Thinking Well? According to Whom?

Abstract

Introduction:  An undergraduate student's paper (Freeman, 1992), written for a course I conduct called 'Improving Thinking kills', caused me to think again about some notions of thinking, reasoning and inquiry in relation to programs being introduced into schools. The subject included an examination of critical thinking, approaches to values and ethics in education, and theories associated with introducing philosophy into schools. As part of an exploration of available resources designed to introduce the content of philosophy and the skills of inquiry into schools, and theorists in the area, Lipman's (1980) theory was examined. His answer to the question "What does 'to think well' mean?" was, in part, a definition of philosophy as "the finest instrument yet devised for the perfection of the thinking process" (1980, p.xi). Reflecting on these claims in connection with the education of Australian Aborigines, Freeman wrote:
"Philosophy does not represent the perfection of the thinking process, it represents a particular thinking process dealing with a particular body of concepts, described in ' Philosophy for Children' as "the things that matter".