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Engage in discussions encompassing themes like cosmology, human evolution, genetic engineering, earth science, climate change, artificial intelligence, psychology, and beyond in this forum.
An examination of assumptions is a good thing. What good is a proposition that is taken for granted? What does it mean to take a proposition for granted? It means that for some reason, that proposition has never been scrutinized by you or another to determine the correctness of it's contents. Such assumptions should always be brought to light and examined, as long as it's done in fair measure. To ignore them is to ignore a potentially false belief system cornerstone.
This is excellent. Tom, if you have a problem with the above statement, it may be a social problem you are experiencing.
Thomas Hood wrote:
Would you care to examine your assumption that an examination of assumptions is a good thing?
He did! Tom, your words are like those of a convicted criminal on his way to the gallows. Maybe there are ghosts in this world because you hung yourself weeks ago.
Suzanne received a new view of the The Life of Pi from Aussie_Lifter that changed her interpretation, and then says:
Suzanne wrote:
This is from the "Life of Pi" thread. As I wrote it I realized that I may have haphazardly provided examples of the critical thinking "virtues".
Intellectual Humility:
I have admitted that I may not have made the correct decision, "I'll have to give this book a second read"
Intellectual Courage:
I am admitting that my views on the book "Life of Pi", may have been wrong, and I am willing to accept anothers opinion in my evalutaion.
"Thank you for this insight".
Intellectual Empathy:
I have admitted that I have benefited from the views of another. "I wonder what this says about me".
Intellectual Integrity:
I believe the author of this book is a credible source, I can now research the author, and scrutinize not only what Aussie_Lifter wrote, but I can revisit my own thoughts, "This is the only part of the book I thought was real".
Intellectual Perseverance:
With new information, I will now "read the book" again, to truly understand it's meaning.
Faith In Reason and, Fairmindedness:
Assie_Lifter had new information, presented it in a reasonable, rational way, I have used reason and fairmindedness, and have accepted this new information, and will consider it upon my second reading of "The Life of Pi".
Yes, I agree. It is a fine example of the Seven Virtues of Critical Thinking, -- and also of its Seven Deadly Sins. Instead of turning to text and context autonomously and making up your mind independently, you are dependent upon another person for your views. Critical thinking replaces objective, independent thought with social dependence.
What I asked of Interbane was:
Give me one example of how critical thinking has helped anyone to solve a problem or discover new knowledge.
Views that you copy from others are neither your solution to a problem nor new knowledge. However pleasant the social activities of Critical thinking may be to some, they cannot replaces objective work -- personal investigation, research, and responsibility.
your so-called seven virtues of critical thinking are not in any way indicative of a cannon of thought for critical thinking.
would you be appeased, ye god of misinterpretation, if it were called something else? perhaps some dry crag of your brain has been snagged by this term?
have you taken note that you are the only person trying to defend critical thinking as some kind of institution? what has every person here said critical thinking is?
Geo summed it up most elequently:
Critical thiking = Thinking Critically.
There is nothing about it any more scandalous than this TH.
at this point it seems more like a defense of language against a very confused and hoplessly polarized assertion about what it is we are all supposed to be thinking. You want us all to belong to some boogey-man club where we recline in paper-mache sofas made from the tattered remnants of despoiled bibles. There is no scary conspiracy, no liberal agenda to confound your mind with deliberate thinking.
Why don't you do us all a favor and describe what it is you imagine is the process of critical thinking. Please include any description of critical thinking accoutrement that will be needed for the ritual.
i present the following example of how critical thinking was employed. feel free to ignore the contents of what follows, or twist it to mean something entirely besides what the intent was, as is your usual M.O.
The earth-centric solar system.
Aristotelian Cosmology contended that all objects in the night sky orbited the earth. this was the geocentric model.
With the invention of the telescope it was observed by Galileo that Jupiter appeared to have moons of it's own. 3 dim stars were seen to reside in the space near the colossal planet, when later observed one had disappeared.
Despite what everyone KNEW about the universe and it's workings Galileo could not escape the idea that the apparent stars were orbiting Jupiter. This conflicts, if you did not realize it yet, with the geocentric model. The Geocentric model, it so happens, was well supported by the established religion of the time and scripture, with such quotes as:
Psalms 19:4-6
yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs his course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat.
Ecclesiastes 1:5
The sun rises and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.
1 Chronicles 16:30
tremble before him, all earth; yea, the world stands firm, never to be moved.
despite tremendous pressure from without, and the commonly held belief, and surely what he was taught, that the earth was the center and all revolved around it, Galileo confronted his own mis-conceptions about the workings of the universe to work out a heliocentric, or sun-centered, model.
To be specific: Critical thinking is clearly employed here to determine that the moons of Jupiter did not just disappear, as it seemed, but must be orbiting the planet. A discovery that went against common views of the times and was probably not a welcome bit of insight for him to consider telling the pope.
If you feel compelled to see if this scenario fits your "seven virtues of critical thinking" do try them on for size, but i assure you TH, they are not the be-all end-all of critical thinking.
You still are looking for a special yard stick to crack across our knuckles and prove to us that we practice a religion as surely as you do TH, but your tired assertions fall well short of truth, and indeed common sense.
In the absence of God, I found Man.
-Guillermo Del Torro
Are you pushing your own short comings on us and safely hating them from a distance?
Is this the virtue of faith? To never change your mind: especially when you should?
Young Earth Creationists take offense at the idea that we have a common heritage with other animals. Why is being the descendant of a mud golem any better?
imthemary wrote:Wow, I'm glad I've joined this forum. Critical thinking is the theme of my English 101 class, and this is a good resource. We're focusing on criting thinking to analyzle writing, so we focus mainly on the author's motivations and sources they've used. Basically, don't passively accept the views that are being shown to you. Ask questions and do research to form an opinion on the subject. I like the way the website broke it down with Intellectual Humility, Intellectual Courage,
Intellectual Empathy, Intellectual Integrity, Intellectual Perseverance, Faith In Reason and, Fairmindedness. That's the best definition I've read. By the way, I'm new, so hi to everyone. I'm Angela. Nice to meet you.
Welcome aboard, Angela. I think it sounds like a great idea to use critical thinking as a theme in your class. I'd like to know, how does your teacher incorporate critical thinking into Eng 101? Is there a particular textbook you are using? I believe Eng 101 is essentially a composition class. Is that right? So does that mean you are going to incorporate critical thinking into your writing assignments? Thanks for any info you can provide.
Critical thinking is the theme of my English 101 class, and this is a good resource. We're focusing on criting thinking to analyzle writing, so we focus mainly on the author's motivations and sources they've used. Basically, don't passively accept the views that are being shown to you. Ask questions and do research to form an opinion on the subject. I like the way the website broke it down with Intellectual Humility, Intellectual Courage, 
