Oyvind
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Subject: Critical thinking
According to Leo Groarke's article about informal logic in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, the Critical Thinking Movement played an important part as California State University expressed the following Executive Order in 1980, requiring formal instruction in critical thinking in post secondary education. To my mind the order gives a very clear, yet comprehensive, definition of what critical thinking is, which is why I wanted to refer to it here as well. It says:
So the key point is "understanding of the relationship of language to logic". Such an understanding leads to three different abilities:
Nice! Although I would be tempted to turn the definition around and argue that it is not until you know how to analyse, criticise, how to reason inductively and deductively, how to reach factual or judgemental conclusions etc. etc. that you can be said truly to know "the relationship of language to logic".
Instruction in critical thinking is to be designed to achieve an understanding of the relationship of language to logic, which should lead to the ability to analyze, criticize, and advocate ideas, to reason inductively and deductively and to reach factual or judgmental conclusions based on sound inferences drawn from unambiguous statements of knowledge or belief. (Dumke [1980], Executive Order 338)
So the key point is "understanding of the relationship of language to logic". Such an understanding leads to three different abilities:
- to analyze, criticize, and advocate ideas
- to reason inductively and deductively
- to reach factual or judgmental conclusions based on sound inferences drawn from unambiguous statements of knowledge or belief
Nice! Although I would be tempted to turn the definition around and argue that it is not until you know how to analyse, criticise, how to reason inductively and deductively, how to reach factual or judgemental conclusions etc. etc. that you can be said truly to know "the relationship of language to logic".
Retention of strangeness is the only antidote to estrangement. T. W. Adorno