{"id":14958,"date":"2017-11-02T22:06:58","date_gmt":"2017-11-03T05:06:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=14958"},"modified":"2017-11-02T22:06:58","modified_gmt":"2017-11-03T05:06:58","slug":"is-critical-thinking-a-social-construct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/is-critical-thinking-a-social-construct\/","title":{"rendered":"Is critical thinking a social construct?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paul and Elder are so passionate (and confident) about their guide for critical thinking skills, they encourage students to \u201cget in the habit of carrying it (A Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking<\/em>) with you to every class\u201d.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 The guide is sponsored by the Critical Thinking Foundation which is a \u201cnon-profit organization that seeks to promote essential change in education and society through the cultivation of fairminded critical thinking–thinking which embodies intellectual empathy, intellectual humility, intellectual perseverance, intellectual integrity, and intellectual responsibility.\u201d[2]<\/a> \u00a0Two very practical pieces of information in this guide are the template for problem solving and the guidance for analyzing and assessing research.<\/p>\n

The most profound section in the guide, however, is Paul and Elder\u2019s section on \u201cEnvisioning Critical Societies\u201d.\u00a0 Having just completed the compilation of resources and the review of them (research topic refugee resettlement in the U.S.) for an annotated bibliography, I\u2019m struck by how much of a critical thinking deficit we (citizens of the U.S.) have in attitudes and behaviors around the refugee population.\u00a0 For example, Paul and Elder discuss the following key attitudes\/behaviors as essential in a critical society:<\/p>\n