Critical and Creative Thinking

Robert DiYanni is Adjunct Professor of Humanities at New York University. He has authored or edited a variety of books, including Literature: An Introduction, The Scribner Handbook for Writers, Occasions for Writing, Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities, and Modern American Poets: Their Voices and Visions.

• Preface xiAcknowledgments xiiiAbout the Website xvPart One Introducing Critical and Creative Thinking1 Essential Critical Thinking Concepts 3What Is Critical Thinking? 4Habits of Mind 5Why Intellectual Habits and Character Matter 7Overcoming Obstacles to Thinking 8A Model for Critical Thinking 13How You KnowWhat You Know 14Perception and Knowledge 15Being Wrong 23Why Errors Persist 25Applications 27References 30Interchapter 1 Facts and Knowledge 322 Essential Creative Thinking Concepts 36What Is Creative Thinking? 37Seeking Alternatives and Possibilities 38Reversing Relationships 41Cross-fertilizing 42Shifting Attention 42Denying the Negative 43The Creative Habit 46Creative Confidence 48Creative Theft 49Creative Crime 51Creative Questions 52Applications 56References 58Interchapter 2 Sustaining Curiosity 60Part Two Practicing Critical and Creative Thinking3 Becoming a Critical and Creative Thinker 65Becoming a Critical Thinker 66Intellectual Standards as Guidelines for Critical Thinking 67Language and Thought 67Reports, Inferences, and Judgments 69The Prevalence and Power of Metaphor 74Innovating through Analogy 78Becoming a Creative Thinker 79Developing the Creative Habit 80Focus 83Solo and Group Creativity 85Concepts as Cognitive Tools 87Applications 90References 95Interchapter 3 Embodying Experience 964 Critical Thinking Strategies and Applications 101The Nature of Argument 102Claims, Evidence, and Assumptions 102Evidence: Claims and Warrants 105Inductive and Deductive Reasoning 106Sherlock Holmes as a Logical Thinker 109Syllogisms, Enthymemes, and Argument 112Argument and Authority 113Argument and Analogy 114Argument and Causality 116Causality, Coincidence, and Correlation 120Further Causal Consequences 122Applications 123References 129Interchapter 4 Blending Art and Science 1305 Creative Thinking Strategies and Applications 133Imagination First 134Imagination, Creativity, and Innovation 135The Limits of Imagination 136Capacities for Imaginative Thinking 137Why Ideas Are Important 139How to Get Ideas 140Creative Whacks 147Being Practical/What Iffing 153Combining Things 156Using Paradox 157Thinking the Unthinkable 160Applications 161References 164Interchapter 5 Combining Connections 166Part Three Applying Critical and Creative Thinking6 Decision Thinking: Making Critical Decisions 173Making Decisions 174Affective Forecasting 180Achieving Insights that Affect Decisions 184Institutional Decisions 186Incentives and Decisions 188Decisiveness 189Making Tough Decisions 192Making Group Decisions 194Applications 195References 198Interchapter 6 Embracing Ambiguity 2007 Ethical Thinking: Making Ethical Decisions 205Basic Ethical Concepts 206Ethics, Values, and Virtues 209Ethical Imagination 213Cosmopolitanism and Global Ethics 218Technology and Ethics 220The Ethics of Information 222Ethical Decisions 224Ethical Provocations 225Applications 227References 231Index 233