THinking that thinks about thinking:

A Study on Critical Thinking

MELANIE GRUNDVIGfdeng 301

Professor Murray Hunt

Grundvig 1

Abstract

Critical thinkers are the solution to many of the problems that face our society because of the

virtue that is gained through this practice. Critical thinking is the art of improving thinking through

evaluation and ultimately seeks to arrive at absolute truth. It is comprised of elements and standards that

allows us to assess our own thinking and that of others to uncover truth. It instills traits that cultivate

virtue in the individual. Although there are different ways to teach critical thinking, one of the most

effective ways it is learned is through a liberal arts education. The liberal arts liberate the individual from

the captivity of ignorance by providing students a broad foundation of knowledge and the ability to think

critically. It achieves this through a variety of methods including the Socratic Method and the study of

classic great thinkers. As critical thinking is learned through the liberal arts every individual will benefit

as well as all society. This conclusion will be reached by discussing first critical thinking in general and

then critical thinking specifically in the liberal arts.

Grundvig 2

Outline

Thesis: Critical thinking seeks to improve thinking itself through evaluation and has an overarching purpose of instilling virtue.

I. Elements of critical thinkingi) Purposeii) Question at Issueiii) Assumptionsiv) Point of Viewv) Information, data, evidencevi) Theories/Conceptsvii) Interpretation of dataviii) Consequences/Implications

II. Standards of Critical Thinkingi) Clear vs. Obscure. ii) Accurate vs. Inaccurate. iii) Precise vs. Impreciseiv) Relevant vs. Irrelevant v) Deep vs. Shallowvi) Broad vs. Narrowvii) Logical vs. Illogicalviii) Fair vs. Unfair

III. Traits of Critical Thinking i) Intellectual integrityii) Intellectual humilityiii) Confidence in Reasoniv) Intellectual Perseverancev) Fairmindedness vi) Intellectual Couragevii) Intellectual Empathyviii) Intellectual Autonomy

IV. Strong vs. Weak Critical Thinking1. Benefits of Critical Thinking

I. Individual VirtueII. Social Implications

2. Critical Thinking and the Liberal ArtsI. Liberal Arts

i) Definitionii) Purpose

II. Socratic Methodi) Definitionii) Purpose

III. Purpose of Education3. Conclusion

Grundvig 3

Summary

Critical thinking is thinking that self-evaluates for improving thinking itself. The end goal of

critical thinking is not simply to create more rational human beings, but to instill virtue. Critical thinking

is comprised of various elements, standards, and traits that define this form of thinking and its purpose.

The elements of critical thinking are a checklist that help us determine if this is critical thinking. The

elements include the following: purpose, question at issue, assumptions, point of view, information,

theories/concepts, interpretation of data, and consequences/implications. The standards of critical thinking

are used to judge the quality of one’s reasoning. They include clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance,

depth, breadth, logic, and fairness. The traits of critical thinking are the virtues that a critical thinker gains

and ultimately achieve the purpose of creating good human beings. These traits include intellectual

integrity, intellectual humility, confidence in reason, intellectual perseverance, fairmindedness,

intellectual courage, intellectual empathy, and intellectual autonomy.

Critical thinking provides many benefits, both individual and social. The individual benefits that

we receive from critical thinking are derived from those traits that critical thinkers gain. These traits lend

themselves to the enculturation of virtue in the individual. The more virtuous a person is the better life

they will lead. Thus, critical thinking improves the quality of one’s life. Socially, critical thinking is

important because it provides a society with individuals that can reason for themselves and utilize

freedom to its advantage. Society benefits from moral individuals.

A liberal arts education does an excellent job of teaching critical thinking. By providing students

with a broad knowledge based that is born from great thinkers of the past, students learn to learn and

critical thinking becomes the end goal. The liberal arts also uses the Socratic Method to teach critical

thinking which is a form of thinking that utilizes questions to improve reasoning and arrive at truth. The

purpose of education should be exactly this, to reach critical thinking and arrive at virtue.

Grundvig 4

Thinking That Thinks About Thinking: A study on critical thinking

Thinking that thinks about thinking. Although it may sound confusing, this is the very essence of

critical thinking. Critical thinking is a term widely used and little understood as a goal for institutions and

educations. It is a fancy skill to post on a job application or a description of a college course, but what

does it really mean? Many companies today complain that the applicants they interview cannot write,

cannot speak, and cannot express themselves intelligently. What is missing is depth in these carefully

crafted and rehearsed robots that the current educational system is producing. And the implications go far

beyond that of simply preparing students to become better workers. Critical thinking is the higher road of

education and what is needed to create better people and a better society. An education that seeks to

create moral humans is essential for public welfare and for the individual, and it is critical thinking that

helps create morality.

