Alec Fisher
Introduction[1]
The modern “critical thinking” tradition has been developed by a number of leading thinkers, assisted by many others who have made contributions of their own. In this essay I will explain the ideas of these leading thinkers, showing how they have successively enriched the tradition whilst remaining true to its core ideas, with the result that we now have a rich and essentially coherent conception that can be used as a basis for designing lesson plans and for assessing critical thinking abilities.
It is not uncommon for this core tradition to claim that Socrates was the originator of this approach to teaching and learning and this is worth remembering because it is clearly important to some of the contributors below and can help to maintain focus when questions arise.
1. John Dewey, “reflective” thinking (1909)
It is generally agreed that the modern critical thinking tradition derives from the work of the American philosopher, psychologist and educator, John Dewey (1859–1952). He called it “reflective thinking” and defined it as:
Active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds which support it and the further conclusions to which it tends. (Dewey, 1909, p. 9)
It is worth unpacking this definition because its elements have remained part of the core. Characteristically then, critical thinking involves “actively” subjecting the ideas we encounter to critical scrutiny, as distinct from just passively accepting them. For Dewey, and for everyone who has worked in this tradition subsequently, critical thinking is essentially an “active” process, one in which we think things through for ourselves, raise questions ourselves, find relevant information ourselves, etc., rather than learning in a largely passive way from someone else.
Again, characteristically the critical thinker takes time to weigh matters carefully—to “persist” and be “careful”—by contrast with the kind of unreflective thinking in which we all engage sometimes, for example when we “jump” to a conclusion or make a “snap” decision. Of course, we have to do this sometimes because we need to decide quickly or the issue is not important enough to warrant careful thought, but often we do it when we ought to stop and think—when we ought to “persist” a bit.
However, the most important thing about Dewey’s definition is what he says about the “grounds which support” a belief and the “further conclusions to which it tends”. The critical thinking tradition attaches huge importance to reasoning, to giving reasons and to evaluating reasoning as well as possible, and to valuing this focus. Characteristically, the critical thinker tries to reason skillfully in thinking about issues, by contrast with those who are unreasonable, unreflective, biased or dogmatic. There is more to be said about the components of Dewey’s definition, but skillful reasoning is a key element.
2. Edward Glaser, building on Dewey’s ideas