Early in their education, children learn that mediocrity is rewarding. Continued praise for 'showing up' rather than for performing well creates grandiosity at the expense of curiosity and healthy competition.
As young adults, these children listen to the same institutions and influencers who taught them not to think, or produce, but to be. "We can be whatever we think we are."
If a boy can imagine being a girls, he magically is one. To him, logic and science are malleable constructs. Critical thinking is painful and best trivialized as outdated or violently rejected.
Because they see themselves as powerful and the center of the world (grandiosity,) they easily believe they can build a better world by burning current society to the ground and rebuilding a better one that accomodates their grand vision.
If you care about your kids, GET THEM OUT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Period. End of story.
But, I can hear the whine now, "I don't have the money." Trust me, the trans-surgery they will force you to pay next is more. Or the counselling for years of mental abuse from the rhinestone Marxist teachers, including that idiot head of the NFT who held a flag "We support Ukraine" - except the freaking flag was upside down, and she was too stupid to know it.
You may have a good school system, or good teacher; if so, great. But almost everyone on my block has his 'n hers late model SUVs, which mostly sit in their driveways. Cost, taxes, repairs, insurance etc is what for both to those? Well over 100k? You could HALF that. "But its con-veeeenient" I hear the whine. Well, taking your kid to his trans operation, or visiting him in the halfway house where he is for coke, meth or fentanyl addiction will be just as much
And if these people had half a brain, they could just search (and GET OFF freaking Google, for heaven's sake! Use brave.com or Swisscows, or presearch, or freespoke for search engines) for How to pay for Christian elementary school" or "funding private high school" or anything at all similar. YOu will get thousands of hits. But to be honest, 75% of the people are just too freaking l-a-z-y to even do that much
And so the republic goes out with a whimper, not a bang, of a bunch of intellectually lazy, moral cowards who can't even do a web search to protect their kids. I know this isnt you people reading this like that. But it IS your lazy neighbor, cousin, etc.
Teachers' colleges do not fail to teach critical thinking because they don't know how to do it.
They, especially Columbia Teachers College, intentionally teach how to avoid teaching critical thinking.
The goal of American public education since the time of John Dewey is to avoid producing thinking adults. Get your kids out. Keep your hard-copy books.
As the earnest communist Ernest Hemingway said: "Slowly at first, then suddenly." We're now in the middle of "suddenly."
For me, the critical thinking heritage of the West comes from ancient Greece. Although the Greeks created 3, or 4, main schools of philosophy, only Greek skepticism really stood the test of time. Abandoned for 1000 years after Byzantine Emperor Justinian closed down Athenian, non-Christian, philosophy schools, skepticism made its comeback in the 17th century with the European Enlightenment when the wild speculation of ancient Greek skeptics was replaced by a new skepticism founded on empiricism. That strange marriage, of almost opposites, worked well. For Enlightenment thinkers, truth was no longer about what seemed plausible and right (as with Aristotlean influenced Natural Law). The new truth was what actually happened; what was real.
"advanced problem-solving"
<- I see an potential error here: because "solving a problem" can lead people to find problems where non exist! - hence the creation of "critical social justice". Critical Thinking has to be grounded in reality. CSJ is grounded in a concept of justice. Actual solutions must be shown to work in reality. E.g. 2. Education is a particular bugbear of mine; Having spent 15 years of my life as an educator. There are so many critical theories in education but how many such theories can actually be applied? Too few. Way too little effort is spent in education schools teaching what works. Too few accept that some progressive ideas in education are very broke.
"analyse both sides of an issue"
<- Real world scenarios are many-sided; polygons, not coins.
Regarding how to achieve critical thinking. I was not impressed by he link you gave <https://asana.com/resources/critical-thinking-skills>: too many long words and abstract concepts. Not enough practical advice. To Learn CT, in no particular order, one must master:
- Scientific method. The gold-standard for understanding empirical reality. All your thinking should be compatible with reality.
- Some statistics. Enough not to be fooled by biased stats.
- Some economics. Enough to know how economic tragedies happen, give some examples, and learn how we can avoid them in future.
- Psychology. One must study, how we learn, how we error, and fall into groupthink, how dark triad types manipulate us to get their way, ...
- Logical fallacies. Know them all. Avoid them in your thinking.
- Debate. Debate with people. Learn how to debate - not to win - but to arrive at truth. "Winning" a debate is easy. One simply trashes the opp with logical fallacies. Sometimes using sophisticated, sciencey-sounding fallacies, or worse PC, and progressive ones! The purpose of debate is to lose, not to win. One can ONLY learn in debate by listening to the people you're debating with, and taking their ideas and evidence seriously. You win by losing and learning!
- Steel-manning. IMHO, this is pre-condition for CT. To understand alien, or oppositional ideas. To explain your opps idea back to them, so well, that they're not only impressed but learn something new about their own beliefs!
- Conflict? Some people will tell you to study politics and war. However I see no benefit to the CT here. War happens when thinking dies.
Carl von Clausewitz said: "War is simply the continuation of political intercourse with the addition of other means"
<- I think he got it back to front: politics is basically war by other means; war without the bombs, mayhem and murder. I exaggerate there; but politics certainly seems to be dark triad breeding ground.
So, some criticism from me there. But it's all based on my experience.
This is a great article that describes a process everyone should use everyday and more importantly, it is a process that DOES need to be included in the teaching process in our schools. Thank you John, for sharing such an important and well-written article.
In my experience most institutions are crammed full of human robots that do little thinking at all. The worst may be doctors as they are so completely brainwashed. Try having a different of opinion with a doctor. It will not end well.
Dear Dr Droz, I found this excellent assessment of the non pandemic 1984. Is petraliverani a student of yours? https://petraliverani.substack.com/p/critical-thinking-the-moon-landings-924
Carol: I have no connection with Peter, and don't know anything about him.
