Stuart M Keeley

Asking the Right Questions
When I was asked to add a critical thinking module to a recent creative thinking session I turned to Asking the Right Questions by M. Neil Browne and Stuart Keeley for one reason – they emphasize that the right mental approach is to be curious first, “critical” second.

The approach the book takes to critical thinking (the full title is Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking) is to analyze writing, including your own, with a series of questions. The questions lead one first to understand the issues and conclusions of the author, and then to be curious about how the author’s reasons lead to the conclusion.

In doing so, they run through most of the ways reasons don’t necessarily add up.

For fun, do this: read the book then pick up a speech by a politician. Uh-huh.… (meer)

An excellent guide to not only the analysis of other people's arguments, but also in responsibly creating good arguments to be presented to others. Unfortunately, the book was slightly more by the authors' politically correct agenda. In a book that purports to teach objectivity, the social agenda of the writers' should not be so readily apparent. They're critical thinking becomes blurred times when it involves what is apparently some of their pet social concerns. Other than this minor concern, it's an excellent book and I highly recommend it.… (meer)