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Critical Thinking Community Newsletter - May 9th, 2018
International Critical Thinking Conference


-Facebook Event Page


-Main Conference Page  



CT Glossary and Guide to Fallacies Promotion


Free Public Lecture in Costa Rica
Connect with Other Conference Attendees Through Our Facebook Event Page!
May 9, 2018  
See our Facebook Event Page for the 38th Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking! Connect with other attendees, ask about sharing rooms or rides, and plan your evenings together (but don't miss Thursday's Evening Social!)

With surges in fake news, "alternative facts," and sophistry in circles of power and influence, the world needs educators, students, and leaders in government and business to master the intellectual tools which help guard against these pervasive assaults on knowledge and reason. We hope you will join us at the world's longest-running conference on critical thinking; see session descriptions here.
Free Copies of the Critical Thinking Glossary and Guide to Fallacies through May 16:
Until May 16, all orders for the Core Set of Critical Thinker's Guides include free copies of the Glossary of Critical Thinking Terms and Concepts and the Thinker's Guide to Fallacies: The Art of Mental Trickery - nearly $30 worth of free materials for a $69.95 set, and no limit per person! 
 
The Core Set provides an overview of the foundational concepts and tools in a robust framework for critical thinking. The perfect starting place for beginners, and the perfect reference material for seasoned reasoners!

Free Costa Rica Lecture by Dr. Linda Elder: Spanish-Language Flyer Released:
Universidad VERITAS has released its Spanish-language flyer for Dr. Linda Elder's free lecture in San José, Costa Rica on May 24, 2018. See the full-resolution flyer.

The lecture, titled, 'Why Critical Thinking Must be at the Core of Teaching and Learning at All Levels,' will take place from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m at the Auditorio Roberto Sasso Sasso at Universidad VERITAS' Escuela Arquitectura.

Censorship as Harm to Oneself and Humankind:
Often, those who endeavor to stop the expression of an idea assume they are only impairing the speaker. In his 1859 work, On Liberty, John Stuart Mill articulates the way in which censorship of ideas is in fact 'robbing the human race' as a whole:

If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind...the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth; if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.

(This excerpt can be found in our online article,  'Critical Societies: Thoughts from the Past.')
' . . . in our world everybody thinks of changing humanity, and nobody thinks of changing himself.'
 
Leo Tolstoy, 'Three Methods of Reform' (1900)
 
Phone: 1-800-833-3645  |  Email: cct@criticalthinking.org  |  Fax: 1-707-878-9111



Please do not pass this message by.

CRITICAL THINKING IS AT RISK.

Here are some of the big reasons why:

  1. Many people believe that critical thinking should be free and that scholars qualified to teach critical thinking should do so for free. Accordingly, they do not think they should have to pay for critical thinking textbooks, courses, or other resources when there is "so much free material online" - despite how erroneous that material may be.
  2. There are many misguided academicians, and some outright charlatans, pushing forth and capitalizing on a pseudo-, partial, or otherwise impoverished concept of critical thinking.
  3. Little to no funding is designated for critical thinking professional development in schools, colleges, or universities, despite the lip service widely given to critical thinking (as is frequently found in mission statements).
  4. Most people, including faculty, think they already know what critical thinking is, despite how few have studied it to any significant degree, and despite how few can articulate a coherent, accurate, and sufficiently deep explanation of it.
  5. People rarely exhibit the necessary level of discipline to study and use critical thinking for reaching higher levels of self-actualization. In part, this is due to wasting intellectual and emotional energy on fruitless electronic entertainment designed to be addictive and profitable rather than educational and uplifting.
  6. On the whole, fairminded critical thinking is neither understood, fostered, nor valued in educational institutions or societies.
  7. People are increasingly able to cluster themselves with others of like mind through alluring internet platforms that enable them to validate one another's thinking - even when their reasoning is nonsensical, lopsided, prejudiced, or even dangerous.
  8. Critical thinking does not yet hold an independent place in academia. Instead, "critical thinking" is continually being "defined" and redefined according to any academic area or instructor that, claiming (frequently unsupported) expertise, steps forward to teach it.

As you see, increasingly powerful trends against the teaching, learning, and practice of critical thinking entail extraordinary challenges to our mission. To continue our work, we must now rely upon your financial support. If critical thinking matters to you, please click here to contribute what you can today.

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE OUR WORK.

Thank you for your support of ethical critical thinking.