The Myth of Critical Thinking

Magical Realist said:
LOL! This from the guy who was insisting pixies were ufos
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And logically too.

If you were thinking critically, you would be able to separate what I said from what you think I said.
You thought I was asserting equivalence ("the same as"). That is not a deducible conclusion from my statement.
Your entire argument after that was based on a misconception because you did not examine my assertion critically.
 
MR said:
Also, if you are telling people how to think, aren't you already undermining their ability to think for themselves?
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Unless you tell them they should think critically, or apply critical thinking, and leave it up to them to figure out what that means.
 
Magical Realist said:
As if there were only one way to fish---fly fishing, nets, etc.
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An example of moving the goalposts.
First you say telling someone how to think is undermining their ability to think.
Now you're saying telling someone a specific procedure for what they should think...

Would you feel the same about, say, mathematics (which is closely related to logic)?
"Don't let me teach you how basic integer arithmetic works; I don't want to undermine you. You just go and put numbers together however you see fit."
 
DaveC426913 said:
And logically too.

If you were thinking critically, you would be able to separate what I said from what you think I said.
You thought I was asserting equivalence ("the same as"). That is not a deducible conclusion from my statement.
Your entire argument after that was based on a misconception because you did not examine my assertion critically.
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How could I possibly get your point when you defining a pixie as a ufo was fallacious to begin with? Do you often base your preaching on erroneous definitions?
 
First you say telling someone how to think is undermining their ability to think.
Now you're saying telling someone a specific procedure for what they should think...
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I no more accept your premise that there is only one way to think than I accept your premise that there is only one way to fish. That was my point..


Would you feel the same about, say, mathematics (which is closely related to logic)?
"Don't let me teach you how basic integer arithmetic works; I don't want to undermine you. You just go and put numbers together however you see fit."
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So thinking is like math that can be learned from a textbook and emulated and expected to lead to the truth every time without fail and doesn't even need to be done on one's own? Uh no..I think you underestimate the enormous subtlety and complexity of thought..
 
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Critical thinking is what you do when someone tells you something, and you think about how true it is.

For example, you want to learn how to drive, your instructor tells you it's ok to drive through red lights. What do you think about the traffic proceeding across your intended path? What do you think about other drivers who stop at red lights?
 
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You did not analyze my assertion - you analyzed your own.

I 100% agree that pixies and ufos are not "the same thing". 'UFOs' is a category of things (note the plural you inserted), explicitly, things that are unidentified, are flying, and are objects.

And you still don't get that. Even though it's been made plain multiple times. Think critically, man.



Magical Realist said:
Do you often base your preaching on erroneous definitions.
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This has been refuted aleady.

Since you like dictionary definitions, I obliged you with more than one that allow for pixies to be labeled as unidentified flying objects.

You have yet to show that they cannot be labeled as such, so you have not shown any fallacy.

One the of lessons of critical thinking is that moderate assertions are always easier to substantiate than extreme assertions.
It is far easier to show that pixies can be listed under the category of unidentified flying objects, than it is to show that they can't.

I need only one description that allows a categorization for my assertion to have weight.
You need to show that all definitions disallow it.
 
Magical Realist said:
I no more accept your premise that there is only one way to think than I accept your premise that there is only one way to fish. That was my point..
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Again, you attack yourself.

You said there's only one way to fish; I did not.

A really excellent way to undermine one's credibility.

Since you are touchy about credibility, I don't know why you keeping shooting yourself in this particular foot.
 
arfa brane said:
Critical thinking is what you do when someone tells you something, and you think about how true it is.

For example, you want to learn how to drive, your teacher tells you it's ok to drive through red lights. What do you think about the traffic proceeding across your intended path? What do you think about other drivers who stop at red lights?
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Sounds like basic inference and common sense to me. Can that be taught?

DaveC426913 said:
Again, you attack yourself.

You said there's only one way to fish; I did not.

A really excellent way to undermine one's credibility.

Since you are touchy about credibility, I don't know why you keeping shooting yourself in this particular foot.
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Is there only one way to think?
 
Magical Realist said:
Sounds like basic inference and common sense to me. Can that be taught?
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Hmm. Suppose you enrol in a computer programming course, and the lecturer tells the whole class the only way to design a program is with flowcharts.

You apply some thinking (critical or otherwise), and decide that: 1) the lecturer is correct, 2) the lecturer isn't correct, but mistaken. Which would you decide?
 
arfa brane said:
Hmm. Suppose you enrol in a computer programming course, and the lecturer tells the whole class the only way to design a program is with flowcharts.

You apply some thinking (critical or otherwise), and decide that: 1) the lecturer is correct, 2) the lecturer isn't correct, but mistaken. Which would you decide?
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I wouldn't decide either. I'd check his statement against further research and ask other lecturers.
 
Magical Realist said:
I'd check his statement against further research and asking other lecturers.
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You mean, 'gasp', you would actually not just accept what you were told, but think for yourself?
 
I'd research the claim and ask other teachers.
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And this researching and asking others, is not what you would classify as applying critical thinking? Even though that's what it is?
Because you like seeing the world as basically contradictory, even if it means inventing the contradictions?
 
arfa brane said:
And this researching and asking others, is not what you would classify as applying critical thinking? Even though that's what it is?
Because you like seeing the world as basically contradictory, even if it means inventing the contradictions?
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No..reading about how to program and listening to other teachers isn't critical thinking. It's just the perceptual gathering of data.
 
MR said:
No..reading about how to program and listening to other teachers isn't critical thinking.
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That's odd. I thought you wanted an explanation of what critical thinking is, and here you are saying what it isn't.

Look, the fact that you think about doing the research and asking other teachers is the critical thinking part, you didn't just accept what one teacher told you, right? Then you do those things, after you thought about doing them.

Yikes
 
That's odd. I thought you wanted an explanation of what critical thinking is, and here you are saying what it isn't.
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I know what it isn't, as in NOT reading or listening to people speak or juggling bananas. But I don't know what it is. So far the definitions seem to revolve around just thinking well. Or rather...think like how I tell you to think so you can reach the same conclusions I have.
 
Magical Realist said:
I know what it isn't, as in NOT reading or listening to people speak or juggling bananas. But I don't know what it is. So far the definitions seem to revolve around just thinking well. Or rather...think like how I tell you to think.
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Do you see logic in the following sentence. I won't tell you how to analyze it; I'll leave that up to you.

A campfire means there will probably be heat; heat does not necessarily mean there is a campfire.
 
Magical Realist said:
Do you believe there is only one way to think?
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(Do I get to call you all sorts of names now, and accuse you of not being able to answer the question? No.)

I asked a question that only needs a yes/no answer ('do you see the logic in the sentence?'), and no restrictions on how you analyze it.
 
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