Thinking critically about critical thinking: An unskilled inquiry into Quinn and McPeck

Journal of Philosophy of Education

Volumn 30, Issue 3, 1996, Pages 441-456

  Gardner, Peter ^a   Johnson, Steve ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK   (United Kingdom)

^b Academic Studies   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 18544389533     PISSN: 03098249     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9752.1996.tb00412.x     Document Type: Article

References (72)

1. Quinn, Victor (1994) In defence of critical thinking as a subject: if McPeck is wrong he is wrong, Journal of Philosophy of Education, 28, pp. 101-111. The works by McPeck that Quinn examines and to which we will refer are: McPeck, John E. (1981) Critical Thinking and Education (Oxford, Martin Robertson); and McPeck, John E. (1990) Teaching Critical Thinking (London, Routledge).
2. Quinn, Victor (1994) In defence of critical thinking as a subject: if McPeck is wrong he is wrong, Journal of Philosophy of Education, 28, pp. 101-111. The works by McPeck that Quinn examines and to which we will refer are: McPeck, John E. (1981) Critical Thinking and Education (Oxford, Martin Robertson); and McPeck, John E. (1990) Teaching Critical Thinking (London, Routledge).
3. Quinn, Victor (1994) In defence of critical thinking as a subject: if McPeck is wrong he is wrong, Journal of Philosophy of Education, 28, pp. 101-111. The works by McPeck that Quinn examines and to which we will refer are: McPeck, John E. (1981) Critical Thinking and Education (Oxford, Martin Robertson); and McPeck, John E. (1990) Teaching Critical Thinking (London, Routledge).
4. Scriven, Michael (1990) Foreword, in: McPeck (1990), p. xi.
5. Op. cit., p. x.
6. The phrase 'extreme, sage generalisations' is used by Quinn in his account of McPeck's view of what CT courses transmit. See Quinn (1994), p. 105. See also Section III in this paper.
7. Quinn (1994), p. 102.
8. Beyer, Barry K. (1985) Critical thinking: what is it?, Social Education, 49, p. 273.
9. Ibid.
10. In addition to the eight accounts of CT outlined by Beyer, we find no support for Quinn's belief in any leading treatment of CT. See, for example, Scriven, Michael (1976) Reasoning (New York, McGraw-Hill); Blagg, N. R. et al. (1988) Somerset Thinking Skills Course - Foundations for Problem Solving (Oxford, Blackwell); and Meno Thinking Skills Service: Guide to the Critical Thinking Component (1993) (Pilot Scheme 1993-1994) (Cambridge, University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate).
11. In addition to the eight accounts of CT outlined by Beyer, we find no support for Quinn's belief in any leading treatment of CT. See, for example, Scriven, Michael (1976) Reasoning (New York, McGraw-Hill); Blagg, N. R. et al. (1988) Somerset Thinking Skills Course - Foundations for Problem Solving (Oxford, Blackwell); and Meno Thinking Skills Service: Guide to the Critical Thinking Component (1993) (Pilot Scheme 1993-1994) (Cambridge, University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate).
12. In addition to the eight accounts of CT outlined by Beyer, we find no support for Quinn's belief in any leading treatment of CT. See, for example, Scriven, Michael (1976) Reasoning (New York, McGraw-Hill); Blagg, N. R. et al. (1988) Somerset Thinking Skills Course - Foundations for Problem Solving (Oxford, Blackwell); and Meno Thinking Skills Service: Guide to the Critical Thinking Component (1993) (Pilot Scheme 1993-1994) (Cambridge, University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate).
13. See Lakoff, George (1971) Presupposition and relative well-formedness, in: Steinberg, D. D. and Jakobovits, L. A. (Eds), Semantics (London, Cambridge University Press), esp. pp. 333-334.
14. McPeck (1990), p. 3. Cited in Quinn (1994), p. 103.
15. Quinn (1994), p. 103.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid.
18. Quinn (1994), p. 102.
19. Op. cit., p. 103.
20. Op. cit., p. 101.
21. McPeck (1990), p. 10. Cited in Quinn (1994), p. 104. Quinn's emphasis.
22. Quinn (1994), p. 104.
23. See op. cit., pp. 104-105.
24. Op. cit., p. 105.
25. McPeck says, 'While its (CT's) prescriptions are generally true, they are also hollow, more truistic than true' (McPeck (1990) p. 14). Quinn summarises this aspect of McPeck's position as being that CT consists of 'hollow, truistic prescriptions' (Quinn (1994), p. 104) and 'extreme, sage generalisations' (op. cit., p. 105).
26. The label 'the fallacy of unreasonable extremes' first occurs in the title of the third section of Quinn's paper (See Quinn (1994), p. 104); the case that McPeck is guilty of this fallacy occurs a page later (See op. cit., p. 105).
