Critical Thinking
Jonathan Haber
MIT Press (April 2020)
Channeling Charles Kettering: “If that’s what you’ve always thought, you’re probably wrong.”
This is one of the most valuable volumes in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge Series. According to Bruce Tidor (Professor of Biological Engineering and Computer Science at MIT), each volume offers “accessible, concise, beautifully produced pocket-size books on topics of current interest. Written by leading thinkers, the books in this series deliver expert overviews of the subjects that range for our native egocentrism om the cultural and the historical to the scientific and the technical.”
In this volume Jonathan Haber explains how the concept of critical thinking emerged, how it has been defined, and how critical thinking skills can be taught…and mastered. The value of the information, insights, and counsel that he provides is incalculable. Amazon now sells a paperbound edition of Critical Thinking for only $13.59. That’s not a bargain; that’s a steal.
According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, critical thinking is “the mode of thinking — about any subject, content, or problem thinking. it presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. or problem — in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-motivated, and self-corrective. thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities, as well as a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.”
These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to indicate the nature and scope of Kelleher’s coverage:
o Aristotle (Pages 3-6 and 41-44)
o Age of Enlightenment (7-16)
o Pragmatism (19-21)
o John Dewey (21-25)
o Daniel Kahneman (29-31)
o Cognitive Bias (29-32)
o Deductive reasoning process (40-41 and 127)
o Inductive reasoning process (40-41 and 52-54)
o Test development process (40-50)
o Toulmin diagrams (63-66)
o Argument map (66-67)
o Principle of charity (72-75)
o Persuasive Communication (75-78)
o Arguments and argumentation (80-83)
o Background Knowledge (83-89)
o Differing Definitions [of Critical Thinking] (102-116)
o Four Cs: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity (110-113)
o A framework involving four approaches that outlines how critical thinking can be taught (123-125)
o Professional Test Development (140-150)
o Intellectual Virtues (177-178)
I realized long ago that critical thinking takes nothing for granted, including assumptions.
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Here are two suggestions while you are reading Critical Learning: First, highlight key passages. Also, perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, and action steps (preferably with deadlines). Pay special attention to key insights (text in white ink on black pages) that are strategically inserted throughout the lively and eloquent narrative.
These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will expedite frequent reviews of key material later.