What is Critical Thinking, and why is it essential to the reflection in Caribbean Thought? This week's lecture Topic: Conceptualizing the Course: Critical Thinking and its importance to studying the Caribbean.
Consider:
A. What Is the Caribbean, and What is the socio-economic context? The Caribbean is an invention of the 20th century? Dependency, Uncompetitive, Developing, Paradise, Poverty, Black and Brown, “Prenetratable”.
B. Where is the Caribbean, and are the Caribbean People American? Part of the “New World”
C. What is Critical Thinking and how is it important to studying Caribbean Thought? Caribbean as an Invention.
D. Do we have any Urban Indian Heritages in the Caribbean? Challenges Arawak to Africans thought. (Renaldo McKenzie, “Have we Misunderstood Our Heritage?”
Important Topics/Contributors
1. Immigration
2. Critical Thinking – Today’s Lecture
3. Subaltern/History from Below
4. Misclassified Urban Indians – UIHS – Have we misunderstood our heritage?
5. Dependent Capitalism – Renaldo McKenzie
6. Democratic Socialism – Keith and Novella Nelson
7. Neoliberal Globalization/Strategy
8. Franz Fanon/Homi Bhabha
9. Bob Marley/Louise Bennet/Rex Nettleford
10. Stephanie Black and Jamaica Kincaid
11. CLR James, Norman Girman, Walter Rodney, V.S. Naipaul, Ramesh Sarwan, Bishop, Castro and Manley/Seaga
12. Inequality, Poverty, Penetration, Theology, Technology and Opportunity
Critical thinking involves challenging previously accepted truths and beliefs, a process essential in Africology and Pan-African studies that encompasses subaltern, nationalist, and post-colonialist thinking. It is thinking about thinking and rethinking what was previously thought. It promotes thinking around the periphery as against the center, transcends pragmatism, and considers Eurocentric and Afrocentric understanding of truths to digress from ethnocentrism. This form of thinking operates within these domains, aiming for specific goals. It can be likened to iconoclastic thinking, as seen when Plato shifted from the Greek notion of the warrior king to the philosopher king, prompting a reevaluation of the hero archetype. Furthermore, critical thinking within these disciplines reimagines individuals through the lens of critical race theory.
Critical thinking is a widely accepted educational objective characterized by careful, goal-directed thought. While its definition may vary, it generally involves considering beliefs and knowledge critically, evaluating evidence, and drawing reasoned conclusions. John Dewey, an early advocate, described it as active, persistent consideration of beliefs in light of supporting evidence and potential findings. Over time, standardized tests have been developed to assess critical thinking abilities, with educational interventions shown to enhance them through methods like dialogue and mentoring (Critical Thinking (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cr....
The term 'critical thinking' as an educational objective traces back to the American philosopher John Dewey (1910), who often referred to it as 'reflective thinking'. Dewey defined it as the active, persistent, and meticulous examination of any belief or purported form of knowledge in light of the supporting evidence and the potential conclusions it leads to. He associated this habit of examination with a scientific mindset.
Historically, critical thinking gained prominence in the 1930s through initiatives like the Eight-Year Study of the Progressive Education Association, which integrated critical thinking into educational goals. Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive objectives further incorporated critical thinking abilities. Since then, annual conferences and educational reforms worldwide have emphasized its importance, leading to its global inclusion in curricula and assessments. This led to the development of nationalist movements and Afrocentric religions such as Rastafarianism.
