKING?
PART 1
SOURCE MATERIAL
• The information for this critical thinking class comes
primarily from Ruggiero’s Beyond Feelings: A Guide
to Critical Thinking, 8th edition
• That textbook is located on our class website in the
Critical Thinking folder
• Other sources include
• http://philosophy.hku.hk/think
• http://www.criticalthinking.org
OUR APPROACH
• Listen carefully and take notes in your dual entry
notebook on the subject matter, as there will be an
exam on all three parts once we are finished
• You may want to review the material on your own at home,
the library, or on campus as you prepare your notebook
• Also, keep your eye out for something interesting
that you can “own” and teach the class about in a
five to ten minute presentation later this month
SUBJECTS TO EXAMINE
• Part 1
• Distinctions between the brain and the mind
• Critical thinking defined
• Part 2
• Characteristics of critical thinkers
• The role of intuition
• Part 3
• Basic activities in critical thinking
• Critical thinking and writing
• Critical thinking and discussion
SUBJECTS TO EXAMINE
• Part 1
• Distinctions between the brain and the mind
• Critical thinking defined
• Part 2
• Characteristics of critical thinkers
• The role of intuition
• Part 3
• Basic activities in critical thinking
• Critical thinking and writing
• Critical thinking and discussion
SUBJECTS TO EXAMINE
• Part 1
• Distinctions between the brain and the mind
• Critical thinking defined
• Part 2
• Characteristics of critical thinkers
• The role of intuition
• Part 3
• Basic activities in critical thinking
• Critical thinking and writing
• Critical thinking and discussion
PART 1
THE BRAIN AND THE MIND
WH A T ’ S T H E D I F F E R E N C E B E T WE E N T H E M ?
THE BRAIN VS THE MIND
• What is the relationship between “your mind” –
where your thinking seems to happen, and the
physical matter called “your brain”?
• This is a problem that has been long wrestled with by
philosophers and researchers
• Has science yet been able to give us an answer?
THE BRAIN VS THE MIND (CONT.)
• Research shows that while the brain is necessary for
thought, it is not sufficient for thought
• That means, just because you have a brain doesn’t
mean you automatically know how to use it to think
• The brain is a physical entity
• The mind is a metaphysical entity
• They are connected somehow, but they are not the same
thing
THE BRAIN VS THE MIND (CONT.)
• Physical means you can locate it in time and in
space
• Your brain is found inside your cranium
• It is connected to your spine so you can actually DO the
things you THINK about
• Its activity can be measured in a number of ways
• Electrically
• Chemically
THE BRAIN VS THE MIND (CONT.)
• Metaphysical means “beyond the physical”
• I am not referring to a “New Age” concept, but a technical
term that means something different
• Try as you may, you can examine a brain physically and
never locate an idea or thought, because ideas exist
“beyond” (which is what “meta” means) the physical brain
• It is a term that describes “where” thinking occurs
• Where are thoughts and ideas? That is a question for the
philosophers to wrestle with
THE BRAIN VS THE MIND (CONT.)
• Two general points of view regarding the mind
• The mind is passive, a blank slate on which experience
writes (John Locke)
• The mind is active, a vehicle by which we take the initiative
and exercise our free will (G.W. Leibnitz)
• It is very likely that the truth lies somewhere between these
two ideas
THE BRAIN VS THE MIND (CONT.)
• Our approach is based on the latter view, though
we cannot totally ignore the former
• The brain is bicameral – meaning it has two lobes, or
chambers, or hemispheres
• The lobes are connected by a thick band of tissue that acts
as a switchboard between the hemispheres, called the
corpus callosum, or “tough body”
• Certain characteristics seem to describe the functions of
the right and left “brains”
POTENTIAL PROBING QUESTIONS
• What are the parts of the brain and what do they
do? Which parts of the brain are connected with
thinking, and which parts aren’t?
• Who is John Locke, and why should I care? Who is
G.W. Leibnitz, and why should I care?
• How does the “left brain” differ in function from the
“right brain”? How do we know?
• What is the difference between the “Mind” and the
“Brain”?
• For further learning
• http://www.learn-to-draw-right.com/
WHAT DOES A FUNCTIONING
BRAIN LOOK LIKE?
FOR THE VISUAL LEARNERS IN THE CROWD
CRITICAL THINKING
DEFINED
A WO R K I N G D E F I N I T I O N
“FEELING” VS “THINKING”
• Before we can define critical thinking, we need to
understand something
• It is very important to distinguish between what is
meant by “feeling” and what is meant by “thinking”
• Unfortunately, people say “I feel” and “I think”
without understanding that these are two distinctly
different operations of the mind
• These terms are often used interchangeably,
sometimes with confusing consequences
WHAT IS “FEELING”?