The aim and art of critical thinking is to improve thinking itself through careful analysis and

evaluation. (Paul, Richard W. 2) The danger of focusing an education simply on the rote memorization of

facts and the ability to perform specific functions without having to think critically, is that it creates

intelligent but not moral machines. We do not have to think too far to see the kinds of implications this

holds for society. Imagine a society full of citizens with great skill in the sciences but with no principles.

Perhaps this would lead to the dystopian world described by Alduous Huxley in Brave New World or

even the tyrannical governments that are still too fresh in our history to forget. Critical thinking is the

solution to this threat. It not only creates more intelligent and rational individuals, but moral individuals.

Critical thinking is comprised of various elements, standards, and traits that are the foundation of its

definition as well as the end goal of critical thinking.

The elements of critical thinking are what comprise critical thought and distinguish it from other

forms of thinking. Essentially, the elements are the checklist of critical thinking. Within each element we

Grundvig 5

ask ourselves questions to determine how strong our reasoning is. If we are using these elements to

evaluate our thinking, we can know with confidence that we are being critical thinkers.

The first item on this checklist is purpose. All critical thought must have a purpose. As we

examine our thinking we should ask ourselves what the purpose of our reasoning is, if this is a realistic

purpose, and whether our thought focuses on the purpose throughout. It is also important that our

objective be stated with clarity. In so doing we begin the process of improving our thinking.

The next element is questions at issue. In questions at issue, answering questions, seeking

understanding, and solving problems is the purpose of critical thinking. We must evaluate what questions

we are trying to answer, all the different ways to think about the questions, whether there are subdivisions

of the question, whether just one right answer exists, and whether this questions requires ethics and

judgments and cannot be answered with simple facts. The questions that have no specific right answers

are called multi-system questions as opposed to one system questions, questions where just one answer is

acceptable, and no system questions, which are purely answered based on preference and no argument

can be made. Multi-system questions provide the best questions for critical thinking because they ask for

judgement.

As we attempt to utilize our critical thinking, we must be able to identify the important element of

assumptions. This element includes the consideration of the assumptions we are making and the value of

these assumptions. Our assumptions must be examined to see how they shape our view, whether they are

questionable, and whether they are justified. If, under scrutiny, we find problems with the assumptions we

have made it is time to reevaluate our thinking.

Another element of critical thinking is point of view. Our point of view is our paradigm, or the

way that we see the world. Our points of view determine our thinking. To be critical thinkers we should

evaluate our points of view to see its weaknesses and strengths. We should also consider other points of

view for better critical thinking and assess their strengths and weaknesses as well.

Grundvig 6

Information, data, and evidence form the basis for our reasoning. Critical thinking requires that

we ask ourselves whether reasonable evidence supports our thinking or if our thinking is unsupported. If

our reasoning is unsupported by evidence, we need to evaluate whether evidence exists that could justify

it. We should also ask whether the data possibly suggests different thinking than our current reasoning. If

different lines of reasoning can be drawn from the same set of information it would be important to

evaluate these other options. In doing so we will know when we must look for more information to

support our thinking and where it is sufficient.

Overarching concepts and theories also shape our critical thinking and are an important element.

We must examine our thinking to see how our theories guide our reasoning and what other explanations

might be possible with the given theories. It is also good to evaluate whether we are aligning our thinking

to our theories or distorting our theories to fit our thinking. For example, if we are good Mormons that

believe in the Word of Wisdom, but really like the taste of coffee, we may change our theory and reason

that coffee was never specifically mentioned in the Doctrine and Covenants. Beyond that, is it all that

addictive? This would be poor critical thinking. It would better to assess our theory that Word of Wisdom

is the word of God and warns members not to drink coffee, and then align our reasoning to that belief.

The next element is interpretation of data. Our conclusions are drawn from inferences and

interpretations of data. We must consider how grounded these interpretations are. Ask questions such as,

do our interpretations support the conclusions that our thinking implies? Are they mutually consistent or

do we change them to support different reasoning at will? Our inferences should be thorough and

consistent and support the conclusions that we make. If not, we are poorly interpreting data which leads to

fallacy in critical thinking.

Consequences and Implications are the last element of reasoning. In critical thinking, it is

supremely important to consider the consequences and implications of our own thoughts. All reasoning

leads somewhere and we must evaluate whether we are comfortable with where our thinking takes us. If

Grundvig 7

we see that the consequences of our thoughts are inconsistent with truth, we either must rediscover truth

or reevaluate our thinking. It is also important to consider the implications of our thinking. Will this

change the way I live my life? Will this change the world?

These elements of thought allow us to examine our reasoning and see if it holds water. If any one

of the elements uncovers a necessary change to our thinking, we have done well in examining ourselves

and are on the road to becoming better critical thinkers. We can use the elements to cross-examine the

thinking of others in discussion and our own thinking. As we improve our thinking through careful

application of the elements we will arrive at better thought and greater truth.

These elements must be used in accordance with the universal intellectual standards which will

be discussed hereafter. The standards of Critical Thinking are universal intellectual standards that we use

to improve our thinking. These standards ensure the quality of our thinking and the goal is that as critical

thinkers we can emulate these standards in every occasion in which we are called upon to reason. They

include clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, and fairness.

We will begin by discussing clarity. Where a statement is unclear, critical thinking stops. It is

impossible to discuss or even fully think about a statement that is not clear because we will have no idea

what question we should be answering or what we should be assessing. We will not be able to determine

any other standards of the statement if it is unclear because we cannot determine anything about it all. It’s

like teaching gospel doctrine and calling on a student to answer a question and their comment comes out

so convoluted that there is now way to tell if it is relevant to the topic, if it answers a question, or if it

requires further discussion. You must simply move on. Obscurity is the opposite of clarity and we want to

be as clear as possible.

Another important standard is accuracy. A statement that is clear can still be inaccurate. For

example, we can clearly state that there are just three students currently attending BYU - Idaho, but that

would be inaccurate. Accuracy asks the question of whether a statement is true. We may want to check

Grundvig 8

the accuracy of a statement to discover its quality. Many voters this election will want to use this standard

to assess the claims of the candidates and uncover what is truth.

A cousin to accuracy, the next standard is precision. It is possible that a statement is clear and

accurate but still imprecise. For example, the statement “Ashley is pretty,” is clear and accurate but we

still don’t know how pretty she is. Is she merely pretty, above average, or drop dead gorgeous? Precision

asks for more details and more specifics.

The next standard is relevance. Going back to the example of teaching gospel doctrine, just

recently there was a question asked in class about the importance of honesty and one class member raised

their hand to deliver a very clear, accurate, and precise statement about…women’s self-confidence. It was

a lovely thought, but hardly relevant to the question and the lesson. Relevance asks how statements are

related to the issue at hand and the bearing that it has on the issue. Our statements are useless if they are

irrelevant, no matter how well they fit the other standards.

Depth is the next standard of reason. When we assess the depth of our statement we ask whether

it addresses the entire complexity of an issue or oversimplifies or trivializes significant problems. A good

example of statements that lack depth are what can be referred to as bumper sticker quotes. These short

quotes such as “porn kills love,” or “coexist” are treating complex issues with shallow responses.

Although they are catchy, they lack depth.

Breadth follows depth. Rather than requiring us to look deeper we must look broader. Perhaps we

should consider other points of view or view the question from a new angle. If a statement comes from a

standpoint that is biased towards an extreme, although making valid points, will be too narrow. Our

beliefs as Mormons will certainly shape our opinions, but it would still be wise to consider statements

from other perspectives. This does not necessitate the abandonment of personal principle, but encourages

open-mindedness.

Grundvig 9

Another standard of critical thinking is logic. Various thoughts come together to form our

reasoning. If these thoughts support and validate each other throughout, our thinking is logical. However,

if the combination of thoughts in our reasoning is inconsistent, contradicting in one sense where affirming

in another, or if it simply “doesn’t make sense,” then our reasoning is not logical.

The last standard that needs to be discussed is fairness. This standard requires our own honesty

and integrity to answer. We must ask ourselves whether our reasoning is distorting some data to support

our point of view, whether we are being open-minded in considering all different perspective, and where

our interests lie. If our critical thinking is being used to promote self-interest over the common good, then

we fail at this standard (Paul, Richard W. 5).

