{"ops":[{"insert":"This article was published in the Fall 2011 issue of Sonoma State University’s"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":" Inquiry: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines"},{"insert":" (vol. 26, no. 3) and was titled, “Reflections on the Nature of Critical Thinking, Its History, Politics, and Barriers, and on Its Status across the College/University Curriculum Part I.” (Part II was published in the Spring 2012 issue.)\n \nThe piece was divided into eight sections:\n\nAbstract"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Introduction"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"I. My Intellectual Journey"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"II. Barriers to the Cultivation of Critical Thinking"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"III. Forms and Manifestations of Critical Thinking, Mapping the Field"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"IV. The Establishment of the Center and Foundation for Critical Thinking"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"V. Academic Departments, Faculty and Administrators Generally Fail to Foster Critical Thinking"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"VI Conclusion"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nThe last of these appears below.\n \n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"VI. Conclusion"},{"insert":"\n\nMy fundamental goal in part one of this two-part paper is to alert my readers to some important realities in the “big picture” intrinsic to the problem of integrating critical thinking principles across the disciplines and into everyday life. This goal defines a messy multi-layered problem. What is more, the layers interact and, in doing so, make the problem highly complex. Each of the questions (immediately below) has been addressed in part one, though not all at the same level of depth and finality. What is more, many of my answers to these questions are being presented as at the level of “perception” and “interpretation,” rather than at the level of rigorous “proof.” Nevertheless, an important set of “answers” that I offer remain, are verifiable, and suggest important needs in the field of Critical Thinking Studies:\n\n• What do the last 35 years of critical thinking look like from my personal point of view?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• What has happened in the field of critical thinking studies historically, politically, and theoretically?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• To what extent has the field developed; and what problems have plagued the effort to establish a three-fold tradition covering: theory of the concept of critical thinking, theory of the pedagogy of critical thinking, and theory of the application of critical thinking into the problems of everyday life?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• What are the problems, issues and realities that have made developments in the field difficult?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• What have been and are the most formidable barriers to the cultivation of critical thinking?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• What insights about the nature of critical thinking can we glean from its history from Socrates to the present?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• To what extent has the history of critical thinking been a struggle between force and reason?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• What does the history tell us, in general, about the role of money and politics in education?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is there evidence of bad faith in the process by which philosophy departments in the United States have gained control (to the extent that they have) of university-wide critical thinking courses?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is the argument by some philosophers that philosophy has a proprietary right to critical thinking an exercise in bad faith?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is it true that philosophy faculty are not expected by their departments to do any research on critical thinking? Is it true that they are not expected to study research into critical thinking pedagogy? Is it true that philosophy chairs do not expect philosophers to attend critical thinking conferences?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is it true that the policies followed by philosophy departments (that have gained them control of university critical thinking requirements) are undermining critical thinking (university-wide)?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is it true that administrators rarely ask academic departments to explain how they are fostering critical thinking in their various courses?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is it true that administrators nevertheless include in mission statements the claim that critical thinking is a primary university goal (and expected outcome) of the institution? Is it true that university administrators allow those involved in teaching critical thinking to make of critical thinking what they will?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is it true that some theoreticians (mostly philosophers) assume that reasoning and argumentation are the only constructions in which critical thinking is manifested?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is it true that research indicates that most university faculty lack explicit understanding of critical thinking?"},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"• Is it true that few faculty and administrators take a long-term approach to critical thinking? "},{"attributes":{"indent":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":" \nThese questions, and others related to them, suggest important needs and problems in the field of Critical Thinking Studies. The future will tell us the extent to which those in critical thinking studies have taken them seriously.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"References"},{"insert":"\n\nArum, R., & Roska, J. (2011). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Academically adrift. "},{"insert":"Chicago: University of Chicago Press.\n \nBlaich, C. (2007). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Overview of findings from the first year of the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education. "},{"insert":"Wabash College, Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts. www.liberalarts.wabash.edu/storage/Overview_ of_Findings_from_the_First_Year_web_07.17.09.pdf\n \n \nBok, D. (2006). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Our underachieving colleges: A candid look at how much students learn and why they should be learning more. "},{"insert":"Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.\n \nCasner-Lotto, J., & Benner, M. (2006). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Are they really ready to work? Employers’ perspectives on the basic knowledge and applied skills of new entrants to the 21st century U.S. Workforce. "},{"insert":"Conference Board, Inc.\n \nCopi, I. (1954). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Symbolic logic. "},{"insert":"New York: Macmillan.\n \nCosgrove, R. (2011). Critical thinking in the Oxford tutorial: A call for an explicit and systematic approach. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Higher Education Research & Development, 30"},{"insert":"(3), 343-356.\n \nElder, L. 2010. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Achieving critical mass. Times Higher Education. "},{"insert":"London: TSL Education Ltd.\n \nEnnis, R. (2011a). Critical thinking: Reflection and perspective, Part I. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"INQUIRY "},{"insert":"(Spring 2011).\n \nEnnis, R. (2011b). Critical thinking: Reflection and perspective, Part II. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"INQUIRY "},{"insert":"(Summer 2011).\n \nGardiner, L. (1995). Redesigning higher education: Producing dramatic gains in student learning. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"ASHEERIC Higher Education Report, 23"},{"insert":"(7). Washington: The George Washington University, Graduate School of Education and Human Development.\n \nHale, E. (2008). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"A critical analysis of Richard Paul’s Substantive Trans-disciplinary Conception of Critical Thinking. "},{"insert":"Unpublished dissertation: Union Institute and University.\n \nKidd, I. G. (1967). Socrates. In P. Edwards (ed.), "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"The encyclopedia of philosophy, "},{"insert":"New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 7.\n \nLazere, D. (1987). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical thinking in college English studies"},{"insert":". Urbana, IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.\n \nNosich, G. (2011). From argument and philosophy to critical thinking across the curriculum. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"INQUIRY: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, 25"},{"insert":"(3).\n \nPaul, R (1990). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical thinking: What every person needs to survive in a rapidly changing world. "},{"insert":"Santa Rosa, CA: Foundation for Critical Thinking Press.\n \nPaul, R. Elder, L. Bartell, T. (1997). California Teacher Preparation for Instruction in Critical Thinking: Research Findings and Policy Recommendations. State of California, California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.\n \nPayne, James. (2004). A History of Force: Exploring the Worldwide Movement Against Habits of Coercion, Bloodshed, and Mayhem. Lytton Publishing.\n \nPhillips, C. & S. Green. (2011) Faculty as critical thinkers: challenging assumptions. "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"INQUIRY: Critical Thinking Across the Disciplines, 26"},{"insert":"(2), 44-50.\n \nThomas, P. (1999). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Critical thinking instruction in selected Great Los Angeles area high schools. "},{"insert":"Unpublished dissertation.\n \nWalters, K. (1994). "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Re-thinking reason: New perspectives in critical thinking. "},{"insert":"New York: State University of New York Press.\n"}]}