We’ll start our exploration of what is meant by critical thinking by watching a movie! The 1957 film “Twelve Angry Men” is used by many professors in this context. The movie begins at the end of trial in which an 18-year old man is accused of killing his father. We quickly move into the Juror’s Room, where jurors go to deliberate cases. One juror stands out as an example of a critical thinker, Juror Number Eight (the man in the white suit…you should have no trouble identifying him once the movie gets going!). As you watch it, take note on how his mind works, the way he questions and reasons with the others, the influence he begins to exert on them. In contrast to Juror number Eight is Juror number Three (the one who yells half the time). He is controlled too much by his emotions. He says he has no personal stake in voting guilty against the young man on trial, but something happened in this juror’s life which has biased him against young people-what is it? When studying critical thinking, we need to look at our own biases and see how they affect our decision making (note about biases: keep in mind that not all biases are bad; we too often use the word “bias” only in negative ways, how it occurs in racism and sexism, for instance. Essentially it just means what we are drawn to, what we favor over something else. Anyone who has studied electronics would know that we bias equipment, adjust how and to where the electricity flows. With me, I have a bias toward sweet snacks over salty ones. I have a bias for bourbon rather than Scotch. Do these biases make me a “bad/flawed” person? No. But if I had a bias where I favor one person over another because of skin color, then yes, that bias is wrong.)
Be sure to read the link “10 Characteristics of a Critical Thinker” on the Menu either before or after watching the movie; it will greatly help you in writing a one-paragraph response on why you think that we consider that character as a critical thinker. Try to identify specific characteristics he displays in doing so and cite specific examples from the film. I provide a link to the movie on the Menu; it also is available on Amazon Prime:
