Critical Thinking and Language My

Critical Thinking and Language

My friend Mark's life at work is a hurricane of activity. Some customers bark at him. It is good he is both a ray of sunshine and a workhorse. Fortunately for his company (and him), he is an Energizer Bunny who simply never quits! He used to be a clown before he started with these slave drivers, but now he's just too tired to tickle anyone's funny bone. People who don't know him well probably think he's a lazy sloth because he's an open-mouthed trout staring at the television when he's home. He used to be a fountain of interesting information, but now he's a blank page. That is because he's a zombie. When he does sleep, his roommates say he's a rock.

The poor devil works at Liberty Tax, where his job is a merry-go-round of preparing and filing income tax returns. He's the office hummingbird, flying about at top speed. Others are glad he's a busy bee, since their supervisor is a snake, always sneaking up and biting them with even more demands.

Mark says most customers are pussycats, but some are bears, especially if he tells them they owe income tax. Last week he had avalanches of tax returns to prepare, about twenty-five of those monsters in one day. I'm glad he's a tower of strength on days like that! His boss is a mule: everything must be done his way. His heart is stone. Every day last week, Mark had to be a lark and arrive at his office (a cracker box) by 7 A.M. sharp. He didn't leave that hole in the wall, either, until the cows came home. Now that's slavery!

I'm not sure people know what a brain he is. There, he's just part of the herd. The only thing they probably see is his looks. He's no ugly duckling! The company president would probably appreciate them all more if he weren't an old goat.

Part Two: Address the following questions:

1)What role does language play in the critical thinking process?

The role language plays in the critical thinking process is a crucial one: language is never independent of the context in which it is written or spoken. Language may encourage, discourage, help, or hinder critical thinking, but language is never neutral. Examples of ways language impacts critical thinking occurred often in the recent 2004 presidential campaign. When President Bush said, in one of the debates, "Freedom is on the march!" (referring to America's role in Iraq) it was up to those watching to use their critical thinking skills (or not) to decide for themselves if the President's words had weight merely because he was President; if their idea of "freedom" matched his; or if progress (e.g., the "march" toward "freedom") was occurring as he said. One cannot have critical thinking without language, and most language at least invites critical thinking (even if critical thinking does not take place).

2) How does language empower or limit the expression of our thoughts?

Language springs from a combination of our thoughts and the context in which language is used. Language (depending, on how we choose to, or feel we must use it) can either empower or limit expression. A professor lecturing to a class may use language, either more or less effectively, to either empower or limit expression of his or her thoughts. The ability of language itself to empower or limit the professor's thoughts depends on factors like the professor's speaking skill, passion, knowledge, etc. Still, the professor has license in that context to use language to either empower or limit personal expression. Conversely, a student in the course may have as many or more thoughts on the subject, but is expected in that context, to limit expression of them. The student is not entitled to stand up and lecture, for instance, whatever his or her level of knowledge or desire. The professor, however, is expected to do so. Therefore, language and context either empower or limit human expression, depending on the situation and on decisions made by individuals to limit expression of thoughts through language or not.

3)What is the role of critical thinking in persuasion?