These standards of critical thinking combined with the earlier mentioned elements of critical

thinking, allow us to assess our reasoning for improvement. In fact, these standards and elements are what

identify critical thought since critical thinking is thinking that thinks about thinking. Having good critical

thinking will be paramount as we make statements, form opinions, and eventually act in accordance with

our beliefs. If we can be the judges of our own thinking against these elements and standards we will

grow wiser and we will arrive at truth.

Critical thinking is important not only because it allows us to improve our thinking, but because it

improves our virtue. Just as these elements and standards create better critical thinkers, there are traits of

critical thinking that cultivate better individuals. The traits of critical thinking are the virtues that one

should gain as they become a critical thinker (Schwartz, Barry). These traits are derived from the

elements and standards.

Intellectual integrity is an important virtue that we learn from critical thinking. Intellectual

integrity is the ability to be honest with ourselves. We must be honest with ourselves in recognizing the

fallacies and weaknesses of our own thoughts and in recognizing the strengths and of the thoughts of

others even if it goes against us. Intellectual integrity is also the courage to uphold our thinking

Grundvig 10

independent of how it will affect our social standing or may bring us persecution. This virtue also helps us

to uphold our own thinking and live it when we discover truth. It is a way to make thought into action.

Another virtue learned in critical thinking is intellectual humility. Perhaps it was Socrates who

best emulated this when he said, “I know that I know nothing.” Intellectual humility recognizes the limits

of our own knowledge and does not assume to know more than what one knows. This virtue enables us to

learn more because as we become aware of our intellectual blind spots we will seek greater knowledge

and understanding. In contrast, a person that is intellectually arrogant may assume they know better than

their peers, their professors, and anyone else. They would see no need to learn more and thus would not

learn more. Intellectual humility also has far reaching consequences for anyone in the professional world

as nobody wants to work with someone with an exaggerated ego. Humility holds implications for every

endeavor in life including relationships, marriage, and parenting. We need not look too far to understand

that Intellectual Humility is an important virtue in all facets of life.

Confidence in reason is another virtue gained by critical thinkers. This trait trusts in reason itself,

believing that the world is best when every person is encouraged to think and reason for themselves.

Confidence in Reason would support a society in which every individual is intelligent and has

autonomous reasoning (Paul, Richard W. 6). God embodies this quality as He has endowed us with the

ability to reason and think. This allows us to be agents that act rather than objects that are acted upon.

Likewise, individuals that have cultivated the virtue of confidence in reason will see themselves as agents

in their own life and help those around them to become agents as well through encouraging reason in

everyone.

Intellectual Perseverance is another important trait of critical thinkers. This simply means to keep

thinking, to keep striving, to keep pushing even when reasoning is difficult. This thinker will not give up

when something seems to go “over their head,” rather they will see it as an opportunity to learn. Thinking

Grundvig 11

rationally may require much effort and even struggle, but one that holds the train of intellectual

perseverance will muscle through it.

The trait of fairmindedness enables us to treat all thought fairly and without bias, and regard it for

its value as the thinking in and of itself. This trait may share a close relation to the standard of fairness. If

we develop fairness in our critical thinking, we may become fair-minded individuals that can view the

opinions of others and judge them based on the value of their thinking rather than letting our personal bias

form the judgement. Fair-minded people would make wonderful co-workers that are willing to listen to

and value the opinions of other employees. They make collaboration easier among peers. Fair-minded

citizens would make better voters that are willing to listen to the platforms of both parties and make

decisions based on a search for truth rather than a grudge against a certain candidate or party.

Intellectual Courage follows. This trait requires courage in defending and supporting our own

reasoning that we believe to be true regardless of the consequences. We must be courageous to uphold

our own careful reasoning when others antagonize us for nonconformity. This also includes the courage

to explore new thoughts that might be seen as dangerous or absurd. Intellectual courage not only allows

us to stay grounded in our beliefs, but to reach the sky through our bravery in exploring new possibilities.

Thinkers that possess this trait are the Socrates of their time.

Intellectual empathy is a beautiful intellectual trait that may be developed through critical

thinking. Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is a good way to begin to emulate this trait. It requires

us to genuinely understand others and even understand their thinking. It’s like stepping outside of your

own paradigm to view the paradigm of another. This trait asks us to be able to reason from the standpoint

of someone other than ourselves even if it means consciously leaving our own long standing perceptions.

This trait allows us to think like someone else and form assumptions, arguments, ideas from their

perspective.

