Daniel D. Slosberg
Education 402 -- Literacy
July 20, 2003
Defining Dispositional Thinking
I would rather define a thinking disposition than dispositional thinking. I feel
to modify the gerund thinking with dispositional really doesn’t get at
the core of what Ritchhart is trying to describe. I feel he is describing a disposition,
or an intentionally developed tendency to respond to given stimuli with behaviors
aligned with a certain set of actions, as it is related to thinking (by which
I feel he implicitly means thinking critically). While I understand that as an
author addressing teaching on instilling this disposition in students, Ritchhart
necessarily stressed the intentionality of actions in a disposition, I feel that
my disposition toward thinking is so internalized that I barely need to be conscious
of the fact that I am listening to a suspect source before my brain supplies
me with critiques and, worse, instances of cognitive dissonance.
In choosing my examples of thinking dispositions, I would like to take issue
with Ritchhart’s statement that “to use one’s critical thinking
abilities” is an “outright directive” (Ritchhart, 2002, p.23).
He then turns around and lists “critical thinking” in his chart of
thinking dispositions (Ritchhart, 2002, p. 27). I feel that in his first statement
he is responding to the verb use as indicative of an action instead of considering
what “to use one’s critical thinking abilities” means, namely
to think critically. In any case, I feel thinking critically and analyzing through
shifting paradigms are important examples of thinking dispositions.
To non-examples would be playing softball which is too specific in action and
context, and having integrity which is important for honest thinking, but also
for many other aspects of life.
Now in Peters (2003), we have a football as an example of a ball and a hockey
puck as a non-example. Our definition is an object rounded or spherical, typically
solid, and used in a sporting activity. Both a football and a hockey puck are
rounded non-spherical solids used in sporting activities. I was curious as to
why you placed them in the categories you did. Just curious:)
References
Peters, C. (2003). What’s in a Definition?
Ritchhart, R. (2002). Intellectual character: What it is, why it matters, and
how to get it. New York: Wiley.¹