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Critical Thinking (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series) Paperback – Illustrated, April 7, 2020

by Jonathan Haber (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 506 ratings
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An insightful guide to the practice, teaching, and history of critical thinking—from Aristotle and Plato to Thomas Dewey—for teachers, students, and anyone looking to hone their critical thinking skills.

Critical thinking is regularly cited as an essential 21st century skill, the key to success in school and work. Given the propensity to believe fake news, draw incorrect conclusions, and make decisions based on emotion rather than reason, it might even be said that critical thinking is vital to the survival of a democratic society.

But what, exactly, is critical thinking? Jonathan Haber explains how the concept of critical thinking emerged, how it has been defined, and how critical thinking skills can be taught and assessed. Haber describes the term's origins in such disciplines as philosophy, psychology, and science. He examines the components of critical thinking, including

• structured thinking
• language skills 
• background knowledge
• information literacy
• intellectual humility
• empathy and open-mindedness

Haber argues that the most important critical thinking issue today is that not enough people are doing enough of it. Fortunately, critical thinking can be taught, practiced, and evaluated. This book offers a guide for teachers, students, and aspiring critical thinkers everywhere, including advice for educational leaders and policy makers on how to make the teaching and learning of critical thinking an educational priority and practical reality.
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  1. Part of series
    The MIT Press Essential Knowledge
  2. Print length
    232 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    The MIT Press
  5. Publication date
    April 7, 2020
  6. Dimensions
    5 x 0.61 x 7 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0262538288
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0262538282
  9. See all details
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  1. Pragmatism holds that things are defined by their practical effects rather than their empirical or metaphysical properties.
    Highlighted by 206 Kindle readers
  2. Aristotle called hidden premises enthymemes and teasing out such unstated premises is one of the most productive steps in argument analysis, since the most important point of an argument is often implied but not stated directly.
    Highlighted by 154 Kindle readers
  3. Are we taught, or raised, to hold conditional beliefs, put them to honest tests, and stand ready to reject them if they do not conform with facts and observations, regardless of the subject under consideration?
    Highlighted by 140 Kindle readers
  4. How We Think is grounded in a psychological insight, drawn from Pragmatic ideas first articulated by Peirce, that sees thinking as a means to the end of dispelling doubt, doubt being a mental state that creates visceral pain that people will do anything to eliminate.
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jonathan Haber is an educational researcher, writer and entrepreneur working in the fields of critical-thinking education, assessment, and technology-enabled learning whose work has been featured in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and the Wall Street Journal. He is the author of another MIT Press Essential Knowledge book, MOOCS, and The Critical Voter.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The MIT Press; Illustrated edition (April 7, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 232 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0262538288
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0262538282
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.61 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 506 ratings

About the author

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Jonathan Haber

Jonathan Haber

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Jonathan Haber is an educational researcher, writer and recovering entrepreneur working in the field of technology-enabled learning and teacher education. His Degree of Freedom One Year BA project, which involved trying to learn the equivalent of a BA in just twelve months using only Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and other forms of free learning, has been featured in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Wall Street Journal and other major media sources. His writing on education-related topics has also appeared in Slate, EdSurge and other publications.

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4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
506 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars Educational
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2024
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Easy read and great arguments on why critical thinking is so important and teaching how, could change our tribal culture.
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Cbartow
5.0 out of 5 stars Critical Thinking is the Essential Skill Set for Today's Learners and Workers
Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2020
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This very readable and approachable book on critical thinking is a great introduction for those who are wondering what critical thinking is, as well as an insightful history of the topic. Jonathan's open and inviting writing style makes an academic topic accessible to any educator who wants to understand how to intentionally bring critical thinking skills into any classroom. From its origins in the study of Logic and Rhetoric, critical thinking hasn't become less important as digital resources and tools help us think and do in the 21st Century--in fact, Mr. Haber provides insight and practical ideas for teaching critical thinking skills that will make a difference in the lives of all learners and workers. Great read!
4 people found this helpful
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Kevin L. Nenstiel
4.0 out of 5 stars Thinking About Thinking, and the Meaning of Meaning
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2022
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Throughout my teaching career, I regularly heard “critical thinking” extolled as one of my field’s primary goals. In multiple fields, but especially in fundamental core courses like freshman writing (which is what I taught), we repeatedly heard that students should emerge with more refined and practicable critical thinking skills. Seldom did I hear what those skills were or how they were evaluated; their innate goodness was just viscerally understood.

