Fallacy Examples

Critically Thinking Art

        Remember the first time a song made you think about your future, or that poem that captured your though maybe that painting that you love but you cannot describe in simple words but only in thought and emotions. Art and critical thinking are connected and, it impacts the way people think in a deeper manner, trying to resolve something such as a problem or an emotion, or the art that makes you think about life and how you feel. Critical thinking has been connected with art for a long time maybe since the caveman era and this is why, art provokes our emotions to come out in many different ways. In order to understand the connectivity of art with critical thinking the understanding of art and the definition of critical thinking can be helpful. School systems are using art in order to enhance student’s performance not only in art-based classes but in science and math as well. The definition of art can be difficult, but it is important to have a basic grasp of the topic.

        Art is the expression and creativity of a person in a physical form that promotes the imagination of an individual. In the Oxford English dictionary art is defined as “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” (Oxford, 2018) The definition of art can be different for everyone, for the Oxford Dictionary is the expression and creative skill showing beauty and power. Art is also a concept that many believe is out of their reach, Semir Zeki in his article “Artistic Creativity and the Brain” contradicts a common statement that arts is rich people’s luxury “This is why we normally assign art to a private, subjective world; its richness lies in the fact that its power to disturb and arouse varies between individuals. In so doing, we do not acknowledge sufficiently, if at all, the extent to which that subjectivity and variability is based upon a commonality. It is commonality that allows us to communicate about art and through art, with or without the use of the written or the spoken word.” (Zeki, 2001) By stating this Zeki demonstrates the common mistake that people have towards art and that common people are the fuel that makes art great. The expression and creativity of a person in a physical form is defined as art but without critical thinking art would not be as important in human history.

        Critical thinking is a way of thought in which the person doing it, appeals to a deeper demand of information and not being complacent with information provided but to seek more questions to improve the understanding of this topic. The Foundation for Critical Thinking states the definition of Edward Glaser who defines critical thinking as “The ability to think critically, as conceived in this volume, involves three things: (1) an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one's experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying those methods. Critical thinking calls for a persistent effort to examine any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the evidence that supports it...” (Glaser, 1994)Glaser gives us three steps and the reasoning behind those three steps in order to make people understand that critical thinking is a deeper way of thinking. The president of The Foundation for Critical Thinking, Linda Elder gives another definition to critical thinking which portraits critical thinking as a superior and better way of living “Critical thinking is self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically. They are keenly aware of the inherently flawed nature of human thinking when left unchecked. They strive to diminish the power of their egocentric and sociocentric tendencies.” (Elder, 2007) Elder defines critical thinking as a way of living that promotes a fair-minded way that keeps in check the egocentric and sociocentric tendencies in this society. Critical thinking is the way of people’s thought in a deeper manner in which the information given is not sufficient and this way of thought makes the thinker to not be complacent with the information given. Art and critical thinking are two different topics that have incredible connections that benefit each other.

 Art and critical thinking are connected by traits that art has, for instance when people are exposed to a painting the human brain analyzes the color of the work and also analyze what is the whole content of the art work. Andrew miller in the article “Visual Art as Critical Thinking” explains what is the connection between art and critical thinking “…the art students had to use their critical thinking skills not only to understand all the information and nuances of their public policy issue, but also to synthesize it into an art piece that conveyed a message.” (Miller, 2011) Miller believes that art and critical thinking produce a better understanding of information, as well as to put in in a creative shape or image making it easier for the student to understand the topic. Fran Smith who wrote the article “Why Arts Education Is Crucial, and Who’s Doing It Best” states a research by the Rand Corporation about visual arts states “A 2005 report by the Rand Corporation about the visual arts argues that the intrinsic pleasures and stimulation of the art experience do more than sweeten an individual's life -- according to the report, they ‘can connect people more deeply to the world and open them to new ways of seeing,’ creating the foundation to forge social bonds and community cohesion.” (Smith, 2009) Smith quotes this research in order to inform his audience about how art increases grades, not only in school courses but also in the intellectual personality of the student. Art and critical thinking connect in other subjects as well, not only for band or the example of drawing a different structure of the atom, but it connects deeper with science. Amanda J Nichols and April H Stephens are the authors to “The Scientific Method and the Creative Process: Implications For the K-6 Classroom” and state “Science is based on evidence that is observable and measurable. Scientists explore questions, test hypotheses, and make rational conclusions using the scientific method (Scientific Method, 1999). The first step is to define a problem. The problem is a question to be answered. Next, the scientist forms a hypothesis—an educated prediction of the outcome. In order to make this prediction, one must conduct research to discover what is already known. Just as an artist studies subjects or thinks imaginatively about a process, a scientist has to gather information and creatively design a way to solve the problem. Bronowski (1965) describes ‘discoveries of science’ and ‘works of art’ as ‘the act of creation, in which an original thought is born’ (p. 19). The third step in the scientific method is to conduct experiments and make observations.” (Nichols, Stephens, 2013) The author clearly made research on how the scientific method and the art process interacts to each other pointing out that they are not different and that it is important to acknowledge, why art can be an important alloy in other courses. The connection between art and critical thinking also corelates to the development of the future generations of this country, Nichols and Stephens article ends with an explanation of their thesis “Utilizing arts integration techniques in the science classroom can benefit the students in learning both artistic and scientific concepts, because there is overlap between the creative process and the scientific method.” (Nichols, Stephens, 2013) The author emphasizes that not only art and science can be together  in a combination but it proves a point in which the scientific method that is a specific way of critical thinking impacts students in a positive way. The connection between art and critical thinking have been proven that are connected making people excel in more proper and deeper meaning, by making them more stronger in thought as well as in academics.

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