Critical thinking
- Thread starter Pete
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You definitely have the wrong idea about what critical thinking is.
Critical thinking is solely concerned about pragmatism.
No ideology at all is implied.
It is about the scientific method.
Yes I know.
Its concerned with whats practical and feasible.
And its a highly conservative mode of thinking. I come across it everyday.
You have these little ruts and you have people going round and round in them, the ruts get deeper and soon they cannot see over the edge. But it does not matter, cos they are all looking down anyway, thinking they are getting somewhere, when mostly, they are just going around in circles.
Yes I know.
Its concerned with whats practical and feasible.
And its a highly conservative mode of thinking.
Sorry, Sam but you are wrong.
It is not conservative at all.
In fact, it is anything BUT conservative.
It is not interested in maintaining status quo, but questioning it every step of the way from the reliability of source of the information to the interpretation of the data.
Thats called conservative thinking in science. The more conservative, the greater the rigor, the greater the exactitude. Maybe you're confusing it with politics?
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It seems I was.
So what is the problem with rigorus examination and scrutiny, as opposed to simply accepting what one is taught is "truth"?
What is wrong with questioning status-quo?
Nothing at all, if you want to do away with "flexibility, adaptability" and most importantly, "the need to take precedent with a pinch of salt". Critical thinking in science would mean you need to work within a strict framework of dogma about what is considered the "right way" of doing things.
One example that I have frequently come across is that of reductionism. ie expecting the parts to represent the whole. Its why we have had the protein wars, followed by the fat wars and are now descending into the carbohydrate wars. None of which make ANY sense and have contributed very little to health, for example.
Unfortunately, at present, we are limited in science by having no better method than of isolating variables and studying them as representative entities. This is one example of the drawback of critical thinking. [You can compare this with the holistic approach in Eastern thinking, for instance]
Someone practicing proper critical thinking methods will take all these aspects into account.
A holistic to health and wellness is a natural result of critical thinking.
If they are taking outside abstract variables that have not yet happened into account, they are not practising critical thinking.
You don't think that both are useful ways of thinking?
That both are skills that can be learned?
That someone who knows how to think critically is therefore incapable of thinking creatively, and vice versa?
Did you see the link I gave by example that described how a school curriculum should teach and encourage both critical thinking and creative thinking?
I don't quite get what you're thinking, Sam.
It's as if someone suggested teaching children to swim, and you replied "But then they wouldn't know how to walk!":shrug:
That is the problem. When you get conditioned to respond to specific methods of learning then common sense often suffers. There is, to an extent, loss in ability to use common sense. I believe the reason is because things are laid out for you and you are really not thinking at all but just repeating what may not even be correct. If you do not have definitive proof then you are just making a guess. An educated guess? Perhaps. Does it really matter? There really is only right and wrong.
So why learn about critical thinking when any perspectives that deviate from the norm will be ridiculed anyway?
So why learn about critical thinking when any perspectives that deviate from the norm will be ridiculed anyway?
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I did not realise critical thinking was a pseudonym for atheism.
It is not really,_it does lead to freethinking though) but name the religion that promotes critical thinking. Specially orthodox one. Mormon freethinker, Muslim freethinker, etc. are all oxymorons...
Oh sorry, I didn't get this side of the question first. Well, I would say no, at least not in the States where most parents are theists. Generally theists don't encourage critical thinking because that would leave to the questioning of beliefs...
I am not sure what are you trying to show here, this is a really bad analogy, for whatever it is. Buying a cup of coffee is not a charity action. In the freemarkets we buy coffee from whoever can provide the best coffee for the lowest price. We don't think about their side of the deal...
Yeah, but like I said, these are teh same schools churning out people without the ability to read or do simple math. So I'm not really impressed with the turnout.
Correct. Thank you. Whats stopping you from thinking about their side of the deal?
Why should I? I could, but why should I?
(I noticed you like to answer with questions, so I figured I would pay you back)
P.S.:We kind of got here into economics. The point is consumers don't need to understand producers. But producers need to understand consumers.
(I noticed you like to answer with questions, so I figured I would pay you back)
P.S.:We kind of got here into economics. The point is consumers don't need to understand producers. But producers need to understand consumers.
I'm confused as to your perspective... are you arguing from the point of view of a theist who believes in the Bible?
I've bolded the bits that confuse me, as your claims of what Critical Thinking can lead to are far more applicable to someone brought up a theist.