Lecture Notes Critical Thinking Part 1 of 3

We Produce the Future

Dr Matthew StaffordChief Academic Officer

Squadron Officer College

Critical Thinking… something to think about …

SECTION I

2The Intellectual and Leadership Center of the Air Force

Fly – Fight – Win in Air, Space, and Cyberspace









Develop America's Airmen Today ... for Tomorrow



Carl von Clausewitz




Lessons from Clausewitz

War TheoryWar is the realm of physical exertion

and suffering.

…in war, all action takes place so to speak in a kind of twilight which like fog

or moonlight, often tends to make things seem grotesque and larger than

they really are.

Leadership Insights…in war these truths are better served by a commander who has absorbed their meaning in his mind rather than one who treats them as rigid external

rules…

The commander must trust his judgment and stand like a rock on

which the waves break in vain

Political TheoryWar is not merely a political act, but

also a real political instrument, a continuation of political commerce, a

carrying out of the same by other means.

Critical AnalysisWe distinguish between the critical

approach and the plain narrative of a historical event, which merely

arranges facts one after another, and at most touches on their immediate

causal links



Overview

• Clausewitizian Critical Analysis

• Thinking about thinking – meta-cognition– Levels of thinking– Enhance efficiency and effectiveness– Seek opportunities to practice and improve

• Comparative techniques for critical thinking– Many different approaches– Ultimately a single process we can employ

• Putting thinking to practice




Clausewitzian Critical Analysis

1. The discovery and interpretation of equivocal facts. This is historical research proper, and has nothing in common with theory.

2. The tracing of effects back to their causes. This is critical analysis proper. It is essential for theory; for whatever in theory is to be defined, supported, or simply described by reference to experience can only be dealt with in this manner.

3. The investigation and evaluation of means employed. This last is criticism proper, involving praise and censure. Here theory serves history, or rather the lessons to be drawn from history.








Discover and interpret facts









Trace effects back to causes









Trace effects back to causes

Investigate and evaluate – consider alternatives. Look for

better courses of action.
































































Custer’s Defeat

• Was it …‒ Personalities?‒ Weaponry?‒ Sheer Numbers?

• Supports Clausewitz’s approach‒Exhaustive analysis‒Link causes and effects‒Consider alternatives

YES! ALL THIS AND MORE…

We Produce the Future

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Section II

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Fly – Fight – Win in Air, Space, and Cyberspace 36

The Intellectual and Leadership Center of the Air Force

We Produce the Future…

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Lecture Notes Critical Thinking Part 1 of 3