Educational entrepreneur and curriculum writer Jonathan Haber spent his career trying to better understand what critical thinking was, and how its principles could be made portable. This, one of his last publications before his abrupt passing, compiles his insights into an easily readable pamphlet for general or specialist readers. It encompasses the important debates, and explores them in plain English. It’s a good introduction to the necessary components.

Haber introduces general principles and history of critical thinking. Though descended from the general history of Western intellectual process, critical thinking is a distinctly American distillation of that tradition, based on making mental processes practical. From Plato and Aristotle, to William James and Thomas Dewey, Haber lays out the critical thinking heritage in brief, with an emphasis on useful concepts. It’s fun, exciting, and intellectually dynamic.

What, though, actually is critical thinking? Haber acknowledges that remains controversial, but that academic consensus exists on several important points. Critical thinking involves reason based on evidence and testing, incorporating both scientific method and rhetorical communication. Useful application of these skills usually boils down to three important traits: “knowledge, skills, and dispositions.” That is, knowing information, using that information productively, and maintaining character traits like curiosity, open-mindedness, and creativity.

Though Haber dedicates an entire chapter to teaching and evaluating critical thinking, he doesn’t do anything as prescriptive as writing lesson plans. Though he describes having written social science curricula himself, he seems to prize individual and institutional autonomy. And he admits that evaluating critical thinking is slippery. Though scholars have written evaluative rubrics, none has achieved widespread use; evaluation is ultimately subjective.

One declaration Haber is willing to make: repeated studies demonstrate that teaching critical thinking explicitly, yields better outcomes than teaching it implicitly. Expecting students to absorb critical thinking skills through osmosis, in classes like math, writing, science, and history, generally doesn’t work. Students learn best when teachers explain exactly what skills matter, demonstrate them in action, and give students ample opportunity to practice.

I really like Haber’s process. He directly explains concepts I needed to learn through trial and error, and never wholly figured out how to apply. Though he doesn’t write teachers’ lesson plans for them, he provides enough access to existing resources, and enough keywords for ongoing research, that committed teachers can close that gap themselves. If I’m ever given another opportunity to teach, I’ll apply Haber’s principles from the begining.

However.

Much as I appreciate Haber’s tutelage, I cannot help noticing shortcomings. First, Haber lavishly praises reason and analysis as benchmarks of critical thinking. He never acknowledges a growing corpus of scholarship, led by researchers like Jonathan Haidt, who contend (with evidence) that most human decision-making is instantaneous and preconscious. Though I think reason can retrain Haidt’s preconscious choices, such retraining must happen openly and deliberately. Which, right now, it isn’t.

Also, Haber praises advances in American critical education, and discusses how critical thinking makes for better citizens. How to reconcile this civil application with the evidence of increasing political intolerance around us? As critical thinking has become more widespread in American education, our body politic has become more divided, characterized by factionalism, in-group thinking, and violence. Almost like critical thinking in school isn’t enough on its own.

Indeed, one of Haber’s critical thinking virtues is “charity,” understanding the other side in the most forgiving terms possible. In today’s politics, one side desperately tries to play fair, court the center, and make peace; the other doubles down on sectarianism and anger. That side also decries higher-order education as anti-American and evil. You can’t educate people out of insularity when they consider fairness itself an immoral educational goal.

Therefore, let’s read Haber’s guide as introductory, not exhaustive. Haber himself talks about reading others’ claims to find the unspoken premise. In Haber’s case, the unspoken premise is that critical thinking is a challenge, not a goal: spreading deeper thought undermines some power structures, and those power structures respond by opposing education. Haber’s premise is incomplete for not addressing current affairs. But it is, nevertheless, a necessary first step to actually dealing with the problem.
46 people found this helpful
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Markus Hartley
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Introduction to an Important Topic
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2020
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Before reading this book I never realized how much I take the concept of "critical thinking" for granted... It was refreshing to step back and learn about how the concept evolved over time, how I might enhance my own critical thinking abilities, and how schools & society can consider ways to make us all better critical thinkers. It was a fascinating, fun, and quick read, and I'd recommend it to anyone that wants to upgrade their own critical thinking skills.
12 people found this helpful
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Kathryn Ivey
3.0 out of 5 stars Good book for a class. Not an everyday read
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2021
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This was a book I purchased for a graduate class, and it was an easy read, but not one I would recommend for recreational reading.
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Lim Li Yin
5.0 out of 5 stars Rigorous yet concise
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2020
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A concise and succinct outline of the genealogy of critical thinking, the key issues and controversies as well as the way forward. I particularly appreciate the effort to reference the various milestones in this critical thinking journey by humankind. At once a brief intellectual history as well as a handy practical guide.
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peter verona
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best introductory texts on analytical and generative logic
Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2021
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Great balance of breadth and depth on critical, creative, and pragmatic reasoning. Highly recommended introductory and highly accessible text on these topics.
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John Chancellor
4.0 out of 5 stars More Academic Than an How to Guide
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2020
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I understand that everyone’s thinking is impacted by logical fallacies and cognitive biases. I realize if a person wishes to improve their life’s circumstances, they need to start by improving their thinking. I selected Critical Thinking by Jonathan Haber in an effort to improve my own thinking process.