27. McPeck (1990), p. 14.
28. See Quinn (1994), pp. 106-107.
29. Op. cit., p. 106.
30. McPeck (1990), p. 48. Cited in Quinn (1994), p. 107.
31. Quinn (1994), p. 107.
32. McPeck (1990), p. 8.
33. Ibid.
34. Scriven (1976), p. 173.
35. McPeck (1990), p. 8.
36. Ibid.
37. Op. cit., p. 9.
38. See op. cit., p. 125, note 3. See also Strawson, P. F. (1952) Introduction to Logical Theory (London, Methuen), pp. 175-179.
39. Ennis, Robert H. (1961) Assumption-finding, in: Smith, B. O. and Ennis, R. H. (Eds), Language and Concepts in Education (Chicago, Rand McNally), esp. pp. 167-176.
40. Ennis, Robert H. (1962) A concept of critical thinking, Harvard Educational Review, 32, esp. pp. 98-101.
41. Ennis (1961), p. 170. See also Ennis (1962) pp. 99-100 for the various demanding (and domain-specific?) criteria that he wants assumptions to satisfy.
42. See Ennis (1961), pp. 163-164; and Ennis (1962), p. 101.
43. See, for example, Scriven (1976), p. 40.
44. See Meno Thinking Skills Service: Guide to Critical Thinking Component (1993), esp. pp. 9-12.
45. Quinn (1994), pp. 106-7.
46. See, for example, Beyer (1985), p. 273; Blair, J. A. (1988) Current issues in informal logic and critical thinking, in: Fisher, A. (Ed.), Critical Thinking (Norwich, University of East Anglia Press), esp. p. 20. See also Ennis (1961); Ennis (1962); Scriven (1976); Meno Thinking Skills Service: Guide to Critical Thinking Component (1993); and Moore, Brooke N. and Parker, Richard (1992) Critical Thinking (Mountain View, California, Mayfield), esp. p. 230.
47. See, for example, Beyer (1985), p. 273; Blair, J. A. (1988) Current issues in informal logic and critical thinking, in: Fisher, A. (Ed.), Critical Thinking (Norwich, University of East Anglia Press), esp. p. 20. See also Ennis (1961); Ennis (1962); Scriven (1976); Meno Thinking Skills Service: Guide to Critical Thinking Component (1993); and Moore, Brooke N. and Parker, Richard (1992) Critical Thinking (Mountain View, California, Mayfield), esp. p. 230.
48. See, for example, Beyer (1985), p. 273; Blair, J. A. (1988) Current issues in informal logic and critical thinking, in: Fisher, A. (Ed.), Critical Thinking (Norwich, University of East Anglia Press), esp. p. 20. See also Ennis (1961); Ennis (1962); Scriven (1976); Meno Thinking Skills Service: Guide to Critical Thinking Component (1993); and Moore, Brooke N. and Parker, Richard (1992) Critical Thinking (Mountain View, California, Mayfield), esp. p. 230.
49. The literature on Strawson's views on presuppositions and on his replies to criticisms is quite extensive. Here are just some sources that may prove useful: Russell, B. (1958) Mr Strawson on referring, Mind, 77, pp. 395-399; Nerlich, G. (1965) Presupposition and entailment, American Philosophical Quarterly, 2; Haack, Susan (1978) Philosophy of Logics (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press), esp. Ch. 5; Grayling, A. C. (1982) An Introduction to Philosophical Logic (Brighton, Harvester Press), esp. Ch. 4.
50. The literature on Strawson's views on presuppositions and on his replies to criticisms is quite extensive. Here are just some sources that may prove useful: Russell, B. (1958) Mr Strawson on referring, Mind, 77, pp. 395-399; Nerlich, G. (1965) Presupposition and entailment, American Philosophical Quarterly, 2; Haack, Susan (1978) Philosophy of Logics (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press), esp. Ch. 5; Grayling, A. C. (1982) An Introduction to Philosophical Logic (Brighton, Harvester Press), esp. Ch. 4.
51. The literature on Strawson's views on presuppositions and on his replies to criticisms is quite extensive. Here are just some sources that may prove useful: Russell, B. (1958) Mr Strawson on referring, Mind, 77, pp. 395-399; Nerlich, G. (1965) Presupposition and entailment, American Philosophical Quarterly, 2; Haack, Susan (1978) Philosophy of Logics (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press), esp. Ch. 5; Grayling, A. C. (1982) An Introduction to Philosophical Logic (Brighton, Harvester Press), esp. Ch. 4.
52. The literature on Strawson's views on presuppositions and on his replies to criticisms is quite extensive. Here are just some sources that may prove useful: Russell, B. (1958) Mr Strawson on referring, Mind, 77, pp. 395-399; Nerlich, G. (1965) Presupposition and entailment, American Philosophical Quarterly, 2; Haack, Susan (1978) Philosophy of Logics (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press), esp. Ch. 5; Grayling, A. C. (1982) An Introduction to Philosophical Logic (Brighton, Harvester Press), esp. Ch. 4.
53. Watson, Goodwin and Glaser, Edward M. (1964) Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (New York, Harcourt, Brace and World).
