Finding the Issue and Conclusion

Here is a link to five essay exercises.

On October 6th, we found the issues and conclusions for the first four essays.

If you have time, please try to find the issue and conclusion of essay number five.

Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking (Class handout 10/6)

"This course helped me to expand my creativity and see things in a different and new way."
Student testimonial from TUJ`s website


Part 1

Please discuss these 2 questions with your partner and write your answers.

1) What is Creative Thinking?







2) How is Creative Thinking different from Critical Thinking?








Part 2

3-minute activity

Get into small groups (2 or 3 students).

Follow the instructions for 3 minutes.



When you are finished, answer this question.

What did you learn from this activity?

Critical Thinking and Logical Thinking

Today, we talked about the difference between Critical Thinking and Logical Thinking.

If you are interested in learning more about Logical Thinking, You should watch these videos by Marianne Talbot.


http://www.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/podcasts/critical_reasoning_for_beginners

I think they are very interesting but they are a bit difficult.

You might have to watch them more than once.

Good Luck!

Fear!

Don MacMillian is a very funny comedian.

In this video he is making fun of TV ads that try to scare people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xybh6nrgSwU&feature=endscreen

If you feel too much fear (or any strong emotion) then Critical Thinking becomes impossible.

Political Attack ad!

Think about the people who made this ad.

Do they want you to think critically about the issues in the video or do they just want you to have an emotional reaction?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Aohgrn1peA

Anti-Evolution stickers and Weak-Sense Critical Thinking

What is the origin of life on Earth?

How did so many different kinds of plants and animals come into existence?

Many people think evolution is the best explanation for the origin of human life on earth.

However, many people don`t believe this.

This data comes from:
* Jeff Hecht (19 August 2006). "Why doesn't America believe in evolution?". New Scientist 191 (2565): 11.
* a b Jon D. Miller, Eugenie C. Scott, Shinji Okamoto (11 August 2006). "Public Acceptance of Evolution". Science 313 (5788): 765–766. doi:10.1126/science.1126746. PMID 16902112.



In Georgia, the Cobb County School District put a disclaimer in science textbooks.

The sticker said:
“This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully and critically considered.”
 From www.smugbaldy.com/2005/01/14/evolution-critical-thinking-and-disclaimers-in-k-12-science-texts/


In 2005, a US District Court ruled that the Cobb County School District must stop putting these stickers on their science textbooks.

I think this is a case of weak-sense critical thinking.

Approaching any material with an open mind, studying it carefully and considering it critically is a great thing!

This disclaimer should be used for all material in all textbooks for students who are old enough to engage in critical thinking.

Strong-sense critical thinking is when all claims are evaluated with a critical mind.

Being critical only to things you don`t believe is weak-sense critical thinking.

The Myth of the "Right Answer"

In this video Ross (the man) and Phoebe (The woman) discuss evolution.

Ross is a scientist who believes that evolution is the "Right Answer".

He is very angry that Phoebe does not believe in evolution.

In the end, Phoebe convinces Ross that there is a chance (a very small chance) that he might be wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXr2kF0zEgI