The aim of academic studies is not only to provide knowledge and research skills but also to foster thinking abilities. Although we are all thinking beings, it is possible to learn to think better, namely to critically examine each view before accepting it. The critical thinker thinks independently, taking nothing for granted and rejecting traditional sources of authority, including those of the canonical text and the erudite professor.

This course aims at thinking about the nature of thinking, and examining the standards of proper critical thought. We will ask: Are there necessary and sufficient conditions for critical thinking? Are there universal rules for critical thinking, applicable across disciplines, or is critical thinking expressed in a different way in every context? Is critical thinking a purely intellectual skill, or does it require also the development of virtues and habits? Is it possible to think in an unbiased, objective way, or is thought necessarily influenced by its cultural and historical context?

To answer these questions the course will combine two levels of discussion, theoretical and practical. On the theoretical level, we will study various approaches to thinking and critique, and examine views according to which thinking and rationality – including the scientific method – reflect social relations of domination. On the practical level, we will attain basic tools for critical thinking and practice doubt of the cultural and intellectual hegemony that is often taken for granted.