CRITICAL THINKING,

AN ESSENTIAL COMPETENCE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

In a globalizing world, characterized by complex interactions, people are in a position

to adapt quickly and find viable solutions. Therefore the ability to think correctly, to be rational
and objective is an essential skill of modern individual. Education for Sustainable
Development, the holistic purpose of human society, which aims simultaneously targets for the
economy, social equity and protection of the natural environment, cannot ignore critical
thinking. Moreover, UNESCO and UNECE documents mention repeatedly that Education for
Sustainable Development seeks to build competencies such as critical thinking in order to face
the problems posed by sustainable development. What is critical thinking and how can be
obtained / gained this competence?
As mentioned in an interview granted in June 2015 in support of this research, the
development of critical thinking help people to have opinions. Students that study Economics,
for example, are so helped to develop this competence in order to be able to use economic
factors so as to multiply wealth. There isn’t a single solution for a given problem, but there are
many wrong ways that an individual can choose trying to solve it, so it is better to make
qualified, rational choices. Sustainable education means to teach young people the reasons why
certain phenomena may occur, thus preparing them for any societal development.

Elements and principles of critical thinking

“It is not obvious what critical thinking is, and philosophers of education accordingly
have developed accounts of critical thinking that attempt to state what it is and why it is
valuable – i.e., why educational systems should aim to cultivate it in students. These accounts
generally (though not universally) agree that critical thinkers share at least the following two
characteristics: (1) they are able to reason well – i.e., to construct and evaluate various reasons
that have been or can be offered for or against candidate beliefs, judgments, and actions; and
(2) they are disposed or inclined to be guided by reasons so evaluated – i.e., actually to believe,
judge, and act in accordance with the results of such reasoned evaluations”. (Siegel, 2015)
To gain such a competence is not an easy task, nobody has ever fully mastered it, and
everybody has episodes of wrong thinking, everybody makes sometimes irrational choices. The
development and cultivation of critical thinking is an ongoing process that one can carry
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throughout his lifetime. (Scriven, Paul, 1987)

 On the other hand to think critically doesn’t mean to criticize, to challenge, to dismantle,
but to think clearly about the past, present or potential phenomena and processes, including
self-reflection.
The most important critical thinking concepts and principles refer to:
- literal meaning/meaninglessness;
- definitions (reportive definition, stipulative definition, precising definition,
persuasive definition);
- necessary and sufficient conditions;
- linguistic pitfalls (ambiguity, vagueness, incomplete meaning, distortion,
reification, category mistakes);
- basic logic concepts (consistency, entailment, logical equivalence);
- arguments;
- validity and soundness (valid arguments, sound arguments, hidden assumptions);
- patterns of valid arguments (modus ponens, modus tollens, hypothetical sylogism,
disjunctive syllogism, dilemma, arguing by reductio ad absurdum et al);
- causation;
- morality;
- fallacies (Lau, 2012, pp. 3-21).
Arguments represent the basic elements of critical thinking. There are two types of
arguments: deductive and inductive. Generally logic is dealing with deductive arguments, this
2kind of arguments doesn’t occur very much in common language. In the case of deductive
arguments the relationship between premise and conclusion is required. On the other hand, in
the case of inductive arguments this relationship is not required. So the problem is the transition
from premise to conclusion, as it is required or not.
Inductive arguments are not considered simply valid or invalid, they can be stronger or
weaker, and can discuss what factors might make an argument to be stronger or weaker,
precisely what additional assumptions would decrease or increase the force of an argument.
„A critical thinker should understand that no matter how strong the evidence in support of an
inductive argument, it will never prove its conclusion by following with necessity or with
absolute certainty. Instead, an inductive argument provides only proof to a degree of probability
or certainty.” (Haskins, 2006, p. 5)
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 Critical thinking for sustainable development
In the context of the desideratum of creating a more just and more sustainable world,
developing critical thinking is important in several respects. The modern world can be better
understood if we understand the economic and social sphere in connection with the natural
environment. Critical thinking in terms of sustainable development must take account as many
as possible aspects regarding these issues (Shah, Brown, 2009):
- There are controversies, debates and dilemmas in connection with a series of
concepts, such as sustainability itself, development, global citizenship, and on
phenomena and processes occurring related to these: “For example, the notion of
‘sustainability’. What is it? It is mainly an environmental concept, or is it about social
justice as well? What makes someone a global citizen? Is global citizenship a useful
concept at all? These are live debates about which there is no consensus. Similarly,
what does being a developed country mean? What are the causes of international
poverty? Does aid help, or does it prop up corrupt regimes? Is the best route to resolve
poverty more or less globalization and free markets? Can we equate increased wealth
with greater development?” (Shah, Brown, 2009, p. 2)
- The changing complex world, financial and commercial mechanisms, trade-offs,
political power relations require constant re-evaluation and update models of the
world on which we make judgments and analysis. On the other hand, “global learners
need to avoid swallowing anyone’s line too quickly. They need to recognize that
NGOs, government, business and academics can have their own agendas. Thus they
need to consider: Who has the power? Who is voiceless? Who benefits?” (Shah,
Brown, 2009, p. 4)
- The need to connect global and local levels, placing us, as individuals and the
community, in a global context, including self-reflection about prejudices and
stereotypes, is an essential part of critical thinking in the context of sustainable
development.
- Values represent the foundation on which every society is built, therefore “young
people should be given the space to explore what values they hold, where these values
might come from, and where they might clash. How do their environmental values sit
with their desire to fly and travel? There may be no easy answers, but critical thinking
requires us to begin by bringing to the surface the contradictions in the values that we
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all have and to challenge our own deeply held values and preferences. So often, in
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educational literature and elsewhere, statements about values are made as though they
 are statements of fact. In becoming more conversant with their own values, critical
global thinkers may be better able to identify the values implicit in what they see, hear
and read.” (Shah, Brown, 2009, pp. 4-5)

