InSight (Jan 2006)
Thoughts on Thinking: The Challenge of Critical Thinking
Abstract
Central to Halpern’s definition is the idea that the critical thinker must have not only the necessary analytical tools but also the inclination to use them. Implicit in this argument is the reality that as educators, we must facilitate the learning of both critical thinking skills and dispositions. Critical thinking may also involve the dialectical confrontation between two conflicting forces. The first is what we know and believe; the second is that which is different, new, or contrary to what we know or believe. Braman (1998) uses the phrase “disorienting dilemma” to describe the situation when one critically examines a well-formulated position that is directly at odds with a long held, and perhaps cherished, belief (p. 30). It is this dynamic process of exposure, exploration, and evaluation that is central to the liberal arts educator committed to the practice and to the instruction of critical thinking. However, the evaluation of differing perspectives is a necessary but not sufficient condition of critical thinking. Hatcher and Spencer (2000) address this concern in their succinct but compelling definition. They write that critical thinking “attempts to arrive at a decision or judgment only after honestly evaluating alternatives with respect to available evidence and arguments” (p.1). This definition is particularly satisfying because it refers both to a process (the honest evaluation of alternatives) and to an advocacy-based result (a decision that is informed by the evidence and arguments).
