Thinker's writing assignment

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Recommended: Descartes Vs John Locke

Although, critical thinking emerged as a term relatively recently, it has been developed as a concept over the last 400 years. Despite, it was called differently (e.g. reflective thinking) the main feature of this concept remained the same: critical thinking, is an ability to evaluate information and make supported arguments. As a modern scholar, Sarah Felix (2012) claims, critical thinking is the way to the active citizenship, which in turn is the only way to the development and a progress of a country. This paper will advocate Felix’s idea of the importance of critical thinking, regarding its appearance in works of such famous scholars as Renee Descartes, John Locke, Immanuel Kant and John Dewey, as a considerable evidence of its significance.
Descartes and Locke were the 17th century philosophers, who developed their ideas in the same direction, but using different approaches. Thereby, both Descartes and Locke were famous for their works concerning reasoning and the nature of thought. Nevertheless, the main difference in their notions is the different approach to the nature of human thought. Descartes (1998, 22) believes in its innateness, claiming “I think; therefore, I am”. Such world perception may be connected to Descartes’ background, especially the religious education that influenced the future scholar and made him accept the idea that the former existence of thoughts in human minds is connected to the divine intent. Locke (1700, 41-42) contrariwise, states that all humans are “tabula rasa”, whose minds are “blank sheets of paper”, claiming that sensation and reflection are “the only originals from whence all our ideas take their beginnings”. However, despite this disagreement between the scholars, they made a signif...

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...tical thinking is not only a theoretical concept, it is also a tool to create active citizens, those, who, according to Felix (2012) are able and willing to improve the life in their country, in other words who are “capable of shaping, changing and even leading society”. Thus, critical thinking deserves an honorable place not only in the higher education, but also in human every day lives.

Works Cited

Descartes, Renee. 1998. “Cogito ergo sum.” Discours de la Methode. 22-23. ((1596-1650)RD, ed)
Dewey, John. 1997. How we think, 1-13. Courier Dover Publications.
Felix, Sarah. 2012. The Purpose of Higher Education and the role of Critical Thinking. University College, London. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk9Fu-UERsQ

Kant, Immanuel. 2009. An answer to the Question “What is Enlightenment?” Penguin.
Locke, John. 1700. An essay concerning human understanding, 41-42.

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