Learning critical thinking

How can this competence be acquired? As with other skills, critical thinking can be
learned by combining three elements: theory (knowing the main principles), practice (in class
in order to improve critical thinking skills, and then applying critical thinking in real life
situations) and attitude. In terms of attitude, students must accept the challenge and must be
willing to analyze their own way of thinking in order to improve it (Lau, 2012, p. 22).
In Greg R. Haskins’s opinion, the right attitude for critical thinking include open-
mindness, healthy skepticism, intellectual humility, free thinking and high motivation, and
represents the first necessary step for a critical thinker. A second step is to recognize and to
avoid critical thinking hindrances: basic human limitations (all of us have them), use of
language, faulty logic or perception, psychological and sociological pitfalls. The third and the
fourth steps for a critical thinker refer to identifying and characterizing arguments, and to
evaluate information sources, as „un argument is only as strong as its weakest link”. The last
step consist in evaluating arguments, mainly analyzing whether “1) assumptions are warranted,
2) reasoning is relevant and sufficient, and 3) relevant information has been omitted”
(Haskins, 2006, pp. 4-9).
As a result, a critical thinker “raises vital questions and problems, formulating them
clearly and precisely; gathers and assesses relevant conclusions and solutions, testing them
against relevant criteria and standards; thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of
thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical
consequences; and communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex
problems.” (Paul, Elder, 2006, p. 4)
It is generally considered that critical thinking develops so-called transversal skills that
does not necessarily refer to a particular scientific field. But each subject can be approached in
a critical manner, based on reflection and analysis, rather than on memorization, and then there
would be no need for a separate subject. For this, however, teachers must acquire the necessary
skills and adopt this approach.
Teachers should be promoters of critical thinking in education, they should switch from
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vertical thinking, that there is only one correct solution, namely the teacher’s solution, to
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another logic: there are no predetermined solutions, but there are numerous wrong approaches
that one can chose, and each student must configure his own solution to the raised issue, but a
viable solution based on existing data/elements.
In order to become promoters of critical thinking for sustainability, teachers have, in
turn, to think critically about complex problems of the present and of the future, and they need
support and guidance in this respect.
Also, transdisciplinary becomes imperative – strict boundaries between objects of study
must be faded by establishing connections between them. And local perspective on local
processes and phenomena must be combined with a global perspective. (Shah, Brown, 2009,
p. 5)
In the paradigm of critical thinking, education for sustainable development proposes
that, beyond the accumulation of knowledge, to be created for youth the capacity to think freely,
formulate well-founded opinions and find solutions for a better future.
This is a challenge primarily for pedagogic staff, which aims to support a type of
transformative learning by understanding the complexity of our world and by self-reflection
and continuous self-improvement, both in formal education and through lifelong learning.

Bibliography
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Lau, Joe (2012): A Mini Guide to Critical Thinking, Version 2.0, Department of
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Paul, Richard, Elder, Linda (2006): The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking. Concepts
and Tools, The Foundation for Critical Thinking, Fourth edition, retrieved online
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Scriven, Michael & Paul, Richard (1987): A statement presented at the 8th Annual
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Siegel, Harvey (2015): Philosophy of Education, Encyclopɶdia Britannica, retrieved

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online http://www.britannica.com/topic/philosophy-of-education/Critical-thinking#ref936428