Science and the Spectrum of Critical Thinking
- First Online: 02 January 2023
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- Jeffrey Scheuer 3
Part of the book series: Integrated Science ((IS,volume 12))
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Since the nineteenth century, the scientific method has crystallized as the embodiment of scientific inquiry. But this paradigm of rigor is not confined to the natural sciences, and it has contributed to a sense of scientific “exceptionalism,” which obscures the deep connections between scientific and other kinds of thought. The scientific method has also indirectly given rise to the complex and contested idea of “critical thinking.” Both the scientific method and critical thinking are applications of logic and related forms of rationality that date to the Ancient Greeks. The full spectrum of critical/rational thinking includes logic, informal logic, and systemic or analytic thinking. This common core is shared by the natural sciences and other domains of inquiry share, and it is based on following rules, reasons, and intellectual best practices.
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The spectrum of critical thinking.
The term ‘critical thinking ’ is a bit like the Euro: a form of currency that not long ago many were eager to adopt but that has proven troublesome to maintain. And in both cases, the Greeks bear an outsized portion of the blame. Peter Wood [ 1 ]
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Brief Presentation of the Contributions
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Scheuer, J. (2023). Science and the Spectrum of Critical Thinking. In: Rezaei, N. (eds) Brain, Decision Making and Mental Health. Integrated Science, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15959-6_3
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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15959-6_3
Published : 02 January 2023
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IMAGES
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Critical thinking, that is the mind’s ability to analyze claims about the world, is the intellectual basis of the scientific method. The scientific method can be viewed as an extensive, structured mode of critical thinking that involves hypothesis, experimentation and conclusion.
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Critical thinking is at the heart of the scientific method. Specifically, behind the process of designing, executing and interpreting the experiment is an adherence to
Both the scientific method and critical thinking are applications of logic and related forms of rationality that date to the Ancient Greeks. The full spectrum of critical/rational thinking includes logic, informal logic, and systemic or analytic thinking.