November 29, 2017
Dear Critical Thinking Colleagues:
We've asked you to share your critical thinking stories and successes with us, and have been heartened and overwhelmed by your replies. We have always known that - though our set is small - there are people across the world endeavoring to develop as fairminded critical thinkers, and who are advancing the ideal of ethical, rational societies. What we did not expect was how many kind and helpful thoughts your responses would include, and for these commendations, we are deeply grateful. Below is one such message; see more comments under my signature below.
It is always intriguing to read the articles on critical thinking. It is a wonderful community to belong to. Before I was exposed to the [Foundation for Critical Thinking], my life was full of apprehension and fear. As a leader, your counsel has built confidence and zeal in me. I usually apply the intellectual standards/virtues in my sharing [when] meeting with various stakeholders and staff at my office...
With love and passion for our community...
To all of you answering our calls, your narratives and encouragement remind us that even in the face of grave challenges, throughout the world as throughout history, there are great streaks of light penetrating the darkness.
We are reminded of the importance of teaching students, at all levels, the foundations of critical thinking to prepare them for the world they now face. It is a world in which the quality of their reasoning will determine the quality of their lives.
For those of you working toward certification in our approach, or who want to go deeper in your understanding of the Paul-Elder Framework for Critical Thinking, we are offering an accredited online course for educators which begins in January. The course enables you to study under the guidance of a first-generation Paulian scholar from the convenience of your home or office, with coursework being done on your own time. Both Philosophy credits and Nursing CEU's are available. Instruction begins January 23, so register soon!
We look forward to working with you at next year's conference, to be held in beautiful northern California's wine country. Registration is now officially open for the 38th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking, where we will offer sessions for everyone interested in developing critical thinking abilities and helping others achieve their critical thinking potential. See our session titles geared toward: educators, administrators, professionals, government and military personnel, students - indeed, anyone concerned to evolve his or her reasoning. Here are a few of our Focal Sessions:
- Teaching Students to Think Things Through: Higher Education
- Tools for Analysis in Business, Government, and Administration
- Teaching K-12 Students to Take Command of Their Reasoning
- Advanced Session: Exploring Your Deeper Questions About the Theory and Application of Critical Thinking [for returning scholars in critical thinking]
- Intellectual Character as Essential to Development in Any Professional Field or Discipline
- Critical Thinking Standards for Assessing Thinking in All Fields of Study and Professions
- Cultivating Evidence-Based Decision Making in Business and Government
- Teaching Students and Professionals to Value Evidence and Reject False, Distorted Information
- How a Rich Conception of Critical Thinking is Essential to the Core Curriculum, or Indeed Any Curriculum, in K-12 Education
The following quote, from Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995), reminds us of the vital importance of more enlightened ways of thinking if we are ever to achieve critical societies:
I worry that, especially as the Millennium edges nearer, pseudo-science and superstition will seem year by year more tempting, the siren song of unreason more sonorous and attractive. Where have we heard it before? Whenever our ethnic or national prejudices are aroused, in times of scarcity, during challenges to national self-esteem or nerve, when we agonize about our diminished cosmic place and purpose, or when fanaticism is bubbling up around us - then, habits of thought familiar from ages past reach for the controls. The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles. Darkness gathers. The demons begin to stir.
Progress in human thought and action is never a given, but rather something that must be achieved one person at a time; it comes through disciplined effort, vigilance, and the enduring conviction that the human condition can ever be improved.
In solidarity with all of you who share these insights,
Dr. Linda Elder
Educational Psychologist
President and Senior Fellow
Other responses we received from you, our community. Thank you again - each of your comments matters to us more than you can know:
Dear Dr. Linda Elder,
Hello.
As you had requested in your recent email, I'm sending you an educational poster written in Persian and containing the elements, tools and virtues of thinking, based on your book (Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts & Tools). This poster may be seen as a development of an instructive idea of yours and Dr. Richard Paul's.
I have been working as a Critical Thinking instructor in Iran for more than ten years, and now I have some ideas of applying this subject in [the] philosophy of science, methodology of research and epistemology; in other words, designing an interdisciplinary course which covers these subjects. Besides, I have recently prepared the course [and] plan to teach adults, especially teachers, continuously. ...
I hope to meet you and attend courses in person.
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Kindly accept my gratitude for the update on the . . .Foundation for Critical Thinking. I very much appreciate your contribution to the world at large, specifically the academic community. I believe there is a need to fill the void between existing academic practices in universities belonging to the Confucian epistemic tradition and the internationalization of Asian universities as they respond to globalization. I believe expanding the works of the Foundation in these countries would be very helpful for the academy . . . I congratulate you for your contribution to the academic community worldwide.
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I haven't just read your book on Critical Thinking, it is filled with the notes I have made in the margins, and I've read it many times over by now. I own every pamphlet you've ever made and have gone through all of those in the same way. I also bought Dr. Richard Paul's book, his collection of essays on critical thinking, and read it in the same way. I've committed the [Paulian] Model of Critical Thinking to memory, and I constantly use it in my work. I've also committed to memory the 44 dirty tricks or fallacies that you delineate in that thinker's guide. I'm not telling you this to brag on what I've done, I tell you this to let you know just how important your work is to me. This should be required of every student in America. If there is a possibility of having a critical thinking society, I'm convinced that your conception of critical thinking, is the correct one for that purpose.