As usual a thoughtful article., John Thank you!
Here are some other considerations.
Early in their education, children learn that mediocrity is rewarding. Continued praise for 'showing up' rather than for performing well creates grandiosity at the expense of curiosity and healthy competition.
As young adults, these children listen to the same institutions and influencers who taught them not to think, or produce, but to be. "We can be whatever we think we are."
If a boy can imagine being a girls, he magically is one. To him, logic and science are malleable constructs. Critical thinking is painful and best trivialized as outdated or violently rejected.
Because they see themselves as powerful and the center of the world (grandiosity,) they easily believe they can build a better world by burning current society to the ground and rebuilding a better one that accomodates their grand vision.
If you care about your kids, GET THEM OUT OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Period. End of story.
But, I can hear the whine now, "I don't have the money." Trust me, the trans-surgery they will force you to pay next is more. Or the counselling for years of mental abuse from the rhinestone Marxist teachers, including that idiot head of the NFT who held a flag "We support Ukraine" - except the freaking flag was upside down, and she was too stupid to know it.
You may have a good school system, or good teacher; if so, great. But almost everyone on my block has his 'n hers late model SUVs, which mostly sit in their driveways. Cost, taxes, repairs, insurance etc is what for both to those? Well over 100k? You could HALF that. "But its con-veeeenient" I hear the whine. Well, taking your kid to his trans operation, or visiting him in the halfway house where he is for coke, meth or fentanyl addiction will be just as much
And if these people had half a brain, they could just search (and GET OFF freaking Google, for heaven's sake! Use brave.com or Swisscows, or presearch, or freespoke for search engines) for How to pay for Christian elementary school" or "funding private high school" or anything at all similar. YOu will get thousands of hits. But to be honest, 75% of the people are just too freaking l-a-z-y to even do that much
And so the republic goes out with a whimper, not a bang, of a bunch of intellectually lazy, moral cowards who can't even do a web search to protect their kids. I know this isnt you people reading this like that. But it IS your lazy neighbor, cousin, etc.
John is too charitable.
Teachers' colleges do not fail to teach critical thinking because they don't know how to do it.
They, especially Columbia Teachers College, intentionally teach how to avoid teaching critical thinking.
The goal of American public education since the time of John Dewey is to avoid producing thinking adults. Get your kids out. Keep your hard-copy books.
As the earnest communist Ernest Hemingway said: "Slowly at first, then suddenly." We're now in the middle of "suddenly."
For me, the critical thinking heritage of the West comes from ancient Greece. Although the Greeks created 3, or 4, main schools of philosophy, only Greek skepticism really stood the test of time. Abandoned for 1000 years after Byzantine Emperor Justinian closed down Athenian, non-Christian, philosophy schools, skepticism made its comeback in the 17th century with the European Enlightenment when the wild speculation of ancient Greek skeptics was replaced by a new skepticism founded on empiricism. That strange marriage, of almost opposites, worked well. For Enlightenment thinkers, truth was no longer about what seemed plausible and right (as with Aristotlean influenced Natural Law). The new truth was what actually happened; what was real.
"advanced problem-solving"
<- I see an potential error here: because "solving a problem" can lead people to find problems where non exist! - hence the creation of "critical social justice". Critical Thinking has to be grounded in reality. CSJ is grounded in a concept of justice. Actual solutions must be shown to work in reality. E.g. 2. Education is a particular bugbear of mine; Having spent 15 years of my life as an educator. There are so many critical theories in education but how many such theories can actually be applied? Too few. Way too little effort is spent in education schools teaching what works. Too few accept that some progressive ideas in education are very broke.
"analyse both sides of an issue"
<- Real world scenarios are many-sided; polygons, not coins.
Regarding how to achieve critical thinking. I was not impressed by he link you gave <https://asana.com/resources/critical-thinking-skills>: too many long words and abstract concepts. Not enough practical advice. To Learn CT, in no particular order, one must master:
- Scientific method. The gold-standard for understanding empirical reality. All your thinking should be compatible with reality.
- Some statistics. Enough not to be fooled by biased stats.
- Some economics. Enough to know how economic tragedies happen, give some examples, and learn how we can avoid them in future.
- Psychology. One must study, how we learn, how we error, and fall into groupthink, how dark triad types manipulate us to get their way, ...
- Logical fallacies. Know them all. Avoid them in your thinking.
- Debate. Debate with people. Learn how to debate - not to win - but to arrive at truth. "Winning" a debate is easy. One simply trashes the opp with logical fallacies. Sometimes using sophisticated, sciencey-sounding fallacies, or worse PC, and progressive ones! The purpose of debate is to lose, not to win. One can ONLY learn in debate by listening to the people you're debating with, and taking their ideas and evidence seriously. You win by losing and learning!
- Steel-manning. IMHO, this is pre-condition for CT. To understand alien, or oppositional ideas. To explain your opps idea back to them, so well, that they're not only impressed but learn something new about their own beliefs!
- Conflict? Some people will tell you to study politics and war. However I see no benefit to the CT here. War happens when thinking dies.
Carl von Clausewitz said: "War is simply the continuation of political intercourse with the addition of other means"
<- I think he got it back to front: politics is basically war by other means; war without the bombs, mayhem and murder. I exaggerate there; but politics certainly seems to be dark triad breeding ground.
So, some criticism from me there. But it's all based on my experience.
This is a great article that describes a process everyone should use everyday and more importantly, it is a process that DOES need to be included in the teaching process in our schools. Thank you John, for sharing such an important and well-written article.
Very good article, John.
In my experience most institutions are crammed full of human robots that do little thinking at all. The worst may be doctors as they are so completely brainwashed. Try having a different of opinion with a doctor. It will not end well.