Thinking Socratically

Cabrini College professors Sharon Schwarze and Harvey Lape were the speakers for our April meeting, discussing critical thinking as a philosophical process, not a destination. Critical thinking is an open rational dialogue between friends (or enemies) who are reasoning FROM something, rather than TO something. Beliefs are justified by other beliefs and are either warranted or unwarranted. Beliefs should make our lives easier with no unpleasant surprises. Attitudes that interfere with critical thinking are "truthiness" (the idea that some beliefs are immune from needing support), that critical thinking is wheel spinning because people will believe what they want, and the assertion that values are different from facts. They urged us all to be critical thinkers, not critical people.