Critical Thinking

SOCRATES (469 BC-399 BC)

• Never wrote anything himself, as he felt knowledge was a living, interactive thing

• Known predominantly through writings of Plato, who was one of Socrates’ students

• Important: with Plato’s being the primary source of Socrates’ work, one must question the accuracy of it.

Socrates (continued)

• By using a method of probing questions, Socrates discovered that people could not rationally justify their confident claims to knowledge

• “Empty rhetoric”: language designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect on its audience, but is often lacking in sincerity or meaningful content

Socrates (continued)

• Believed one cannot depend upon those in authority to have sound knowledge and insight

• People may have power and high positions but be deeply confused and irrational

• Ask deep questions that probe profoundly into thinking before accepting ideas worthy of belief

Socratic Questioning

• Seek evidence• Closely examine reasoning and assumptions• Analyze basic concepts• Trace out implications not only of what is said

but of what is done as well• Bottom line: distinguish reasonable, logic

beliefs from those which lack adequate evidence or rational foundation

PLATO (428 BC-348 BC)

• Recorded Socrates’ thoughts• Emphasized that things are often very

different from what they appear to be • Only the trained mind is prepared to see

through the way things look to us on the surface (delusive appearances) to the way they really are beneath the surface (the deeper realities of life).

Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC)

• Student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great

• Syllogism: a simple deduction from two premises to a conclusion (first formal system

of logic)• Example: All men are mortal. Socrates is a

man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)

• Author of Sumna Theologica• Always systematically stated, considered, and

answered all criticisms of his ideas as a necessary stage in developing them.

• Aquinas heightened our awareness not only of the potential power of reasoning but also of the need for reasoning to be systematically cultivated and "cross-examined."

Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)

• Wrote In Praise of Folly (1509), which is a satire on the corruption and doctrinal messages of the Catholic Church.– Folly (naïve ignorance) is an essential part of being

human, and is what ultimately brings us the most happiness and contentment

• “Knowledge can be a burden and can lead to complications….”

Nicollo Machiavelli (1469–1527)

• In the Italian Renaissance, The Prince critically assessed the politics of the day, and laid the foundation for modern critical political thought.

• “The end justifies the means.”

Machiavelli (continued)

• Machiavelli refused to assume that government functioned as those in power said it did.

• Rather, he critically analyzed how it did function and laid foundation for political thinking that exposes both the real agendas of politicians and the many contradictions and inconsistencies of the hard, cruel, world of the politics of his day

Sir Thomas More (1478–1535)

• In Utopia, developed a model of a new social order, in which every domain of the present world was subject to critique.

• His implicit thesis was that established social systems are in need of radical analysis and critique.

Francis Bacon (1561–1626)• The mind cannot safely be left to its natural

tendencies. • The Advancement of Learning argued for the

importance of studying the world empirically [derived from or guided by a sensory experience] .

• Most people develop bad habits of thought (which he called "idols") that lead them to believe what is false or misleading.

• “Knowledge is power.”

Francis Bacon (continued)

• Called attention to "Idols of the tribe" (the ways our mind naturally tends to trick itself), "Idols of the market-place" (the ways we misuse words), "Idols of the theater" (our tendency to become trapped in conventional systems of thought), and "Idols of the schools" (the problems in thinking when based on blind rules and poor instruction).

René Descartes (1596–1650)

• Rules For the Direction of the Mind argued for the need for a special systematic disciplining of the mind to guide it in thinking.

• Articulated and defended the need in thinking for clarity and precision.

• “I think; therefore, I am.”

Descartes (continued)

• Developed a method of critical thought based on the principle of systematic doubt.

• Emphasized the need to base thinking on well-thought through foundational assumptions.

• Every part of thinking should be questioned, doubted, and tested.

Thomas Hobbes (1588–1679)

• Hobbes adopted a naturalistic view of the world in which everything was to be explained by evidence and reasoning.

• “The universe – that is, the whole mass of things that are – is corporeal, that is to say, body.”

• “Man is a machine.”

Robert Boyle (1627 to 1691)

• Sceptical Chymist severely criticized the chemical theory that had preceded him.

• First prominent scientist to perform controlled experiments and to publish his work with elaborate details concerning procedure, apparatus, and observations (even for failed experiments).

John Locke (1632–1704)

• Defended a common sense analysis of everyday life and thought.

• Laid theoretical foundation for critical thinking about basic human rights and the responsibilities of all governments to submit to the reasoned criticism of thoughtful citizens.

• “Everything we know is gained from experience.”

Sir Isaac Newton (1642 – 1726)

• Developed a far-reaching framework of thought which roundly criticized the traditionally accepted world view.

• After Boyle and Newton, it was recognized by those who reflected seriously on the natural world that egocentric views of world must be abandoned in favor of views based entirely on carefully gathered evidence and sound reasoning.

Adam Smith (1723-1790)

• Motives of human beings are partly benevolent and partly self-interested

• Self-interest is the stronger trait and so is a better guide to human behavior

• “Man is an animal that makes bargains,” which are struck by proposing deals that appear to be in the best interest of both parties.

• Economics: Wealth of Nations