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A QUESTION CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
We go to history for our roots. Should we? Do we need religion? How do you know what you know? Can you think and feel at the same time? What’s in a name? Can right or wrong be universal? Are beliefs more important than facts? “I love you!” Really? Welcome to the Course for THINKERS! (MODULE 1) We examine the basis of beliefs, facts, opinions, and more… We look at the process of thinking and how we come to conclusions as individuals and as groups. This is quite literally a mind-blowing course! ONLINE, LIVE ON GOOGLE MEET - 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. (India time) Every Thursday. WITH WHATSAPP GROUP FOR DISCUSSIONS, SUPPORT, AND PROMPTS COURSE DURATION – 6 WEEKS; ONE OFFLINE SESSION [email protected] /+91 8552012735 |
CRITICAL THINKING COURSE
I have spent many years of my life teaching critical thinking or TOK (Theory Of Knowledge). This was also the topic of my dissertation at M.Ed many years before that. Of course, at that time it was a pure inquiry. I'd never dreamt that I'd get a chance to actually teach it! In fact, after leaving the IB fold that was what I missed the most - an invigorating inquiry into concepts and paradigms of knowledge and how they crisscrossed our lives. How irrational our reasoning was! How we unconsciously absorbed biases and were shaped by languages as much as our parents. How we never understood the blurred line between imagination and facts in our lives...
Well, I'm considering offering a (critical) Thinking Course to anyone who's interested. These could be former students and/or colleagues who did/did not go on a TOK/Thinking journey with me, or people who are simply interested in sharpening thinking and want to challenge their minds.
There will be weekly live online sessions (once a week on Google Meet), a WhatsApp group for support, material and prompts, and an offline session at the end for those who want it.
I plan to offer a ground zero stand-alone session online, to give an idea and experience of this. The session will be in English, but it's totally fine if you're not fluent in English. Chalta hai!
Please let me know if are curious to know more about this. ([email protected]/+91 8552012735)
I have spent many years of my life teaching critical thinking or TOK (Theory Of Knowledge). This was also the topic of my dissertation at M.Ed many years before that. Of course, at that time it was a pure inquiry. I'd never dreamt that I'd get a chance to actually teach it! In fact, after leaving the IB fold that was what I missed the most - an invigorating inquiry into concepts and paradigms of knowledge and how they crisscrossed our lives. How irrational our reasoning was! How we unconsciously absorbed biases and were shaped by languages as much as our parents. How we never understood the blurred line between imagination and facts in our lives...
Well, I'm considering offering a (critical) Thinking Course to anyone who's interested. These could be former students and/or colleagues who did/did not go on a TOK/Thinking journey with me, or people who are simply interested in sharpening thinking and want to challenge their minds.
There will be weekly live online sessions (once a week on Google Meet), a WhatsApp group for support, material and prompts, and an offline session at the end for those who want it.
I plan to offer a ground zero stand-alone session online, to give an idea and experience of this. The session will be in English, but it's totally fine if you're not fluent in English. Chalta hai!
Please let me know if are curious to know more about this. ([email protected]/+91 8552012735)
What's the difference between a Critical Thinking course and Philosophy course? Typically, in a philosophy course, you'd study philosophers and thinkers, and the legacy of thought and associated culture they might have left behind. There could be an overlap with religious studies or not, depending on who's offering the course and how they decide to categorise philosophy. Simply put, it's about what others think, usually 'great', well-known people who are dead now.
Critical Thinking is about YOU! Your mind, your thoughts and we challenge the mind and thoughts. So, do philosophers have any role to play in Critical Thinking? Sure, if you want! Read as much you like. BUT! You can't take refuge in another's thought or philosophy simply by reading and referring. If you have understood, internalised and possibly lived, then that works. You can refer to but not rely on it. You have to take ownership of the way your mind works and the stuff it is made of. That's the challenge and the gift. You can punish yourself, and/or liberate yourself from chains. It is not enough to say I believe just because my parents, teachers, philosophers, religion, and neighbours say so!
कोई नशे में आकर बहक गया, उसकी बात का न मलाल कर,
तू भी ज़िन्दगी से है तनाजन, तू भी ज़िन्दगी से सवाल कर!
(Somebody's intoxication led him astray, no matter,
You too have direct touch with life, ask questions from life!)
In Critical Thinking/TOK you ask direct questions from life and challenge your mind to look at life and at the movement of the mind itself. It can be a thoroughly transformative experience!
Critical Thinking is about YOU! Your mind, your thoughts and we challenge the mind and thoughts. So, do philosophers have any role to play in Critical Thinking? Sure, if you want! Read as much you like. BUT! You can't take refuge in another's thought or philosophy simply by reading and referring. If you have understood, internalised and possibly lived, then that works. You can refer to but not rely on it. You have to take ownership of the way your mind works and the stuff it is made of. That's the challenge and the gift. You can punish yourself, and/or liberate yourself from chains. It is not enough to say I believe just because my parents, teachers, philosophers, religion, and neighbours say so!
कोई नशे में आकर बहक गया, उसकी बात का न मलाल कर,
तू भी ज़िन्दगी से है तनाजन, तू भी ज़िन्दगी से सवाल कर!
(Somebody's intoxication led him astray, no matter,
You too have direct touch with life, ask questions from life!)
In Critical Thinking/TOK you ask direct questions from life and challenge your mind to look at life and at the movement of the mind itself. It can be a thoroughly transformative experience!
