Steering into the Skid: On the Norms of Critical Thinking
Cognitive bias presents as a pressing challenge to critical thinking education. While many have focused on how to eliminate or mitigate cognitive bias, others have argued that these biases are better understood as result from adaptive reasoning heuristics which are, in the right conditions, rational...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Windsor
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Informal Logic |
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| Online Access: | https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/4818 |
| _version_ | 1819060856441274368 |
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| author | Jeffrey Maynes |
| author_facet | Jeffrey Maynes |
| author_sort | Jeffrey Maynes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cognitive bias presents as a pressing challenge to critical thinking education. While many have focused on how to eliminate or mitigate cognitive bias, others have argued that these biases are better understood as result from adaptive reasoning heuristics which are, in the right conditions, rational modes of reasoning about the world. This approach presents a new challenge to critical thinking education: if these heuristics are rational under the right conditions, does teaching critical thinking undermine student abilities to reason effectively in real life reasoning scenarios? I argue that this challenge calls for a reconception of the goals of critical thinking education to focus on how rational ideals are best achieved or approximated in human reasoners. Critical thinking educators should focus on developing the metacognitive skill to recognize when different cognitive strategies (including the heuristics) should be used. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T14:33:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c8f425a7e4644714ad92e528f0e08065 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0824-2577 0824-2577 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T14:33:38Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | University of Windsor |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Informal Logic |
| spelling | doaj.art-c8f425a7e4644714ad92e528f0e080652022-12-21T19:00:25ZengUniversity of WindsorInformal Logic0824-25770824-25772017-06-0137211412810.22329/il.v37i2.48183783Steering into the Skid: On the Norms of Critical ThinkingJeffrey Maynes0St. Lawrence UniversityCognitive bias presents as a pressing challenge to critical thinking education. While many have focused on how to eliminate or mitigate cognitive bias, others have argued that these biases are better understood as result from adaptive reasoning heuristics which are, in the right conditions, rational modes of reasoning about the world. This approach presents a new challenge to critical thinking education: if these heuristics are rational under the right conditions, does teaching critical thinking undermine student abilities to reason effectively in real life reasoning scenarios? I argue that this challenge calls for a reconception of the goals of critical thinking education to focus on how rational ideals are best achieved or approximated in human reasoners. Critical thinking educators should focus on developing the metacognitive skill to recognize when different cognitive strategies (including the heuristics) should be used.https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/4818critical thinking, pedagogy, metacognition, cognitive bias |
| spellingShingle | Jeffrey Maynes Steering into the Skid: On the Norms of Critical Thinking Informal Logic critical thinking, pedagogy, metacognition, cognitive bias |
| title | Steering into the Skid: On the Norms of Critical Thinking |
| title_full | Steering into the Skid: On the Norms of Critical Thinking |
| title_fullStr | Steering into the Skid: On the Norms of Critical Thinking |
| title_full_unstemmed | Steering into the Skid: On the Norms of Critical Thinking |
| title_short | Steering into the Skid: On the Norms of Critical Thinking |
| title_sort | steering into the skid on the norms of critical thinking |
| topic | critical thinking, pedagogy, metacognition, cognitive bias |
| url | https://ojs.uwindsor.ca/ojs/leddy/index.php/informal_logic/article/view/4818 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeffreymaynes steeringintotheskidonthenormsofcriticalthinking |