Thinking and Working Theoretically

7/28/2019 Thinking and Working Theoretically

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action [or argument]" (2001, p.1).

In his book How we think (1910), John Dewey identified 4 modes of thought: belief

based, imagination based, stream of consciousness and reflective. Dewey defined

reflective thinking in much the same way we might think of critical thinking:

"Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of

knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusion to which

it tends".

For Dewey reflection involves meaning-making, intellectual rigour, collective experience

and understanding change.

1. The meaning-making process, is where the learnerhistoricises experiences and ideas.

Putting these into historical context, the learner can build the threads linkingexperiences and ideas and thus constitute the basis of understanding. This elevates

learning to a uniquely human level, from reflex to abstraction.

2. Learning necessitates a systematic, rigorous and disciplined approach; as in the

‘scientific method’.

3. Knowledge and learning is considered fundamentally social. Without interaction and

community, learning is mechanical. Engaging in social practice is part of the human

condition; the more aware and active we are in this, the more we are a historically

aware subject .

4. If we do not have an attitude that recognises and endorses change and growth, we

have small reason to know, and even less reason to know why.

The last point is worth giving further consideration. In many ways deepening your

knowledge and learning is fundamentally about exploring and understanding change. As

many philosophers have previously pointed out, change is the only constant in reality,

however we may conceive of that.

In trying to understand change and how we think about it (logic) philosophers have

made important use of categories. Aristotle and much later Hegel contributed some

important thinking in this respect.

We can make some use of Hegel’s categories of dialectics as sort of tools of critical

thinking. It can help us enrich our understanding of all social phenomena, interactions

and ideas (social totality) to think about things in terms of these six categories:

1. Cause and effect

2. Form and content



3. Necessity and chance

4. Essence and appearance

5. Possibility and reality

6. Particular and universal

Everything we encounter has cause and effect; a form that we can too easily confuse for

its content; may be chance or need driven; has an essential driving force; reflects both

reality and possibilities of something different; and is part of a greater whole.

Some food for thought!

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Thinking and Working Theoretically