Critical Thinking (High School)

The philosopher Socrates is known above all for asking questions. Although he wrote nothing, and our knowledge of him as an historical figure is nebulous, he has been immortalized as a provocative character in the dialogues of Plato, where he never fails to ask the questions that reveal his interlocutor's ignorance of fundamental ethical matters like justice and piety. The Socratic method pioneered by the Platonic character is still used in philosophy as a foundation of the skill of "critical thinking." If we are critical thinkers, we know how to ask the right questions to test the information coming to us from external sources; we are able to assess arguments for validity and soundness, identify logical fallacies, determine whether there is good evidence to support a claim, and (not least) to question our own presuppositions. Through study of the text Think With Socrates (Paul Herrick, OUP, 2015), reading of several Platonic dialogues, and examination of arguments taken from the "real world" of our contemporary culture, we will develop the skills of critical thinking, philosophical discussion, and literary analysis. Recommended for high school students.

Patricia Slatin received her Ph.D. in Classics from the University of California at Berkeley in 2005, with a focus on ancient philosophy, particularly Platonic metaphysics and theology. Thereafter she served as visiting assistant professor at Georgetown University (2007-2009) and postdoctoral teaching fellow at Stanford (2009-2013); recently she taught history and Greek at St. John's Orthodox Academy in San Francisco and Biblical Greek at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. Beyond teaching, Patricia enjoys spending time with her cat, walking in the hills of western Iowa, and volunteering at a local nature preserve.