Then I share a couple videos that introduce an interesting recent study:
"The Polarizing Impact of Science Literacy and Numeracy on Perceived Climate Change Risks" - 2012
I close out with links to Craig Rusbult's "Critical Thinking Skills in Education and Life."
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The Nature of Critical Thinking:
Outlines of General Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities
Robert H. Ennis 2013
"Critical thinking is "reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do." This definition (or concept) of critical thinking I believe captures the core of the way the term is ordinarily used by supporters of critical thinking. In deciding what to believe or do, one is helped by the employment of a set of critical thinking dispositions and abilities (which is a conception of critical thinking) that I outline in detail below. ..."
"... For the sake of brevity, clarification in the form of examples, qualifications, and more detail, including more criteria, are omitted, but can be found in sources listed below, including "Critical Thinking: A Streamlined Conception" (1991b), "A Taxonomy of Critical Thinking Dispositions and Abilities" (1987a), and "A Conception of Rational Thinking" (1980), but more fully in Critical Thinking (1996a). See Note 1. ... "
CRITICAL THINKING DISPOSITIONS
Ideal critical thinkers are disposed to
1. Seek and offer clear statements of the thesis or question
2. Seek and offer clear reasons
3. Try to be well informed
4. Use credible sources and observations, and usually mention them
5. Take into account the total situation
6. Keep in mind the basic concern in the context
7. Be alert for alternatives
8. Be open-minded
a. Seriously consider otherpoints of view
b. Withhold judgment when the evidence and reasons
are insufficient
9. Take a position and change a position when the evidence
and reasons are sufficient
10. Seek as much precision as the nature of the subject admits
11. Seek the truth when it makes sense to do so, and more broadly, try to "get it right" to the extent possible or feasible
GENERAL CRITICAL THINKING ABILITIES
A summary outline is presented first, followed by a detailed outline that includes criteria and details, is difficult reading when read straight through, and should be consulted when in search of details and criteria. At appropriate points in the detailed outline one will find some references to prior work that provides enlightening discussion, and a number of principles and criteria, especially for the more advanced topics (e.g., argument and inference to best explanation, ascribing assumptions, definition).
Summary outline of general critical thinking abilities (or skills):
Ideal critical thinkers have the ability to:
(Basic Clarification)
1. Focus on a question
2. Analyze arguments
3. Ask and answer clarification questions
4. Understand and use "graphs & maths"
(Bases for a Decision)
5. Judge the credibility of a source
6. Observe, and judge observation reports
7. Use existing knowledge
a. background knowledge, including (with discretion) internet material
b. their knowledge of the situation
c. their previously-established conclusions
(Inference)
8. Deduce, and judge deductions
9. Make, and judge inductive inferences and arguments
a. Enumerative induction
b. Argument and inference to best explanation
10. Make, and judge value judgments
(Advanced Clarification)
11. Define terms, and judge definitions
12. Handle equivocation appropriately
13. Attribute and judge unstated assumptions
14. Think suppositionally
15. Deal with fallacy labels
(Non-Constitutive, But Helpful)
16. Be aware of, and check the quality of, their own thinking
("metacognition")
17. Deal with things in an orderly manner
18. Deal with rhetorical strategies
continued at http://www.criticalthinking.net/longdefinition.html
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Here's a simplified but well made introduction by YouTube's QualiaSoup:
Uploaded on Dec 24, 2009
A look at some of the principles of critical thinking.
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Here's an interesting look at whether climate science "skepticism" is rooted in lack of knowledge and critical thinking or if our cultural cognition plays a greater roll in our thinking process than most care to recognize.
Published on Feb 5, 2015
Are global warming deniers just uneducated or stupid? This paper examines two competing models of why people would dispute the conclusion of 97% of the world's climatologists. Is it simply a matter of lacking knowledge and critical thinking?
This is a verbatim reading of sections of:
This is a verbatim reading of sections of:
"The Polarizing Impact of Science Literacy and Numeracy on Perceived Climate Change Risks",
Donald Braman et. at., 2 Nature Climate Change 732 (2012).
http://scholarship.law.gwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1298&context=faculty_publications
I encourage you to read the full results and discuss them in comments below. I found cultural cognition thesis to be a near-perfect fit for my own experiences on Youtube. Cultural cognition raises questions for me about my persuasive tactics to date, and I hope it does for you, too.
More about cultural cognition here:
http://www.culturalcognition.net/
My thanks to Dan Kahan, who brings this work to life in his many videos here on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZah9G-7vxw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJDBv7eldSU
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Speaking of Dan Kahan, here he talks about "What it would mean to treat the protection of the science communication environment as a collective good."
Dan M. Kahan -
Science Communication as the "New Political Science" for Democracy
Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5fBkivqa78
Published on Jul 2, 2012
The Sackler Colloquium The Science of Science Communication surveyed the state of the art of empirical social science research in science communication and focused on research in psychology, decision science, mass communication, risk communication, health communication, political science, sociology, and related fields on the communication dynamics surrounding issues in science, engineering, technology, and medicine. This interdisciplinary scientific meeting was held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. May 21-22, 2012. Dan M. Kahan (Yale Law School)
The Sackler Colloquium The Science of Science Communication surveyed the state of the art of empirical social science research in science communication and focused on research in psychology, decision science, mass communication, risk communication, health communication, political science, sociology, and related fields on the communication dynamics surrounding issues in science, engineering, technology, and medicine. This interdisciplinary scientific meeting was held at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. May 21-22, 2012. Dan M. Kahan (Yale Law School)
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The sections in this page are:
Critical Thinking Skills in Education and Life
2001 by Craig Rusbult
The sections in this page are:
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