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THE DISPOSITIONS OF CRITICAL THINKERS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 February 2018

Gerry Dunne
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Abstract

Most theorists agree that the ability to think critically is distinct from the disposition to do so. Many of us may have the ability to be critical thinkers, but unless we are consistently and internally motivated to think and reason this way, these abilities are effectively redundant. Such dispositions are both intellectual character traits, and dispositions to behave in certain ways. As such, the first step to understanding critical thinking requires us to develop an operationalized taxonomy of critical thinking dispositions. To avoid explicating these dispositions in abstracto, this article draws upon a murder trial in order to demonstrate the central role dispositions play in critical thinking.

Type
Research Article
Information
Think , Volume 17 , Issue 48 , Spring 2018 , pp. 67 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2018 

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References

Notes

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9 As evidenced by Wittgenstein and Putnam, both of whom were ridiculed for changing their views at the time.