Grundvig 12

The final trait of critical thinking is intellectual autonomy. Intellectual autonomy is the ability to

reason for one’s self. This means that we think for ourselves, we are the agents of our own thoughts, and

we can control our own thought process. We know when to question, when to believe, when to conform,

and when to go against the grain. This trait allows us intellectual independence and should be held by

every adult. If our society is made up of intellectual conformists than we are the feared uneducated

masses, the “sheeple,” that have often dominated history.

These intellectual traits are what critical thinkers hope to emulate by practice of their process. It is

the aim of critical thinkers to enculture these virtues. This is the reason that Socrates believed that what

we think we do and what we do we become (Merrill, Brian L 5). If we can think in a way that involves all

the critical thinking elements and standards, eventually these traits will become a part of our character.

And what a character that would be! To live in a society where every person is humble, courageous,

empathetic, autonomous, has integrity, perseveres, confides in reason, and is fair-minded would be the

very vision of Utopia. Now do we begin to understand the power of critical thinking?

These virtues instilled by critical thinking define the difference between strong critical thinkers

and weak critical thinkers. Strong vs. Weak Critical Thinking is the difference between using critical

thinking to take advantage of others or instead using it to discover truth and improve everybody’s

interests. At the final stage of development in critical thinking, through the traits people can become more

openminded towards the beliefs of others and more willing to explore their own beliefs. This person is

ready to learn new information while still maintaining their own values. They are aware of where their

thinking will take them and they are aware that it should lead them towards truth (Critical Thinking.

Psychology of Classroom Learning: An Encyclopedia). Although weak critical thinkers may have all the

ability, what they lack is virtue. If we use critical thinking for its true purpose of perpetuating truth, we

will be both strong critical thinkers and good human beings.

Grundvig 13

Thus, we see that critical thinking is not just beneficial to the individual for reasons of academic

success, but also in the fact that critical thinking will improve our virtue. This is the very purpose of

critical thinking and should be the pursuit of our education as well (Merrill, Brian L. 5). One need not

look far past the traits of critical thinkers to understand the benefits of critical thinking (Facione, Peter

A.).

Critical thinking produces positive outcomes for both the individual and society at large. For the

individual, critical thinking instills virtue and is the pathway towards a better life, after all, “the quality of

one’s thinking determines the quality of one’s life” (Merrill, Brian L., pg. 5). This is true because it

expands the mind and allows a better understanding of the world as well as instilling moral reasoning. In

an interesting study, the Socratic Method is used to teach prison inmates how to use moral reasoning. If

critical thinking can change inmates to good citizens it can certainly improve the morality of other

members of society too (Boghossian, Peter). Critical thinking holds great social implications as well. It is

essential to society. In a society without critical thinkers, democracy would become irrelevant and may

even need to be avoided for fear of the uneducated mass majority controlling the politics of the world

(Facione, Peter A.). Even freedom would become meaningless if our minds were held captive by a lack of

ability to reason (Hirsch, E.D., Jr. 22). We cannot properly use our agency if we cannot think critically.

Now that the importance of critical thinking for both the individual and society is understood, the

question, how, arises. How can critical thinking be taught? I propose that one of the most effective ways

to teach critical thinking is through a liberal arts education. A liberal arts education is, in its simplest

definition, liberating! In this method of education, critical thinking is both a means to an end and the end

itself (Facione, Peter A.). To be a great critical thinker is the goal of a liberal arts education. “It is about

learning to learn, which means learning to think for yourself” (Facione, Peter A.) Critical thinking is the

natural consequence of a true liberal arts education as we study and learn of the greatest thoughts from

some of the greatest minds that the world has produced. A true liberal arts education is not simply the

Grundvig 14

study of the liberal arts, but the emulation of the methods of the classical great thinkers. While other

educations may focus on only teaching specific skills for a particular profession, a liberal arts education

seeks to enculturate every citizen towards becoming a great thinker (Simmons, Tracy Lee 45). By

providing students a well-rounded and broad education, the liberal arts allow students to see more than

they would see if they were to focus solely on a pre-professional path. This gives them an advantage in

discovering truth (Schwartz, Barry). Rather than indoctrinating, the liberal arts seeks to educate and

become truth -seeking.