54. Fisher, Alec (1991) Critical thinking, in: Coles, M. and Robinson, W. D. (Eds), Teaching Thinking: A Survey of Programmes in Education (Bristol, Classical Press), p. 50.
55. Quinn (1994), p. 101.
56. Op. cit., p. 107.
57. The Report of the Committee of Ten on Secondary School Subjects of the National Education Association of 1893 (New York, American Book Co.), p. 72.
58. Russell, J. E. (1907) German Higher Schools (New York, Longmans), p. 74.
59. Perkins, D. N. (1985) General cognitive skills: why not?, in: Chipman, S. F., Segal, J. W. and Glaser, R. (Eds), Thinking and Learning Skills, 2, Research and Open Questions (New York, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates), p. 348.
60. Singley, M. K. and Anderson, J. R. (1989) The Transfer of Cognitive Skill (Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press), p. 25.
61. See Bransford, J. D. et al. (1985) Improving thinking and learning skills: an analysis of three approaches, in Chipman S. F. et al., op. cit., p. 202.
62. See, for example, Goldstein, I. et al. (1976) Artificial intelligence, language and the study of knowledge, in: Artificial Intelligence and Language Comprehension (Washington, D. C., National Institute of Education); Simon, H. A. (1980) Problem solving and education, in: Tuma, D. T. and Reif, F. (Eds), Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching and Research (Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates); Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1985) Logical thinking; does it occur in daily life? Can it be taught? in: Chipman, S. F. et al., op. cit.; Gardner, H. (1993) Multiple Intelligences (New York, Basic Books).
63. See, for example, Goldstein, I. et al. (1976) Artificial intelligence, language and the study of knowledge, in: Artificial Intelligence and Language Comprehension (Washington, D. C., National Institute of Education); Simon, H. A. (1980) Problem solving and education, in: Tuma, D. T. and Reif, F. (Eds), Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching and Research (Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates); Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1985) Logical thinking; does it occur in daily life? Can it be taught? in: Chipman, S. F. et al., op. cit.; Gardner, H. (1993) Multiple Intelligences (New York, Basic Books).
64. See, for example, Goldstein, I. et al. (1976) Artificial intelligence, language and the study of knowledge, in: Artificial Intelligence and Language Comprehension (Washington, D. C., National Institute of Education); Simon, H. A. (1980) Problem solving and education, in: Tuma, D. T. and Reif, F. (Eds), Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching and Research (Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates); Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1985) Logical thinking; does it occur in daily life? Can it be taught? in: Chipman, S. F. et al., op. cit.; Gardner, H. (1993) Multiple Intelligences (New York, Basic Books).
65. See, for example, Goldstein, I. et al. (1976) Artificial intelligence, language and the study of knowledge, in: Artificial Intelligence and Language Comprehension (Washington, D. C., National Institute of Education); Simon, H. A. (1980) Problem solving and education, in: Tuma, D. T. and Reif, F. (Eds), Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching and Research (Hillsdale, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates); Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1985) Logical thinking; does it occur in daily life? Can it be taught? in: Chipman, S. F. et al., op. cit.; Gardner, H. (1993) Multiple Intelligences (New York, Basic Books).
66. Hunt, G. M. K. (1989) Skills, facts and artificial intelligence, in: Coles, M. J. and Robinson, W. D. (Eds), Critical Thinking: A Survey of Programmes in Education (Bristol, The Bristol Press), p. 23.
67. Op. cit., p. 26.
68. See, for example, Johnson-Laird, P. N. and Byrne, R. M. J. (1992) Deduction (Hove, Lawrence, Erlbaum Associates); and Hirchfield, L. A. and Gelman, S. A. (Eds) (1994), Mapping the Mind: Domain Specificity in Cognition and Culture (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press)
69. See, for example, Johnson-Laird, P. N. and Byrne, R. M. J. (1992) Deduction (Hove, Lawrence, Erlbaum Associates); and Hirchfield, L. A. and Gelman, S. A. (Eds) (1994), Mapping the Mind: Domain Specificity in Cognition and Culture (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press)
70. Quinn (1994), p. 108.
71. Ibid.
72. Whitehead, A. N. (1959) The Aims of Education and Other Essays (London, Ernest Benn Ltd), p. 10.