4 ms·

Yeah - not an easy task. Teach it in school along with the usual 3 R's.

CamperBob2 6y ago
Not to get overtly political, but one of the two major parties will do literally anything to prevent that. Their ideology interprets critical thought as a direct assault, and they respond accordingly.
- SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
  As far as I know, critical thinking is an explicit part of the school curriculum everywhere in the US. Do you know of an area where it's not taught?
  - CamperBob2 6y ago
    See my other reply. Edit: for the benefit of the downvoters, here's a concrete example of what I'm talking about: https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2012/06/texas_gop_no_more_critical_thinking.html https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2012/06/texas... From the bottom of the page: A spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas said that the "critical thinking skills" language should not have been included in the document after the words "values clarification," reports Talking Points Memo. The members of the subcommittee "regret" the mistake, he told TPM—however, since the platform was approved, "it cannot be corrected until the next state convention in 2014." They regret the mistake, it sounds like, so I guess it's all good. Nothing to see here.
    - SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
      I see it, but even deeply conservative states do teach the principles of critical thinking. Picking Alabama as a random example (https://www.alsde.edu/sec/sct/COS/2016%20Revised%20Alabama%20English%20Language%20Arts%20Course%20of%20Study.pdf https://www.alsde.edu/sec/sct/COS/2016%20Revised%20Alabama%2...): * their curriculum explicitly aims to develop "lifelong, critical thinkers" * they feel "reading, writing, and critical thinking continue to play central roles in the development of literate individuals" * students learn to "Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning" I understand that you're saying beliefs such as creationism don't stand up to any real critical thought, and I agree. But I feel the same way about many beliefs that left-leaning people tend to hold.
      - BrianOnHN 6y ago
        > beliefs such as creationism don't stand up to any real critical thought, and I agree. > But I feel the same way about many beliefs that left-leaning people tend to hold. Can you provide an example of one of those beliefs that tend to be held by left-leaning people?
        SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
        Sure. Many people (both commentators and friends of mine) express extreme forms of race and gender essentialism, regularly referring to groups like "white men" or "black women" as though they all have the same thoughts, feelings, and desires.
- zarkov99 6y ago
  Yes, but whatever one you are thinking about, rest assured the other would do the same. This idea that half the country is bad and the other is virtuous is as infantile as it is dangerous.
  - CamperBob2 6y ago
    (Shrug) Whatever. It wasn't "the other party" who tried to teach me, at a public junior high school, that Jesus rode a dinosaur to work. One half of the country is bad. The sooner we pull our heads out of the ground (and other low regions) and face up to that truth, the better off we'll be. A key aspect of critical thought is that there is no inherent virtue in denying reality, and the reality is that BSAB is no longer a viable rationalization.
    - zarkov99 6y ago
      I am sorry, I really am, that you see the country that way. I humbly suggest that you might be shocked at what you find out if you hang out with some of the people you think are so bad. I think you will find they want the same things you do and have many of the same fears. At any rate, whatever one might think of the other half of the country, it seems we must find a way to live together. The alternative is too terrible to contemplate.
      - CamperBob2 6y ago
        Hang out with them? I grew up with them. That was enough for me, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. 66% of Republicans in a recent poll [1] say that Trump should not concede regardless of what happens in the courts. That amounts to advocacy of a coup d'etat. There is no room for negotiation with these people, any more than there was with the Shining Path or the Red Brigades or the Khmer Rouge. They have chosen their side and committed to it. The alternative is too terrible to contemplate. It's time we started contemplating it. Because the other side is doing just that, and then some. 1: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/23/2020-election-results-almost-no-trump-voters-consider-biden-the-winner.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/23/2020-election-results-almost...
zarkov99 6y ago
Yes, that. Simple things like a little stats, a default position of skepticism, an understanging that the message and the messenger are separate, would go a long way.

Not to get overtly political, but one of the two major parties will do literally anything to prevent that. Their ideology interprets critical thought as a direct assault, and they respond accordingly.

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
As far as I know, critical thinking is an explicit part of the school curriculum everywhere in the US. Do you know of an area where it's not taught?
- CamperBob2 6y ago
  See my other reply. Edit: for the benefit of the downvoters, here's a concrete example of what I'm talking about: https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2012/06/texas_gop_no_more_critical_thinking.html https://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2012/06/texas... From the bottom of the page: A spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas said that the "critical thinking skills" language should not have been included in the document after the words "values clarification," reports Talking Points Memo. The members of the subcommittee "regret" the mistake, he told TPM—however, since the platform was approved, "it cannot be corrected until the next state convention in 2014." They regret the mistake, it sounds like, so I guess it's all good. Nothing to see here.
  - SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
    I see it, but even deeply conservative states do teach the principles of critical thinking. Picking Alabama as a random example (https://www.alsde.edu/sec/sct/COS/2016%20Revised%20Alabama%20English%20Language%20Arts%20Course%20of%20Study.pdf https://www.alsde.edu/sec/sct/COS/2016%20Revised%20Alabama%2...): * their curriculum explicitly aims to develop "lifelong, critical thinkers" * they feel "reading, writing, and critical thinking continue to play central roles in the development of literate individuals" * students learn to "Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is valid and the evidence is relevant and sufficient; identify false statements and fallacious reasoning" I understand that you're saying beliefs such as creationism don't stand up to any real critical thought, and I agree. But I feel the same way about many beliefs that left-leaning people tend to hold.
    - BrianOnHN 6y ago
      > beliefs such as creationism don't stand up to any real critical thought, and I agree. > But I feel the same way about many beliefs that left-leaning people tend to hold. Can you provide an example of one of those beliefs that tend to be held by left-leaning people?
      - SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
        Sure. Many people (both commentators and friends of mine) express extreme forms of race and gender essentialism, regularly referring to groups like "white men" or "black women" as though they all have the same thoughts, feelings, and desires.
zarkov99 6y ago
Yes, but whatever one you are thinking about, rest assured the other would do the same. This idea that half the country is bad and the other is virtuous is as infantile as it is dangerous.
- CamperBob2 6y ago
  (Shrug) Whatever. It wasn't "the other party" who tried to teach me, at a public junior high school, that Jesus rode a dinosaur to work. One half of the country is bad. The sooner we pull our heads out of the ground (and other low regions) and face up to that truth, the better off we'll be. A key aspect of critical thought is that there is no inherent virtue in denying reality, and the reality is that BSAB is no longer a viable rationalization.
  - zarkov99 6y ago
    I am sorry, I really am, that you see the country that way. I humbly suggest that you might be shocked at what you find out if you hang out with some of the people you think are so bad. I think you will find they want the same things you do and have many of the same fears. At any rate, whatever one might think of the other half of the country, it seems we must find a way to live together. The alternative is too terrible to contemplate.
    - CamperBob2 6y ago
      Hang out with them? I grew up with them. That was enough for me, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual. 66% of Republicans in a recent poll [1] say that Trump should not concede regardless of what happens in the courts. That amounts to advocacy of a coup d'etat. There is no room for negotiation with these people, any more than there was with the Shining Path or the Red Brigades or the Khmer Rouge. They have chosen their side and committed to it. The alternative is too terrible to contemplate. It's time we started contemplating it. Because the other side is doing just that, and then some. 1: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/23/2020-election-results-almost-no-trump-voters-consider-biden-the-winner.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/23/2020-election-results-almost...

zarkov99 6y ago

Yes, that. Simple things like a little stats, a default position of skepticism, an understanging that the message and the messenger are separate, would go a long way.