2. week 3: critical thinking maria.lichrou@ul.ie  Critical thinking and the learning process  What is it to be critical?  The role of language and communication  Constructing and deconstructing arguments  Critical thinking and creative process Sustainability requires that we transform the way we think about ourselves, our relationships with others and the world. This week we will discuss critical thinking focusing on the following:

4. critical thinking  Scepticism or suspension of belief towards particular statements, information, or norms.  Being critical of the prevailing structures, values, and rationalities of a society. Mingers (2000) What is it to be Critical, Management Learning, 31(2): 219-237.

5. critical thinking  Knowledge and skills specific to a problem or discipline  Reflective scepticism Mingers (2000) What is it to be Critical, Management Learning, 31(2): 219-237.  Awareness  Ability to offer alternatives Critical thinking involves…

6. critical thinking and the learning process Lower-level learning  Task oriented problem solving  Mundane, everyday, incremental learning  Coping with the current environment Cope (2003) Entrepreneurial Learning and Critical Reflection, Management Learning, 34(4): 429-450.

7. critical thinking and the learning process Higher-level learning  New ways of looking at the world  Transformation of our “meaning perspectives”  Radical change: learning that requires a shift in mindset Cope (2003) Entrepreneurial Learning and Critical Reflection, Management Learning, 34(4): 429-450.

8. meaning perspectives Metaphors, symbols and language  Metaphors provide vehicles for making sense of the world by conceptualising specific aspects of it.  These conceptualisations rely on a system of symbols and language inherently proprietary to the metaphor.  The language of the metaphor makes strong theoretical statements about what is being studied, not only in terms of explicit meaning, but also in more implicit terms.

9. being critical CRITIQUE OF RHETORIC CRITIQUE OF TRADITION CRITIQUE OF AUTHORITY CRITIQUE OF OBJECTIVITY

10. critical thinking and sustainable development  Why be critical?  What is there to be critical about?  What are the benefits of being critical? WWF Change the way you think Sir Ken Robinson Changing education paradigms Frances Moore Lappé Changing the way we think to create the world we want Naomi Klein Addicted to risk

11. questioning the status quo  Questioning the status quo is the first stage on improving on what has gone before!  Critical thinking is thus a means to open up new spaces, and not simply to react to old ones.

12. changing the status quo

13. critical thinking barriers What stops one from being critical?  Focus only on operational learning (“know-how”) rather than on conceptual learning (“know-why”)  Negativity  Critique as criticism or arrogance  Resistance to critique

14. therefore, being critical…  …is not the same as criticising; it involves asking questions about given assumptions, claims and beliefs.  …is not about simply rejecting/reacting to conventional ways of thinking, but also about generating alternative ways of seeing, thinking and doing.  …values active dissent over passive consent, because the former implies far more agreement than the latter.

15. critical thinking and the process of argumentation Inch, Warnick, and Endres (2006) Crticial Thinking and Communication, Pearson. Argumentation is the process of making arguments intended to justify beliefs, attitudes, and values so as to influence others.

16. arguments as forms of communication LOGOS Clarity and structure of message; logic of main supporting evidence; logical appeal PATHOS Appeal to audience’s emotions and values; turn from abstractions of logic to tangible stories; engages the reader’s imagination, moving the audience to a deeper appreciation of the argument’s significance; emotional appeal ETHOS Credibility or character of speaker/writer; tone/style/voice/presence; illustrates your personal investment in your claim; establishes reputation/honesty/expertise; ethical appeal Online Resource: http://www.rit.edu/~w-asc/download/tutoring/writing/The%20Rhetorical%20Triangle%20ASC.pdfhttp://www.rit.edu/~w-asc/download/tutoring/writing/The%20Rhetorical%20Triangle%20ASC.pdf

17. examples of fallacies Online Resources: http://www.logicalfallacies.info/ http://www.rit.edu/~w-asc/download/tutoring/writing/Logical%20Fallacies.pdf  Ad Hominem  Ad Populum  Appeal to Tradition  Straw arguments Inch, Warnick, and Endres (2006) Crticial Thinking and Communication, Pearson. AUDIENCE BASED FALLACIES

18. examples of fallacies  Begging the question  Non Sequitur GROUNDING FALLACIES Online Resources: http://www.logicalfallacies.info/ http://www.rit.edu/~w-asc/download/tutoring/writing/Logical%20Fallacies.pdf Inch, Warnick, and Endres (2006) Crticial Thinking and Communication, Pearson.

19. examples of fallacies  False analogy  Hasty generalization  False cause  Slippery slope REASONING FALLACIES Online Resources: http://www.logicalfallacies.info/ http://www.rit.edu/~w-asc/download/tutoring/writing/Logical%20Fallacies.pdf Inch, Warnick, and Endres (2006) Crticial Thinking and Communication, Pearson.

20. critical reading exercise Excerpt from “The Nuclear Solution” by Professor Tony Ryan http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/Issues/2005/February/Thenuclearsolution.asp

21. creative problem solving and sustainability http://www.ted.com/talks/bjarke_ingels_hedonistic_sustainability.html

22. http://marshmallowchallenge.com/TED_Talk.html The marshmallow challenge

29. http://marshmallowchallenge.com/TED_Talk.html