Science and Technology of Consciousness Critical Thinking

Wholeness Critical thinking does not involve “things to do,” but involves “questions to ask”—a question- asking attitude supporting systematic evaluation of what you hear and read. We create our reality.

You Can Be a Sponge  Sponge—absorbing o Knowledge acquisition First step in gaining knowledge of a new area to understand issues and complexities of that area. o Passive absorption of information Memorizing information rather than evaluating

You Can Pan-for- Gold  Panning-for-gold: ask critical questions o Interact with knowledge as it is acquired Read with a question-asking attitude to evaluate the truth of the information.

First level of questions  Summary o What are the main ideas and conclusions? What issue is being addressed? What conclusion is being argued?

Second level of questions  Analysis o Ask questions about the article What are the reasons that led to the conclusion? What is the evidence that supports the conclusion? What are the values, assumptions, or world view that this paper is embedded in?

Third level of questions  Evaluation o Are the conclusions based on on sound evidence? o Are some of the terms ambiguous? o Are there alternate explanations for the conclusion? o Is the author looking at all sides of the issue?

In Pairs  Discuss how Summarize is different from Analyze. Look at the sample questions.  Discuss how Analyze is different from Evaluate. Look at the sample questions.

Small Group Exercise (3-4 people)  Science of Being: Being, Speaking Harmoniously o Apply Summarize (What issue is being addressed?) and o Analyze (What are the values, assumptions, or world view that the reading is embedded in?) to this reading.  The discuss in groups.

In pairs….  Read: American Association of Higher Education pg 3 to the top of pg 8 (syllabus) o Apply Summarize (What issue is being addressed?) and o Analyze (What are the values, assumptions, or world view that the reading is embedded in?) to this reading.

Main Point We need to absorb information (sponge) and evaluate that information (pan-for-gold) to make an informed decision about who we are, what we believe, and the direction of our lives. We create our reality.