It's critical.

• Author: Elder, Linda
• Position: Education

"Some 2,400 years ago, Socrates argued for the advancement of human rationality through newly developing conceptual tools. The people and the intellectual world did not embrace criticality, nor even see the need for it, on any broad scale. The same is true today. "

THE TERM "critical thinking" is used quite commonly, but how many people (including teachers) can articulate a reasonable conception of critical thinking or detail how they use it in any part of their lives? Can you? For 37 years, the Center and Foundation for Critical Thinking has advanced a fair-minded conception of the term in education and society. In the last decade alone, department chairs and educators in every college and university in the U.S. have received our Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concept & Tools.

In 1997, our intellectual think tank of scholars conducted a random study for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to determine the extent to which colleges and universities in California were advancing critical thinking through the general education and teacher preparation curriculum. This study was required through state legislation, in view of public concern about the lack of critical thinking in education at that time.

It was found that, though 89% of faculty stated "critical thinking" was of primary importance to their instruction, only 19% could offer even a marginally acceptable definition of the term. Further, as might be expected, most faculty in the study said they were cultivating critical thinking in their instruction. However, when asked to exemplify how they did so, very few could give any real evidence that they were fostering critical thinking.

Contrary to common banter, there never has been a time in human history when critical thinking widely was validated and advanced to any significant degree. There never has been a society on any grand scale that encouraged open-minded discussion and dissent, and which actively cultivated the liberally-educated mind because, to a considerable degree, those in power always keep a tight lid on the advancement of ideas. We still lack the foundational ingredients required to cultivate critical thinking across educational communities and within human groups.

What, then, is critical thinking? It is a disciplined form of reasoning in which the mind takes active command of itself through routine analysis and assessment of thought, attempting to embody intellectual virtues--such as empathy, integrity...