CRITICAL THINKING BETWEEN THEORY AND PRACTICE

Abstract

The paper entitled “Critical Thinking between Theory and Practice” has primarily a theoretical character for it aims at conceptually clarifying several terms whose meaning, though different, overlaps both in common language, as well as in specialized literature. Our paper clarifies the following concepts: “critical thinking”, “critical spirit” and “criticism”. The first chapter of the paper, besides these conceptual clarifications, also identifies individual and social benefits of critical thinking - when applied in social and political spheres. The second chapter briefly analyses several “corrupted” forms of criticism as we identified them in the Romanian public space, while also pointing out the causes that generate them. The third chapter debates upon the need and strategies to educate critical thinking in Romanian society, as well as the art to protest and to accept justified critics.

Keywords

• critical thinking
• criticism
• aggression
• protest