From the Inside Flap
Use Critical Thinking in Every Part of Your Life
“Paul and Elder have devoted their careers to developing fairminded critical thinkers. In this book, they share deep insights into their best thinking about thinking. This book challenges us to become better in every aspect, to use our best thinking as a tool for social justice.”
--Dr. Daryl Watkins, Leadership Department Chair, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
“Richard Paul and Linda Elder’s latest collaboration advocates conscious thinking...for a...world mired in cultural assumptions, egocentric behaviors, and sociocentric actions. The text, chockful of examples, offers effective ways to uncover flawed thinking processes, examine inherited values, and expand our capacities for a peaceful world.”
--Dr. Richard LaManna, Academic Assessment, Bronx Community College, CUNY
“...Dr. Paul and Dr. Elder have developed an approach that stands in stark contrast to the tendency to embrace critical thinking as an essential, yet vaguely understood goal. The book inspires its readers to draw on methods grounded in wide-ranging examples...in order to reason effectively about the challenges that beleaguer the human condition.”
--Julie Stephens de Jonge, Professor of Spanish, University of Central Missouri
You are what you think.
Whatever you’re doing right now, whatever you want, and how you feel are all determined by the quality of your thinking. If you aren’t thinking clearly, you’re at the mercy of everyone from dishonest politicians to ad agencies. But most people never think about how they think. No wonder they’re susceptible to the frustration, pain, ineffectiveness, and financial loss that result directly from poor thinking.
This is your complete guide to becoming a better thinker in all facets of your life: at work, as a consumer, as a citizen, friend, parent, and even as a lover. Foundation for Critical Thinking leaders Drs. Richard Paul and Linda Elder teach the core skills of effective thinking; then they help you analyze your own thought, identify weaknesses, and overcome them.
Packed with exercises, powerful new visuals, and brand-new “test the idea” activities, Critical Thinking will empower you as never before: to discover new opportunities, avoid disastrous mistakes, and gain new clarity throughout your entire life.
Escape the poor thinking habits everyone falls prey to
Get past the egocentrism and sociocentrism that shackle your thinking
“Test the idea”--and see if you can use it in your life
Assess ideas for clarity, relevance, logic, accuracy, depth, precision, fairness, and more
Think far more effectively at work
Overcome the common obstacles to effective thinking in the workplace
Think strategically: Take responsibility for your own growth
Direct your thinking toward your most important goals
From the Back Cover
Use Critical Thinking in Every Part of Your Life
“Paul and Elder have devoted their careers to developing fairminded critical thinkers. In this book, they share deep insights into their best thinking about thinking. This book challenges us to become better in every aspect, to use our best thinking as a tool for social justice.”
--Dr. Daryl Watkins, Leadership Department Chair, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
“Richard Paul and Linda Elder’s latest collaboration advocates conscious thinking...for a...world mired in cultural assumptions, egocentric behaviors, and sociocentric actions. The text, chockful of examples, offers effective ways to uncover flawed thinking processes, examine inherited values, and expand our capacities for a peaceful world.”
--Dr. Richard LaManna, Academic Assessment, Bronx Community College, CUNY
“...Dr. Paul and Dr. Elder have developed an approach that stands in stark contrast to the tendency to embrace critical thinking as an essential, yet vaguely understood goal. The book inspires its readers to draw on methods grounded in wide-ranging examples...in order to reason effectively about the challenges that beleaguer the human condition.”
--Julie Stephens de Jonge, Professor of Spanish, University of Central Missouri
You are what you think.
Whatever you’re doing right now, whatever you want, and how you feel are all determined by the quality of your thinking. If you aren’t thinking clearly, you’re at the mercy of everyone from dishonest politicians to ad agencies. But most people never think about how they think. No wonder they’re susceptible to the frustration, pain, ineffectiveness, and financial loss that result directly from poor thinking.
This is your complete guide to becoming a better thinker in all facets of your life: at work, as a consumer, as a citizen, friend, parent, and even as a lover. Foundation for Critical Thinking leaders Drs. Richard Paul and Linda Elder teach the core skills of effective thinking; then they help you analyze your own thought, identify weaknesses, and overcome them.
Packed with exercises, powerful new visuals, and brand-new “test the idea” activities, Critical Thinking will empower you as never before: to discover new opportunities, avoid disastrous mistakes, and gain new clarity throughout your entire life.
Escape the poor thinking habits everyone falls prey to
Get past the egocentrism and sociocentrism that shackle your thinking
“Test the idea”--and see if you can use it in your life
Assess ideas for clarity, relevance, logic, accuracy, depth, precision, fairness, and more
Think far more effectively at work
Overcome the common obstacles to effective thinking in the workplace
Think strategically: Take responsibility for your own growth
Direct your thinking toward your most important goals
About the Author
Dr. Richard Paul is founder of the Foundation for Critical Thinking and director of research and professional development at the Center for Critical Thinking. He is an internationally recognized authority on critical thinking, with nine books and more than 200 articles on the subject. His views on critical thinking have been canvassed in the New York Times, Education Week, The Chronicle of Higher Education, American Teacher, Reader’s Digest, Educational Leadership, Newsweek, and U.S. News & World Repor t.
Dr. Linda Elder is an educational psychologist, executive director of the Center for Critical Thinking, and president of the Foundation for Critical Thinking. She is highly published and has a special interest in the relationship between cognition and effect, or thought and emotion. She has developed an original theory of the stages of critical thinking development. She is highly sought after as a speaker, and is a recognized leader in critical thinking.
The works of Linda Elder and Richard Paul have been translated into many languages including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Chinese, Turkish, Greek, Thai, and Korean. The growing demand for translations into increasing numbers of languages testifies to the emerging international recognition of the importance of critical thinking in human life. And it is a testament to the contributions of Paul and Elder to the growing field of critical thinking studies.
The Foundation for Critical Thinking seeks to promote essential change in society through the cultivation of fairminded, or strong-sense, critical thinking--thinking predisposed toward intellectual empathy, intellectual humility, intellectual perseverance, intellectual integrity, and intellectual responsibility. In a world of accelerating change, intensifying complexity, and increasing danger, critical thinking is now a requirement for economic and social survival. Contact the Foundation for Critical Thinking at www.criticalthinking.org.
