The dialogical theory of critical thinking I develop in this thesis portrays critical thinking fundamentally as a social practice. Yet in saying this I am not suggesting that critical thinking is a form of practical reason - to be contrasted with some notion of theoretical or pure reason - rather, I shall be seeking to do away with the dichotomy. In this sense the thesis falls within the domain of the postmodern, reflecting a general reappraisal of the relationship between mind and body, thinking and experience, individual and community. One of the central issues I seek to address is the way in which critical thinking is connected to personal identity on the one hand and to general principles and constraints on the other. These constraints will be both epistemic and moral. In characterizing critical thinking as a form of human activity, I suggest that critical thinking needs to be grounded not only in a theory of epistemology, but in a theory of persons. In characterizing critical thinking as a reflexive activity - involving reflection and deliberation - I suggest that we also need to ground it in a theory of self. In suggesting that persons and selves have uniqueness or autonomy, I suggest that a dialogical conception of critical thinking needs to accommodate plurality. Finally, in seeing critical thinking as a value, and not merely as a utility, I come to characterize critical thinking in terms of virtues.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/245378 |
| Creators | Glaser, Jennifer |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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