I view the book as having sound information but not that helpful to someone whose primary purpose is to improve their own thinking process. The book has a decided academic flavor to it. Mr. Haber spends a lot of time discussing the place of critical thinking in the school curriculum. While I am certain this would be of interest and helpful to educators, it was neither to me.

In the book there is a lot of time spend on logical structure, starting with Aristotle’s syllogisms. For those who have never studied logic, this might be helpful. But the premise, premise, conclusion is not what happens in everyday life. For me it would have been better to focus on practical applications, identifying the more common logical fallacies and cognitive biases which take our thinking down the wrong path.

It is a fairly quick and easy read. There are some good arguments why we should all be more concerned with learning/teaching critical thinking skills.

Bottom line, this is a good book for academics. It is not the best resource for those wishing to improve their own critical thinking skills.
87 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Joseph Sylvester Pampliega
5.0 out of 5 stars A quick look into essentially what we all need
Reviewed in Canada on May 13, 2023
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It's a brief but substantial crash course on critical thinking, and in the long run essentially, what makes us human. And from that - if we ever tap into that skill - make our lives, the world, our reality, our context, better ...and brighter.
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André
5.0 out of 5 stars Perfeito
Reviewed in Brazil on January 27, 2021
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Ótimo, chegou dentro do prazo e bem embalado!
One person found this helpful
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Ignacio
5.0 out of 5 stars Es una buena introducción al tema
Reviewed in Mexico on October 19, 2020
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Aunque es un texto enfocado a la pedagogía ofrece información relevante al público en general, creo que vale la pena leerlo sobre todo en estos tiempos de extrema polarización
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Britta
5.0 out of 5 stars Kompakte Zusammenfassung
Reviewed in Germany on October 8, 2021
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Das Buch gibt eine gute Einführung in den Begriff des Kritischen Denkens und zeigt damit zugleich auf, welche Fähigkeit in der heutigen digitalisierten Welt allmählich abhanden kommt: in der allgemeinen Informationsschwemme Sachverhalte kritisch hinterfragen zu können. Es ist kurz und knapp, passt als Lektüre auf einer längeren Bahnfahrt, und macht Interesse, sich in die Thematik weiter zu vertiefen.
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Andrew Sheehy
2.0 out of 5 stars Hardly anything about how to think critically.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 6, 2020
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This book is mainly about the critical thinking movement, not critical thinking itself.

So we read a lot about the history of critical thinking, the institutions that are trying to foster critical thinking, what educators are doing to integrate critical thinking into curricula and the role critical thinking should play in policy. There's also a lot of content on definitional topics.

But there's almost nothing about how to think critically, save for a few rather abstract examples.

For me, the book misses an opportunity to tackle some of the issues of or day head on.

So we see the author talking about 'fake news', 'political division', incremental science and election results in a superficial way - which means in a way that all readers will agree with what is written, because the author never gets into the specifics.

For example, on p162, the author implies that one side of the political divide in the U.S. is more correct than the other - but he never explains what side that is. There are no names - nothing that all that woudl bring the topic to life.

I'm left wondering if the though is just weak or if the publisher did not want the book to turn into a political discourse? If we cannot apply critical thinking to today's political situation - and call an apple an apple, then what is the point??

No matter what side of the divide the reader thinks he is on then he will take away from this book the message that he is on the right side.

For a book that proclaims to be about critical thinking this must be a failure.

The author should perhaps critically analyse his own thinking: what led to the book being mis-titled book and stopped the author getting into the specifics of the topics it includes?

I'd recommend the book as an addition to your library, but don't expect to learn much it about how to apply critical thinking to what is affecting your life right now.
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