Imagining a world without critical thinking
Chris Couch, University of Birmingham

All welcome.

The relationship between critical thinking and imagination is not always clear in the existing literature. I first propose that, at least for educators concerned with cultivating critical thought, imagination should be considered as entertaining possibilities. Then, in order to clarify the connection between critical thinking and imagination, I argue that what can be termed ‘failures of imagination’ are as much an impediment to the kind of reasoning to which critical thinking aspires as textbook logical or argumentative failures. The hope of such work is that a conceptually coherent account of critical thinking in which imagination is central may be developed.

Chris Couch is a Postgraduate Researcher in the School of Education, University of Birmingham. His research interests include critical thinking, imagination and the place of philosophy on the curriculum.