CRITICAL THINKING AND HUMOR. Pensamiento crítico y humor

 

INTRODUCTION:

• What is the most important thing for you as a teenager?
• What do you need to develop your best possible life?
• Which people do you really admire? Which features do you admire of those people?
• How would you not like to be? What types of mistakes did they make that you shouldn’t repeat?

CRITICAL THINKING ETHICS AND PHILOSOPHY FOR TEENAGERS

1. What is the most important and difficult task for any human being?

I think, the most important and difficult task for any human being is to be oneself by developing the best of our capacities and chances. Do you agree? Why?

1. Do you know how to do it?

In my opinion, it deals with (2.1.) doing what must be done at any given moment. In other words, by doing everything as well as possible. It requires learning (2.2.) the ability to concentrate on everything we are doing at each moment. (2.3.) It also requires learning how to love life by experiencing and appreciating wonderful events, despite the awful things we have to suffer.

1. One of the main goals of this reflection and learning is (3.1) to help you understand and love yourself, the people around you, and the world where you have to live in. Which is inseparable from another main goal which is (3.2.) experiencing the huge dignity of feeling as human beings.
2. What we want to avoid is to alienate (wasting, losing) our essence. We need not to alienate our responsibility to think about who we are and how to behave so as to carry out our projects of self-fulfillment. Our essence as human beings is connected to our dignity (behaving so as to develop the best of ourselves by helping others to do the same thing). Alienation of our essence is related to alienation of our dignity. Slavery, injustice, manipulation, misery, deceive, bigotry, ignorance, selfishness and many other misbehaviors which contribute to our alienation.
3. Critical thinking is a tool to encourage our independence, our freedom, our responsibility to enhance our dignity and to struggle against our alienation. It involves consolidating freedom and dignity for all human beings.
4. (6.1.) What does critical thinking mean? (6.2.)What are its main characteristics? (6.3.) What can we do so as to promote critical thinking on a regular basis?

6.1. Critical thinking might be defined as an attitude which is based on a rational analysis and behavior, so as to promote our freedom and dignity by developing the best of ourselves and others, avoiding all types of slavery and misery.

6.2. Some general characteristics of critical thinking are:

– Honesty

– Rationality

– Rigor

– Permanent analysis

– Responsibility

– Coherence between reason, dignity, and behavior.

– Curiosity to know and to learn

– Self-control

– Respect (love, compassion, friendship)

– Permanent searching for the best option (being positive)

– Knowing how to express yourself (speak, write, etc).

– Learning from our own mistakes and others’ mistakes.

– Concentration

– Learning to learn

– Creativity

– Skepticism (doubting, being aware that appearances are deceptive. The allegory of the cave, by Plato)

– Knowing how to ask the proper questions to solve problems.

– Understanding what we are dealing with as part of a historical and cultural process. Whatever we face must be interpreted under the frame of our circumstances.

– It involves a dialectic and dynamic (it is always in dialogue among people, generations, even with oneself, in transformation towards consolidating dignity).

– Critical thinking must be linked with paying attention to unmasking superstitions, mythologies, prejudices, mistakes, stereotypes, self-destructiveness, lack of hope, charlatanism, lies,  slavery in human relations (human ideas, attitudes, dependences, and so on. Unmasking idolatry, fetishism, alienation, laziness, fears, selfishness, corruption, fanaticism, and other human vices.

– Critical thinking must be linked with the firm commitment to defend individual rights and freedom of all human beings.

– ETHICAL VALUES, PRINCIPLES, AND VIRTUES WHICH WILL HELP PROMOTE CRITICAL THINKING.

– Put yourself in the place of the other.

– Give example of right behavior with your behavior. By usually acting properly.

– Treat others as you would like be treated in the same circumstance.

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–

– VICIOUS (BAD HABITS), WRONG FORMS OF REASONING, NEGATIVE ATTITUDES.

– Unmasking the weakness of types of feelings and ideas which are shown without the required means and the rationality to be implemented.

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HUMOR AND CRITICAL THINKING. CINEMA

– Charlie Chapling:

—– El gran dictador

– Quino  (humor gráfico):

—— Mafalda

– Mario Moreno, Cantinflas:

——- El circo,

——- Si yo fuera diputado

–Monty Pythom:

——–The meaning of life

HUMOR AND CRITICAL THINKING: CARTOONS AND COMICS.

– Antonio Fraguas, Forges

https://www.forges.com/

 

 – Manuel Summers

–

– Miguel Gila

– Quino:

—— Mafalda

• REVISTA: HERMANO LOBO

– INTERESTING WEBSITES OR BLOGS:

• MUSEO DEL HUMOR CASASIMARRO – CUENCA: MALAGÓN

http://museodelhumor.es/malagon/

 

 

-(IN ENGLISH):

—– CRITICAL THINKING CARTOONS AND COMICS

https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/c/critical_thinking.asp

—–FIVE WAYS OF HUMOR:

http://www.spencerauthor.com/humor-boosts-creativity/

 

 —- ANALYING VISUAL TEXTS: UNDERSTANDING COMICS: Calving and Hobbes.

www.philpoteducation.com/mod/book/view.php?id=222&chapterid=1350#/

 

CRITICAL THINKING

1. Definition:

Critical thinking can be defined as a method and attitude to analyses and interpret reality.