One method of teaching that is commonly used within a liberal arts education is the Socratic

Method. This teaching mechanism is part of what sets a liberal arts education apart. The Socratic method

is based on the foundation that questions generate thinking (Merrill, Brian L. 7) It includes starting with a

general idea and then subdividing that idea until we arrive at specifics through counter-examination and

questioning (Boghossian, Peter). Socrates used this method to develop critical thinking. He asked

questions to discover a thinker’s reasoning, evidence, assumptions, and implications. He even used this

method to question his own thinking. Socrates believed that good questions that give rise to thinking will

lead to truth. Because a liberal arts education emulates the methods of classical thinkers, such as Socrates,

the Socratic Method has become an important part of any university or program that is founded on the

liberal arts.

The argument has been made that in our rapidly changing and technological world the classics

and the liberal arts no longer hold an important place. For this reason, many institutions have changed

their programs to set students on a pre-professional path that leads directly from the classroom to a career.

However, this highly focuses education is like putting blinders on a saddled horse. You may see one thing

clearly while seeing most things not at all. The problem is employers need not only skilled employees, but

employees that can think. A technical skill can be learned in a job, but a career cannot teach virtue

(Schwartz, Barry). This should be a product of our education. “Education…is as much the development

Grundvig 15

of good mental and moral habits as it is the acquisition of knowledge” (Merrill, Brian L.). The purpose of

education for individuals is for each of us to become virtuous because of the quality of our thoughts and it

is just as important for our society to contain great works of civilization as it is for the people to be

civilized (Simmons, Tracy Lee 45). A liberal arts education provides this enculturation of civility and

virtue through its classical methods of teaching and its teaching of critical thinking.

Critical thinking is paramount to both society at large and every individual because of its ability

to create both intelligent citizens and good human beings. Education is a key instrument in creating

critical thinkers and should strive to do so as its mission statement. Some institutions may argue that a

focus on the liberal arts is unnecessary and outdated in our technologically progressive world. They may

argue that a classical education will not prepare students to compete for careers in this global economy.

However, the ability to think critically that is taught in the liberal arts is useful and needed in absolutely

every profession. A classical education that focuses on using the Socratic method is the best environment

to cultivate critical thinkers. Critical thinkers are the solution to the political problems that face our

society and the toxic moral wasteland that has become our world. Critical thinkers will be the heroes of

the rising generation.

Grundvig 16

Annotated Bibliography

Boghossian, Peter. "Socratic Pedagogy, Critical Thinking, and Inmate Education." Journal of Correctional Education 57.1 (2006): 42-63. Web.

This is an article published in an academic journal that describes a case study in which prison inmates were taught moral reasoning using the Socratic method. It provides an example of how the Socratic method can be taught and how it in turn teaches people to use moral reasoning.

"Critical Thinking." Psychology of Classroom Learning: An Encyclopedia. Ed. Eric M. Anderman and Lynley H. Anderman. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2009. 284-287. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 13 Oct. 2016

This is a reference book that goes in depth on critical thinking. It describes the elements, standards, and traits of critical thinking and provides the most simple description of the subject matter.

Facione, Peter A. "Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts." Retrieved June 9 (1998): 2004.

This article offers a definition of critical thinking and treats the importance of critical thinking. It treats the importance of critical thinking for both individuals and society as a whole.

Hirsch, E.D., Jr. Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1987.

This book was written to defend the importance of cultural literacy. First, it defines cultural literacy and then goes on to explain what significance this holds for us. It sheds light on the benefits of a liberal arts education to developing cultural literacy.

Merrill, Brian L. "The Examined Life: The Socratic Method as a Model for Critical Thinking and Critical Teaching." New Perspectives 13.1, 1996: 13-19.

This is an academic article written explaining the Socratic Method and how it helps students to become better critical thinkers. It explains the elements, standards, and traits of critical thinking and then discusses how the Socratic Method teaches this. It is also a guide to teachers as to how they can use the Socratic Method in their classes.

Paul, Richard W., and Linda Elder. The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools. Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2014.

Grundvig 17

This book provides the backbone of understanding what critical thinking is. It goes in depth to define the elements, standards, and traits of critical thinking. It does well to explain the “what” whereas other works do better in explaining the “why.”

Schwartz, Barry. "What 'Learning How To Think' Really Means." Chronicle Of Higher Education 61.39 (2015): 11. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Oct. 2016.

This is a published speech that defends a liberal arts education and discusses why a liberal arts education helps students to become better critical thinkers.

Simmons, Tracy Lee. Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin. Wilmington, Delaware, ISI Books, 2002.

This book defends a classical education. It discusses the importance of the classics in helping us to become better thinkers and better human beings and is written to persuade readers of the importance of teaching and learning the classics.