http://derekbruff.org/blogs/tomprof/2012/03/26/tp-msg-1164-intellectual-habits-of-critical-thinkers/
Intellectual Habits of Critical Thinkers
Fair-mindedness entails a consciousness of the need to
treat all viewpoints alike, without reference to one's own feelings or selfish
interests. It is based on an awareness of the fact that we, by nature, tend to
prejudge the views of others, placing them into "favorable" (agrees
with us) and "unfavorable" (disagrees with us) categories. We tend to
give less weight to contrary views than to our own. Fair-mindedness requires us
to develop:
1. Intellectual Humility
Awareness of one's biases, one's prejudices, the
limitations of one's viewpoint, and the extent of one's ignorance. (e.g., Many
U.S. and other Western students consider their ways of life?competition,
individualism, materialism, democratic forms of government, nuclear family
arrangements, work ethic?superior to non-Western values and living
arrangements. Their biases have a profound impact on their understanding of
important concepts in the social sciences, the arts, and the humanities.)
2. Intellectual Courage
Consciousness of the need to face and fairly address
ideas, beliefs, or viewpoints toward which one has strong negative emotions and
to which one has not given a serious hearing; the recognition that ideas that
society considers dangerous or absurd are sometimes rationally justified - in
whole or in part, (e.g., Any culture has its set of taboos that also affect
scientific discourse. Recent examples include stem cell research, gay marriage,
Muslim radicalism or any other radicalism for that matter, global warming,
atheism, affirmative action, assisted suicide, and pornography. It takes
courage to openly investigate any potentiality rational roots for any of these
controversial behaviors and beliefs.)
3. Intellectual Empathy
Awareness of the need to imaginatively put oneself in the
place of others so as to genuinely understand them. (Old paradigms in the
social sciences often treated their research "subjects" as variables
that were to be looked at with no emotional involvement in order to guarantee
"objectivity." Nowadays, many social scientists are taking a
different approach to understanding social environments. To thoroughly
understand others' behaviors and intentions, young scholars need to acquire the
ability to take their research subjects' perspective, requiring a degree of
personal identification previously denounced as a contamination of the research
process. Similar abilities have always been considered a precondition for
producing and appreciating good literature and other types of art.)
4. Intellectual Integrity
Recognition of the need to be true to one's own thinking
and to hold oneself to the same standards one expects others to meet. It also
means to honestly admit discrepancies and inconsistencies in one's own thought
and action. (e.g., Cutting corners, plagiarizing and cheating have become
pervasive not only in college, but also in graduate school and beyond.
Society's expectations for accelerated output in every realm of life, including
academia, can put tremendous pressure on students to impress with productivity
at the expense of academic rigor and relevance. Admitting shortcomings in one's
thinking requires just as much courage as fairly addressing viewpoints with
which one vehemently disagrees; see point 2.)
5. Intellectual Perseverance
The disposition to work one's way through intellectual
complexities despite the frustration inherent in the task. (Many students in
our current school system learn to avoid those things that seem too difficult:
"Engineering is too tedious," "Math is too hard and "A PhD
in Accounting doesn't pay off." Delaying gratification for the fruit of
one's labor is as hard for a student as it is for a child to wait for dessert.
This applies also to the daily struggle with intellectual tasks. Many students
ask for simple answers and are suspicious when their discipline has not yet
produced answers to difficult issues, or when those answers remain ambiguous.)
6. Confidence in Reason
The belief that one's own higher interests and those of
humankind at large will be best served by giving the freest play to reason, by
encouraging people to come to their own conclusions by developing their own
rational faculties; faith that, with proper encouragement and cultivation,
people can learn to think for themselves. (Confidence in reason is also
confidence in others. It is a pedagogical principle that good teachers live by.
Students should not be persuaded to adopt their teachers' viewpoints or drilled
to approach tasks in one particular way only. Complex understanding needs to be
nurtured, not forced. Experiencing the freedom and encouragement to solve
problems in one's own way helps create intellectual maturity. This includes the
freedom to make one's own mistakes and learn from them.)
7. Intellectual Autonomy
An internal motivation based on the ideal of thinking for
oneself; having rational self-authorship of one's beliefs, values, and way of
thinking; not being dependent on others for the direction and control of one's
thinking. (The traditional teaching paradigm of telling students what to learn
through lecture and textbooks turned students into passive recipients of
knowledge. Teachers were the experts whom students trusted to always have the
right answers. No thinking for oneself was required. The new learning paradigm
puts students in control and makes them accountable for their own learning.
Learning theory has discovered diverse learning styles, and motivation theory
shows that deep understanding is linked with learner autonomy. The more
confident students become in finding their own direction, the more likely they
are to develop an integrated understanding of the subjects of their study.) Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2001). Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your learning and your life. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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