2. Characteristics of Critical thinking
3. It is based on rationality. We can interpret anything because it follows a sense common logic and reasons connected to what most people understand that is right.
   (RACIONALIDAD)
   2.  It should always look for what is true, right, just, honest. It should be based on truth. It should report lies, ignorance or whatever against «what is true».
   (VERDAD, HONESTIDAD, RIGOR).
   3.  It should promote human dignity on the based on individual freedom. Human dignity might be defined as the ethical value consisting of developing as well as possible our abilities in such a way that we do the same with the rest of people. To do so, it is necessary, first, to be able to «stand in the place» of other people in order to understand them better; second, we should always behave as we wanted others to behave.
   (AFIANZAR LA DIGNIDAD Y LIBERTAD DE TODO SER HUMANO).
   4.    We should be aware that TRUTH, REALITY, DIGNITY and most of the philosophical concepts, human values and ideals are not those type of fix and stable things, like material objects that we can keep in a box, on the contrary, they are dynamic and their changes depend on the way we perform. Their evolution depends on our coherence, our honesty, our interest, our attention, our behaviour, our emotions and thinking.
   (CARÁCTER DINÁMICO / DIALÉCTICO)
   5.  We should be suspicious of any idea, of any answer, of any theory that shows itself as unable to cause a diversity of interpretations (unidimensional). Rationality moves us to question what is commonly accepted. We should always try to find the reason or the cause why things are like they are or people say what they say. We should confront what we analyse with the best possible result. We should develop that kind of contradictory and healthy and hopeful scepticism that encourages us to look for what is true.
   (DESCONFIAR, CUESTIONAR LA BASE EN LA QUE SE SOSTIENE. DUDAR DE LO QUE PARECE CIERTO. REPLANTEAR EL MITO DE LA CAVERNA DE PLATÓN).
   6.  We should be aware that anything connected with human actions is related to the historical and cultural circumstances where they were produced. So, up to a certain extent, we are “free” to transform reality, because our history and culture are consequences of our actions, depend on us.
   (CARÁCTER CULTURAL E HISTÓRICO, RESULTADO DE LA ACTIVIDAD HUMANA)
   7.    Critical thinking should be connected to developing a disciplined, humble and honest attitudes in order to be able to recognize the complexity and difficulty of any fact regarding human beings. We may say there is no easy solutions for serious problems.
   (COMPLEJIDAD Y DIFICULTAD QUE ENCIERRA TODO RELACIONADO CON LAS PERSONAS).
   8. Critical thinking should be linked with paying attention to unmasking:
   8.1.  Unmasking superstition and mythology.
   8.2.  Unmasking mistakes connected with prejudices and stereotypes.
   8.3.  Unmasking self-destructiveness and lack of hope.
   8.4.  Unmasking charlatanism, lies.
   8.5.  Unmasking slavery in human relations, ideas, attitudes and so on.
   8.6.  Unmasking alienation and idolatry or fetishism.
   8.7.  Unmasking laziness, selfishness, fears, fanaticism and other human vices.
   8.8.  Unmasking the weakness, inadequate, falseness and untruth of that thinking or speech based on the idea of believing that good feelings, purposes or intentions with spontaneous decisions should produce expected results.
   8.9.  Unmasking the misunderstandings which identify freedom with doing what we feel like at each moment (freedom deals with choosing between right or wrong, good or bad, according to our rationality, responsibility, knowledge and awareness of human universality link). Critical thinking should be based on coherent thinking and behaviour to promote hope, freedom and honest responsibility for human happiness and dignity. Critical thinking should be committed to promoting the coherent ethical values connected with dignity and freedom, like equality base on personal and socio-cultural differences. It also should be based on the respect for human rights.
   (DESENMASCARAR LA SUPERSTICIÓN, LOS PREJUICIOS, LA AUTODESTRUCCIÓN Y FALTA DE ESPERANZA, EL CHARLATANERISMO Y LA MENTIRA, LA VOLUNTAD DE ESCLAVITUD, LA PEREZA, EGOÍSMO, MIEDOS, FANATISMO Y OTROS VICIOS).

1. Critical thinking should be based on coherent thinking and behaviour to promote hope, freedom and honest responsibility for human happiness and dignity. RESPONSABILIDAD CON LA DIGNIDAD Y FELICIDAD.
2. Critical thinking should be committed to promoting the coherent ethical values connected to dignity and freedom, like equality based on personal and socio-cultural differences. It also should be based on the respect for human rights.
3. DEFENSA DE VALORES ÉTICOS Y DERECHOS HUMANOS.

Here you have an interesting link to read more about CRITICAL THINKING:

http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/critical/ct.php

El pensamiento crítico está conectado con la propia condición humana y el valor que mejor la representa, la dignidad. La dignidad puede interpretarse como un valor ético que impulsa al ser humano a desarrollar lo mejor de sí mismo, sus capacidades tanto como sea posible, aprovechando la vida todo lo que esté en nuestra mano. Un hecho que conlleva promover nuestras capacidades es madurar de tal manera que nos permita desarrollar nuestra compasión y reconocer que sólo podemos dar lo mejor de nosotros mismos ayudando a los demás a hacer lo mismo, a desarrollar lo mejor de ellos mismos. El mejor método que conozco para promover nuestra dignidad es concentrarse en hacer cada cosa que hacemos lo mejor que sepamos.

«The best way to learn and to teach critical thinking is to learn and to teach how to think and how to write». Listen to what in the following video is said.

 

What does the following video has to do with critical thinking?

FIVE STEPS RELATED TO CRITICAL THINKING:

Me gustaría preguntar a mis alumnos/as de Bachillerato: ¿Qué se debe hacer para ayudar a los demás a promover lo mejor de sí mismos?