My hope is that the United States - based on our freedoms and current role(s) in the world can increase our leadership in demonstrating potential benefits of diversity of thought. I'm weary of "critical thinking" as a topic for current events, local and global, when much of what is labeled critical thinking seems to be "I'm critical of thinking that doesn't match my own culture/mental schema"; simpleton approaches that my students (aged 16 and up without Phds) work to overcome in Psychology 132/Psychology and Culture - a class with no prerequisites.
When our politicians and news media aren't even demonstrating basic levels of complexity in their thinking and Americans are inhaling puffs of information (propaganda) from their favorite sources, I believe (one of my broken record messages) we are becoming less sophisticated which makes us more and more vulnerable to us/them rigidity that undermines our ability to use our creative thinking to solve local through global issues. My students in week 4 of the semester could do more thoughtful news analysis with Hofstede's cultural dimensions than many of our "experts" and senior news anchors accomplish with their years of education and experience.
If we cannot articulate the other person's perspective as well as they can,
we are NOT nimble perspective takers/thinkers …
we are not even close to being in the realm of critical thinking.
In other words, if we can't say it as well as they do, this is evidence that we are evaluating another perspective through our own filters/lens/worldview rather than being able to enter into another person's logic/perception.
How can we be critical of (simpleton), or think critically about (sophisticated),
something we do not understand?
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News this week ....
North Korea and what happened with negotiations?
Who should be trusted and who should be investigated from the
left and/or the right -
left and/or the right -
campaigns, DOJ, FBI, White House?
What do our political ad campaigns say about us
beyond what we think might win an election?
What do our political ad campaigns say about us
beyond what we think might win an election?
The City of Philadelphia and Catholic Charities' approaches
to foster care and adoption?
to foster care and adoption?
The NFL and the National Anthem policies for the 2018-2019 season ?
Who should have won The Voice?
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The world is watching and listening to
our politicians and our media. Who are WE?
Who can we learn from and what can we figure out together
as sophisticated thinkers?
our politicians and our media. Who are WE?
Who can we learn from and what can we figure out together
as sophisticated thinkers?
I hope that we'll do better together next week.
