CRITICAL THINKING FOR

SOCIOLOGISTS
 Socrates was a Greek philosopher who lived between 470-399 B.C. He turned Greek attention toward questions of ethics and virtue.
Although Socrates was not a scientist, his way of questioning to find out answers laid a foundation for the way that science works today.
Socrates spent much time in the marketplace (the Agora) where he held conversations with townspeople. He was known for exposing
ignorance and conceit. Despite having many followers, Socrates was disliked by people in . At the age of 70, he was convicted of atheism,
treason and corruption of the young. He was sentenced to death by a jury. He had the opportunity to escape from prison, but he chose
not to. He valued the law so much, that he chose to fulfill his sentence of death by drinking hemlock ,
instead of escaping and living in banishment for the rest of his life.
An account of his death was recorded by
Plato, one of Socrates' students.

Socrates: Greek Philosopher who

lived between 470 and 399 BCE
The intellectual roots of critical thinking can be
traced to Socrates, over 2,500 years ago.
 Some Socrates quotes:
• “The unexamined life is not worth
living”

• "The only true wisdom is in

knowing you know nothing."
 Socrates discovered people often could not
rationally justify their claims to knowledge

Instead they:
• confused definitions
• gave inadequate evidence
• provided contradictory beliefs as
support
• often relied on ‘those in authority” as
their source of proof of their claims
 Socrates developed a mode of inquiry that focused
on the importance of:

• seeking evidence
• closely examining reasoning and
assumptions
• analyzing basic concepts
• tracing out implications not only of
what is said but of what is done as well.
• And he was willing to die for it.
The agenda set by Socrates for critical thinking
is one that we follow today, when we:

• question what we hold to be “true”

• sort out beliefs that are logical and
reasonable, from those that lack
adequate evidence or a rational
foundation
Baseline for Critical Sociological Thinking: Ask these questions-

• What is the most fundamental issue/concept here?

• From what point of view should I approach this problem?
• Is this a credible source of information?
• Does it make sense for me to assume this?
• How could I check the accuracy of these data?
• From these data may I infer this?
• Is this piece of information consistent with that piece of
information?
• Can I be confident in the conclusions I reach?
 What is critical thinking in the 21st century?

• Here’s a short animated video put together

by UK artist QualiaSoup that provides a
short, clear discussion of the merits of
critical thinking.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5cjtCp
bUnI
Characteristics of a Critical Thinker

• Rationality
• Self Awareness
• Honesty
• Discipline
• Judgement
• Open-mindedness
 Critical vs. Non-Critical Thinkers
• Critical thinkers are skeptical vs. non-
critical thinkers accept the existing
state of affairs/status quo
• Critical thinkers are active – ask
questions, analyze vs. non-critical
passivity, simplistic thinking
• Critical thinkers are open to new ideas-
willing to change vs. non-critical
egoistic view of world
 Five Steps to Critical Thinking
1. Formulate good questions – know what you are actually
looking for and don’t get distracted by unrealistic claims-
2. Gather information- get expert advice
3. Apply information to ask critical questions- such as what
concepts are in play? what assumptions exist? is my
interpretation logically sound?
4. Consider implications of your decisions
5. Explore other points of view- try to figure out why other
people are drawn to a different point of view? Why does
another point of view have an appeal?
see Samantha Agoos on Ted-Ed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw
 According to Dan Kurland
http://www.criticalreading.com/
Non-critical (or pre-critical) reading is concerned
with recognizing what a text says about the topic

Critical reading is an analytic activity. It involves:

• recognizing a text as a presentation 
• describing the nature of the examples, evidence
and terms used in the text
• inferring what is assumed by the examples used;
what is assumed by the selection of the evidence
and the exclusion of other evidence;
 Facts vs. Interpretation
• Non-critical reading/observation-
read/observe for “the facts”-
objective here is memorization
• Critical reading/observation- a text,
documentary, social interaction etc...
is just one portrayal of facts-
objective here is to determine who
speaks, what is said and how it is
said and supported
 Three approaches to executing a critical
reading/viewing/listening
RECOGNIZE:
• What a text, documentary, presentation etc.
says – restatement – talk about the same
topic as the original text etc
• What a text etc. does – description – discuss
aspects of the text etc. itself
• What a text etc. means – interpretation —
analyze the text etc. and assert a meaning
for the text as a whole
 Practice Example: “inspiration and the
paralympics”

Take a look at “We’re The Superhumans/Rio

Paralympics, 2016 Trailer”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IocLkk3aYlk
and the short interview that follows with Alvin Law,
the Cdn drummer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ_K22WV7a0
 First View
To discover the information and ideas
within the presentation, determine:
• What the presentation says – a gloss-
a restatement –
• What the presentation does – what
effect it has on you- on viewers
• What the presentation might mean-
deeper meaning – what effect is
actually intended
 Second View
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IocLkk3aYlk
and the short interview that follows with Alvin Law, the
Cdn drummer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ_K22WV7a0
This time apply critical thinking
• evaluate information and ideas presented: what
was the creators’ purpose; what persuasive
elements were used to control meaning
• Determine the underlying biases and then
decide what to accept and believe.
 A couple of contrary points of view
• Lucy Catchpole- article in The Gauardian - I love
Channel 4’s Paralympics advert. But we can’t all be
superhumans
• https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/201
6/jul/20/channel-4-paralympics-advert-disabled-pe
ople-not-all-superhuman
• Comedian Stella Young “I’m not your inspiration
thank you very much”
https://www.ted.com/talks/stella_young_i_m_not
_your_inspiration_thank_you_very_much?languag
e=en
 Apply your critical thinking skills
in examining the following materials
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/the-problem-wi
th-arranged-marriage-1.963175

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8u42OjH0ss
 Recommended reading
• Page 28-43, and 49 of Anderson (2016)
• Watch all videos included in the slide
• Read all readings included in the slide