• Feeling is a subjective response that reflects one’s
emotions, sentiments, or desires
• Feelings generally occur spontaneously rather than
through a conscious mental act
• We don’t have to use our minds to feel angry when we are
insulted, afraid when we are threatened, or compassionate
when we see someone in need of help
• Feelings arise automatically
• This is very helpful to remember when you are consciously
trying to understand whether you are “feeling” or “thinking”
WHAT IS “FEELING”? (CONT.)
• “Feeling” is useful for directing our attention to
matters we should think about
• I feel hungry, so I should eat
• I feel bad about being such a jerk, so I should apologize
• I feel happy when I learn, so I should learn more!
• It can also provide us the necessary enthusiasm and
commitment required to complete arduous mental
tasks, like course work required for graduation ;-)
• However, feeling is never a good substitute for
thinking because it is notoriously unreliable
WHAT IS “FEELING”? (CONT.)
• Some feelings are honorable, beneficial, even
noble; others are not
• Sometimes we “feel” like doing things that will harm us –
such as smoking pot, or telling off our parents, or refusing to
be responsible for our own actions
• What’s the solution?
• LEARN TO THINK!
WHAT IS “THINKING”?
• “Thinking” is a conscious mental process performed
to solve a problem, make a decision, or gain
understanding
• Whereas feeling has no purpose beyond expressing
itself, thinking aims beyond itself to knowledge or
action
• This is not to say that thinking is infallible
• We will expose errors in thinking so we can learn
how to avoid them
• But thinking is the most reliable guide to action we
currently possess
CRITICAL THINKING DEFINED
• Critical thinking is the process by which we test
claims and arguments and determine which have
merit and which do not
• Critical thinking is involved in our search for answers,
our quest for the truth
• Not surprisingly, one of the most important
techniques used in critical thinking is the use of
probing questions
“OUR COUNTRY HAS LOST ITS
TRADITIONAL VALUES”
• What is the relationship
between values and
beliefs? Between values
and convictions?
• What does “traditional”
mean?
• How aware is the
average person of his or
her values? Is it possible
that many people
deceive themselves
about their real values?
• Where do one’s values
originate? Within the
individual or outside? In
thoughts or in feelings?
• Does education change
a person’s values? If so, is
this change always for
the better?
• Should parents and
teachers attempt to
shape children’s values?
MISCONCEPTIONS
ABOUT
CRITICAL
THINKING
Being able to support
one’s beliefs with
reasons makes one a
critical thinker
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT
CRITICAL THINKING (CONT.)
• Being able to support one’s beliefs with reasons
makes one a critical thinker
• FALSE
• Virtually everyone has reasons to support what they
believe, however weak those reasons may be
• The test of critical thinking is whether the reasons
are good and sufficient
MISCONCEPTIONS
ABOUT
CRITICAL
THINKING
Critical thinkers never
imitate others in thought
or action
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT
CRITICAL THINKING (CONT.)
• Critical thinkers never imitate others in thought or
action
• FALSE
• If that were the case, then every eccentric person
would be a critical thinker, which is not the case
• Critical thinking means making sound decisions,
regardless of how common or uncommon those
decisions are
MISCONCEPTIONS
ABOUT
CRITICAL
THINKING
Critical thinking is having
a lot of right answers in
your head
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT
CRITICAL THINKING (CONT.)
• Critical thinking is having a lot of right answers in
your head
• FALSE
• There’s nothing wrong with having right answers, of
course
• But critical thinking involves the process of finding
answers when they are not so readily available,
meaning it takes work!
MISCONCEPTIONS
ABOUT
CRITICAL
THINKING
Critical thinking cannot
be learned, you’re
either born with it or
you’re not
Is it true that Einstein was a lousy student?
In some ways, yes. When he was very young,
Einstein's parents worried that he had a learning
disability because he was very slow to learn to
talk (he also avoided other children and had
extraordinary temper tantrums.) When he
started school, he did very well – he was a
creative and persistent problem-solver – but he
hated the rote, disciplined style of the teachers
at his Munich school, and he dropped out when
he was 15. Then, when he took the entrance
examination for a polytechnic school in Zurich,
he flunked (he passed the math part, but failed
the botany, zoology and language sections.)
Einstein kept studying and was admitted to the
polytechnic institute the following year, but
even then he continued to struggle: His
professors thought that he was smart but much
too pleased with himself, and some doubted
that he would graduate. He did, but not by
much – which is how the young physicist found
himself working in the Swiss Patent Office instead
of at a school or university.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT
CRITICAL THINKING (CONT.)
• Critical thinking cannot be learned, you’re either
born with it or you’re not
• FALSE
• Critical thinking is simply a matter of habit
• The most careless, sloppy thinker can become a
critical thinker by developing the characteristics of
a critical thinker
• This is not to say that all people have equal thinking
potential, but everyone can achieve dramatic
improvement
FOR NEXT TIME
• Part 1
• Distinctions between the brain and the mind
• Critical thinking defined
• Part 2
• Characteristics of critical thinkers
• The role of intuition
• Part 3
• Basic activities in critical thinking
• Critical thinking and writing
• Critical thinking and discussion