Article from The Last Days newsletter (June 5-11, 2023)
It has been said that by reading the Watchtower and Awake! magazines, along with other publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a person will receive, over a period of years, a considerable and broad education.
…Would you like to grow in knowledge, obtaining an education of even much greater value than can be received in any college? You can do so by reading regularly this magazine and its companion, Awake! - The Watchtower magazine, June 15, 1983, p. 31.
Does reading the Watchtower and Awake! magazines really give you a ‘considerable and broad education’ along with ‘an education of even much greater value than can be received in any college?’
At the recent 153rd Gilead Graduation, Jesse Morris, member of the United States Jehovah's Witnesses Branch Committee, and son of former governing body member Anthony Morris III, gave a talk in which he incongruently conflated 'critical thinking' in education with a cynical, critical, pessimistic attitude, i.e. ‘negative thinking’.
Upon reading The Watchtower Jesse Morris is quoting from, one discovers that the subject under discussion in the quoted paragraph, is not ‘critical thinking’, but rather ‘negative thinking’.
Watch the entire talk via by Jesse Morris on JW(.)ORG [starts at 0:11:20 mark]: JW Broadcasting - June 2023: 153rd Gilead Graduation.
Is critical thinking negative thinking?
What is critical thinking?
The Foundation For Critical Thinking provides the following definition of ‘critical thinking’:
A well cultivated critical thinker:
· raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
· gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
· thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
· communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.
(Taken from Richard Paul and Linda Elder, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools, Foundation for Critical Thinking Press, 2008)
- Defining Critical Thinking: The Foundation for Critical Thinking
