Week 11 - Expressing Your Viewpoint and Biases Related to Your Selected Problem

Activity 1 :: Activity 2 :: Activity 3

Introduction 

According to Paul and Elder, all human thought is "relational and selective." That is, we always approach a topic from a particular point of view.  We are selective in what we consider because any particular viewpoint will highlight some relevant information and overlook other related information. This is why all conclusions are tentative and open to later revision or replacement. Two important aspects of point of view are our biases and the assumptions about the world that come from the biases we hold.  A bias can either be neutral or negative. It simply means favoring one thing over another. Critical thinking requires that we consider the effect of our biases and assumptions when we assess and evaluate our thinking.  Of course, through analyzing our thinking, we may decide to change perspectives and approach our topic from a different viewpoint.