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Critical thinking isn't negative thinking.

Do you think that most people believe that it is negative thinking?

Here's a wee excerpt from this little document on CT:

A Definition:
Critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it.
The Result:
A well cultivated critical thinker:
• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
• gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;
• comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
• thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
• communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective
thinking. It requires rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.

Although the statistics I looked at are pretty old, the last time I looked, most therapists work by themselves, for themselves. Do those first 4 bullets then become even more important to us, or less important to us because of that fact? Or does it matter what situation we're in?

Is there a type of sociocentrism in the massage industry?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura Allen on July 7, 2011 at 3:37am

I think (critically) that it's a sad fact that 95% just want to maintain the status quo. People don't like having their beliefs challenged--or proven wrong--and when you use critical thinking skills, so much of what we've learned in massage school falls apart. I've been beating the drum for EBP and research for a year or two now, and except for a few of us who really do care about it, it seems to fall on deaf ears.

Permalink Reply by Vlad on July 7, 2011 at 1:48pm

Hi Laura,

I know what you mean about the deaf ears. The attention given to CTS is slightly different from EBP though - at least it is in my mind.

Here are some of my thoughts on it:

- when you empower students with good critical thinking skills, the educator *could* view it as dis-empowering to them. In other words, "believe what I say and don't raise questions" is much easier to say a group of weak critical thinkers than strong ones. BUT the educators that encourage the development of good CTS are usually the ones that make the most impact - they force people to think well.

- Empowering students with good critical thinking skills also lessens the ability of having "guru" status. the way it is now, there are so much guru-worshipping going on, I don't think it would be welcomed. I think we like our gurus. (I'm not a big fan of guru-worshipping, but I can understand why it happens).

- People don't like being taken out of their comfort zones. Weak critical thinking has become comfortable for everyone and everyone is accepting of everyone else - their beliefs, their claims and tradition is all just great, because we're "live and let livey" types. Very, very few are addressing how bogus claims can be a negative. And when anyone does, they're immediately attacked. That's a huge red light as a sign of weak critical thinking overall in the profession.

- Maybe people can't be bothered to think. It's easier to have someone else do it for you and tell you what to think.