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Why Critical and Creative Thinking Depend On One Another

  • Date : June 12, 2024
  • Category(ies) : Research

What is Creative Thinking?

Creative thinking refers to the cognitive skills and mindset that enable individuals to generate new, original, and unconventional ideas, moving away from traditional thought patterns. It involves exploring novel solutions, pushing boundaries, and embracing uncertainty to find unique answers to challenges.

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is not about being critical but rather about being thoughtful, analytical, and open-minded in approaching information and ideas. It involves the ability to analyze and evaluate information objectively based on criteria, such as clarity. It encompasses the consideration of assumptions, implications of ideas, and multiple perspectives.

What is the Interrelationship Between Creative and Critical Thinking?

  • Creative thinking generates innovative ideas and solutions, while critical thinking ensures these ideas are viable and practical by evaluating, refining, and implementing them effectively.
  • Creative thinking generates initial ideas, which are then subject to critical evaluation by identifing flaws, inconsistencies, or potential improvements to the proposed creative ideas, leading to iterative cycles of refinement and further creative ideation.

If taken separately:

  • Critical thinking without creativity merely identifies flaws without offering solutions.
  • Creativity without critical thinking can result in novelty without substance.

Linda Elder with The Foundation for Critical Thinking encapsulates this relationship: “The relationship between critical and creative thinking is frequently misunderstood. And yet, quite simply, critical thinking necessarily involves creativity while creativity pre-supposes critical thinking. Critical thinking, without creativity, is merely focused on pointing out flaws in reasoning and in products of reasoning. It offers no solutions. It offers no contributions of substance and value, and therefore is only a partial form of critical thinking. Though it is frequently essential to seek problems in thinking as a part of critical thinking, this is not sufficient to achieve the highest levels of criticality in most contexts. These highest levels typically require creativity.”

Creative and critical thinking are complementary skills that work together to enhance practical problem-solving and promote innovation and growth. Their synergy enhances our ability to innovate, adapt, and make informed decisions. By leveraging creative thinking to generate a wide range of ideas and critical thinking to evaluate and refine those ideas, individuals develop more effective problem-solving skills. Sternberg and Lubart (1999) must have been thinking that creative thinking must include critical thinking in their definition of creativity, “Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel (i.e. original, unexpected) and appropriate (i.e. useful, adaptive concerning task constraints)”

By Marcia Banks inspired by Linda Elder’s statement and Dr. Gerald Nosich’s webinar.

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