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Critical Condition: Replacing Critical Thinking with Creativity
Should we stop teaching critical thinking? Meant as a prompt to further discussion, Critical Condition questions the assumption that every student should be turned into a “critical thinker.”
The book starts with the pre-Socratics and the impact that Socrates’ death had on his student Plato and traces the increasingly violent use of critical “attack” on a per-ceived opponent. From the Roman militarization of debate to the medieval Church’s use of defence as a means of forcing confession and submission, the early phases of critical thinking were bound up in a type of attack that Finn suggests does not best serve intellectual inquiry. Recent developments have seen critical thinking become an ideology rather than a critical practice, with levels of debate devolving to the point where most debate becomes ad hominem. Far from arguing that we abandon critical inquiry, the author suggests that we emphasize a more open, loving system of engagement that is not only less inherently violent but also more robust when dealing with vastly more complex networks of information.
This book challenges long-held beliefs about the benefits of critical thinking, which is shown to be far too linear to deal with the twenty-first century world. Critical Condition is a call to action unlike any other.
The book starts with the pre-Socratics and the impact that Socrates’ death had on his student Plato and traces the increasingly violent use of critical “attack” on a per-ceived opponent. From the Roman militarization of debate to the medieval Church’s use of defence as a means of forcing confession and submission, the early phases of critical thinking were bound up in a type of attack that Finn suggests does not best serve intellectual inquiry. Recent developments have seen critical thinking become an ideology rather than a critical practice, with levels of debate devolving to the point where most debate becomes ad hominem. Far from arguing that we abandon critical inquiry, the author suggests that we emphasize a more open, loving system of engagement that is not only less inherently violent but also more robust when dealing with vastly more complex networks of information.
This book challenges long-held beliefs about the benefits of critical thinking, which is shown to be far too linear to deal with the twenty-first century world. Critical Condition is a call to action unlike any other.
- GenresNonfiction
145 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2015
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About the author
Patrick Finn
1 book1 followerPatrick Finn is an associate professor in The School for Creative and Performing Arts at the University of Calgary.
His research and teaching focus on performance and technology, where technology can be anything from vocal technique and alphabets to complex computer algorithms. He is an active artist and founding artistic director of The Theatre Lab Performance Institute in Calgary, Alberta.
His research and teaching focus on performance and technology, where technology can be anything from vocal technique and alphabets to complex computer algorithms. He is an active artist and founding artistic director of The Theatre Lab Performance Institute in Calgary, Alberta.
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November 3, 2020
This dude is clearly passionate about what he believes and has spent a great deal of time researching, although his ability to cite sources effectively is lacking. I love the ideas of higher education benefiting society, how educational systems should shift to creativity, and how critical thinking has negative effects on learning at times; however, critical thinking isn't all bad and I don't think it needs to be an either or argument. Additionally, he didn't consider how art inherently fosters critical thinking.
I appreciate that he gave approaches on how to transform higher ed. I also thought it was funny that he spent so long on clapping back at people who didn't agree with his TED presentation.
I appreciate that he gave approaches on how to transform higher ed. I also thought it was funny that he spent so long on clapping back at people who didn't agree with his TED presentation.
Displaying 1 of 1 review