Siegel's reasons conception: critical thinking as being appropriately moved by reasons¶

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Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 theoretical), q1 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

Harvey Siegel's plenary paper presents a conception in which critical thinking is closely linked to reasons and rationality: 'a critical thinker is one who is appropriately moved by reasons.' The account has two essential components: skills and abilities of reason assessment, and the critical spirit, a set of dispositions, habits of mind and character traits that dispose a person to demand reasons and to conform belief, judgment and action to the results of fair-minded evaluation of reasons. Siegel argues both components are necessary and only jointly sufficient, making critical thinking an ideal of a certain sort of person as much as a certain sort of thinking.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Both the reason assessment component and the critical spirit component must be present; either alone is insufficient

Constraints¶

• Siegel frames the conception as general and subject-neutral while accepting genuine subject specificity in some principles of reason assessment

Target Learners¶

• undergraduate students
• students across all disciplines

Target Learning Objectives¶

• competent assessment of the probative force of reasons
• developing dispositions to demand and conform to reasons

Claims¶

• Principles of reason assessment are both subject-neutral and subject-specific [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Siegel's broad rationality: critical thinking as an educational and moral ideal grounding Constructivism
• The univocal language of inquiry: the language of reasons across disciplines
• Montclair conception of critical thinking as judgment supported by disciplinary canons
• Siegel's two-component account of critical thinking: reason assessment ability plus critical attitude
• Self-reflexive justificatory strategy: Siegel's self-reflexive answer to 'Why be rational?'

Examples¶

• Structure the curriculum around the language of reasons in each discipline

Key Sources¶

• Weinstein, Mark, Ed.; Oxman-Michelli, Wendy, Ed. (1989). Critical Thinking: Language and Inquiry across the Disciplines. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Institute for Critical Thinking (Upper Montclair, New Jersey, 1988). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED351305