History of Critical Thinking
While critical thinking skills have been used through out
history, the first person to think about thinking was Socrates over 2,500
years ago. He challenged those around them to take ideas that they confidently
had a clear understanding of, and try and question them further.
He stressed the importance of looking at situations more closely,
and analyzing all elements before we make any type of judgments. Additionally, Socrates
observed in society that people were often taking ideas or concepts at face
value, and not questioning them any further. For example, many citizens of
ancient Greece
were accepting laws simply because those in authority made them, and not
further questioning their purpose, effectiveness, or reasoning behind them. He
formulated a method to break down ideas, and think about them more critically
that we now know as the Socratic Method. This method is still used to enhance
critical thinking. In the Socratic Method, an idea is stated, and then a series
of questions is asked regarding the idea. These series of questions are aimed
at making one see the idea from many other angles that they may have not
considered before. Many refer to this as "playing devils advocate",
were both sides of an idea or scenario are carefully argued and considered
before making a decision. This method
saves us from making hasty generalizations, and teaches people the important of
thinking for themselves.
This website explores Socrates and the other heroes who made us understand the subject of critical thinking more deeply and how to apply it to our everyday lives. This link outlines the transformation the idea of Critical Thinking has undergone over the past two millenniums.
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This website explains the Socratic Method, and what Socrates taught about critical thinking. It also offers an extensive amount of information on how to apply the Socratic Methods to our lives today.
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