Thinker's Guide to Analytic Thinking: How to Take Thinking Apart and What to Look for When You Do [Paperback]

Linda Elder (Author), Richard Paul (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2007 | ISBN-10: 0944583199 | ISBN-13: 978-0944583197 | Edition: 1

This guide focuses on the intellectual skills that enable one to analyze anything one might think about - questions, problems, disciplines, subjects, etc. It provides the common denominator between all forms of analysis. Why a Guide on Analytic Thinking? Analysis and evaluation are recognized as crucial skills for all students to master. And for good reason. These skills are required in learning any significant body of content in a non-trivial way. There are many varieties of analysis specific to particular disciplines and technical practices. These forms of analysis often require technical training of a specialized nature. For example, one cannot do qualitative analysis in chemistry without instruction in chemistry. What we have provided in this guide, however, is the common denominator between all forms of analysis because all forms require thoughtful application and all thought presupposes the elements of thought. For example, one cannot think analytically FOR NO PURPOSE. Or think analytically, with NO QUESTION in mind. In order to develop the analytic mind, there must be guidance, instruction, and practice in monitoring thinking using intellectual tools applicable to every discipline. Everyone needs to learn to question purposes, goals, problem definitions, information, concepts, etc. It is these interdisciplinary analytic tools that enable those skilled in them to understand and assess their analytic thinking, whether in a highly technical area or in an everyday personal application. It is these analytic tools that enable one to get at the most fundamental logic of any discipline, subject, problem, or issue. They provide the means for transfer of learning between and among subjects and disciplines. They enable motivated persons to gain an overview of their learning in any and every situation analyzed, to think their way into and out of various intellectual domains. This thinker's guide serves as a launching pad toward analytic proficiency.

Product Details

• Paperback: 56 pages
• Publisher: Foundation for Critical Thinking; 1 edition (January 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0944583199
• ISBN-13: 978-0944583197
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 5.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Review, February 23, 2011

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This review is from: Thinker's Guide to Analytic Thinking: How to Take Thinking Apart and What to Look for When You Do (Paperback)

I had my doubts that this book would be useful to me, the average (but highly curious) person. Still, I bought it regardless, because I like to try my hand at engaging new concepts and challenging myself. What I found when I opened this book and began reading was something above and beyond my expectations. It was easy to understand, useful, and most importantly, both illuminating and practical, even for someone like myself with no academic background.

It cleanly describes the logical processes inherent in every thought we have, alongside diagrams depicting the cycles that a thought goes through from start to conclusion. It even providing examples and simple challenges meant to help you deepen your understanding of and ability to use the concepts therein. The intent of the book is to make the reader cognizant of these processes and patterns that all of us go through when thinking and choosing to act, with the hope that it will provide us with the ability to refine the processes, make them clearer and more coherent, and to take control of our thoughts to our own benefit. This book, and all of the others like it that I own, are simply fantastic, and even if you've no intention to use them in an academic setting, they're still intensely useful for every day life and personal self-development.