What are the main ideas ?
alrushidanBecoming a fair-minded thinker
May AlGhamdi 201500279
Outline
Weak Vs. Strong Sense Critical Thinking
What Does Fair-mindedness Require
Intellectual Humility: Knowledge Of Ignorance
Intellectual Courage: Being Willing To Challenge Beliefs
Intellectual Empathy: Entertaining Opposing Views
Intellectual Integrity: Holding Ourselves To The Same Standards To Which We Hold Others
Intellectual Perseverance: Working Through Complexity And Frustration
Confidence In Reason: Recognizing That Good Reasoning Has Proven Its Worth Its Worth
Intellectual Autonomy: Being An Independent Thinker
Recognizing The Interdependence Of Intellectual Virtues
Natural Vs. Critical Thinking
Conclusion
Weak Vs. Strong Sense Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is used for self-centeredness and fair-mindedness.
Weak sense critical thinkers miss important high-level skills.
Weak sense critical thinkers come in the form of sophistic thinkers.
Strong sense critical thinkers are more on the fair-minded side.
Strong sense critical thinkers are more willing to change their opinion when other choices are introduced.
What fair-mindedness requires
Ability to treat all viewpoints alike; avoiding all chances to ever be biased or prejudiced when giving their part of the argument.
Intellectual Humility: Knowledge Of Ignorance
Intellectually humble people’s ability to perform and think.
Recognizing our boundaries and biases, not claiming to have any more than what we already have.
Opposite of intellectual arrogance.
Intellectual Courage: Being Willing To Challenge Beliefs
Ability to address beliefs or viewpoints that are reinforced either on the individual or their surrounding community. (similar to the idea of skepticism)
Can investigate further in the reinforced ideologies rather than following the crowd. (i.e. will explain when things that are feared shouldn’t be feared.
Opposite of intellectual cowardice.
Intellectual Empathy: Entertaining Opposing Views
Putting our feet in others’ shoes, ability to relate.
Bases of human thinking nature emerges from human life.
Opposite of intellectual centeredness.
Intellectual Integrity: Holding Ourselves To The Same Standards To Which We Hold Others
Being a paragon of virtue.
Expecting others to have the same basics standards we have.
Honestly admitting discrepancies, inconsistencies, lack of correlation, etc.
Opposite of intellectual hypocrisy.
Intellectual Perseverance: Working Through Complexity And Frustration
Working our way through complexities despite frustrations and being pushed aback and being challenged by the challenges we have to undergo during the process.
Opposite of intellectual laziness.
Confidence In Reason: Recognizing That Good Reasoning Has Proven Its Worth Its Worth
People will always rely on reasoning and having valid ones to back up arguments or information.
People start to form their opinions on different matters in different grounds after witnessing proofs on certain aspects of the overall matter.
Out general logical system of our thinking nature improves when our opinions and made decisions rely on accurate reasoning and valid proofs, for that there always is correlation between facts yet none with not so much with information.
Opposite of distrust in reasoning.
Intellectual Autonomy: Being An Independent Thinker
Thinking for ourselves while adhering to appropriate standards.
Requires
Complete authorship of a person over themselves in order to perform well when independently thinking.
Not controlled by emotions
Being of competency nature.
Relates to confidence in reasoning.
Opposite of intellectual conformity (compliance with societal standards)
Recognizing The Interdependence Of Intellectual Virtues
Rightfully adjusting due to having mutual dependence on the different characteristics of a good intellectual critical thinker.
Knowing that our “alienated” viewpoints are no harm, as long as they’re backed up with reasoning that is valid to us.
Recognizing that, sometimes, one must avoid scrutinizing into inferred information for that arrogance can also, sometimes, be useful. (flexibly)
Conclusion
Being a fair minded thinker requires many characteristics, self assurance and confidence being the most important.
Relating to other people’s nature is important in order to achieve fair-mindedness.
One must always back up their arguments with clear valid reasoning in order to be believed and taken seriously.
Work cited
Elder, L. and Paul, R. (2002). Becoming a Fair-minded Thinker. Critical thinking: Tools for taking charge of your professional and Personal Life. (pp. 21-50)