l3 - Traditional Thinking Methods

FAH 0033
THINKING SKILLS
3. TRADITIONAL THINKING METHODS

(Socrates, Plato & Aristotle)
1
Socrates? Who are
Plato? these
Aristotle? aliens?
Come out,
come out
wherever
you are!
2
Historical Background
The fall of the Roman Empire was followed

by the Dark Ages.
Scholarship, reading, writing and thinking
were only preserved in the great monasteries
and abbeys of the church.
Then came the Renaissance brought about
by the discovery of the classic thinking
methods of the ancient Greek philosophers.
3
Humanity was given a more central role in
the universe.
Thinkers were allowed to use reason to

work things out Logic was now allowed.
4
Wow! Thats Activity
quite a bit time!!
to take!
5
ACTIVITY TASK
Go out and collect an object

Bring it to the class
In groups discuss 3 benefits and 3
challenges of the product to your friends
The product must be relevant to your daily
life
6
Come out,
Back to
come out
business!
wherever
you are!
7
Argument and Critical Thinking
To this day, Western culture depends on

this type of thinking.
In family arguments, in business
discussions, in the law courts, we use the
thinking system of the Greeks, based on
argument and critical thinking.
The prominent philosophers of this kind of
thinking are the gang of three.
8
Socrates (469-399 B.C.)
Socrates was trained as a sophist.

Sophists = people who played with words
and showed how careful choice of words
could lead you to almost any conclusion
you wanted.
He was interested in challenging peoples
thinking and getting them to think instead
of just taking things for granted.
9
He wanted people to examine what they
meant when they said something.
He was not concerned with building things

up or making things happen.
He placed great emphasis on argument and
critical thinking.
Argument the main thinking tool
Within argument there was to be critical
thinking e.g. Why do you say that?
10
This
Why? Why?
Socrates
Why?
guy was
really a
piece of
work!
11
Plato (c. 427 348 B.C.)
Plato the father of western philosophy
Known for his famous analogy of the cave
Suppose someone is bound up so that the
person cannot turn around but can only
look at the back wall of the cave. There is a
fire at the mouth of the cave. If someone
comes into the cave, then the bound person
cannot see the newcomer directly but can
only see the shadow cast by the fire on the
back wall of the cave.
12
So, as we go through life, we cannot see
truth and reality but only shadows of
these.
If we try hard enough and listen to
philosophers, then perhaps we can get a
glimpse of the truth. From Plato we get the
notion that there is the truth somewhere
but that we have to search for it to find it.
The way to search for the truth is to use
critical thinking to attack what is untrue.
13
Shadow?
I am really
Truth?
going to
Critical
shoot this
thinking to
guy once I
attack what
see him!
is untrue?
14
Aristotle (384 322 B.C.)
Aristotle was the pupil of Plato and the

tutor of Alexander the Great.
He was a very practical person.
He developed the notion of categories,
which are really definitions. E.g. table &
chair
The object cannot both be a chair and a
table at the same time contradiction.
15
On the basis of categories and the
avoidance of contradiction LOGIC
From Aristotle we get a type of logic based
on identity and non-identity, on inclusion
and exclusion.
16
So, how can
Activity
we apply
time!
this?
17
ACTIVITY TASK 2
In groups of three, discuss if this type of

thinking can be applied to your studies in
UTP as an engineer or IT specialist.
What is your feedback?
18
The Outcome of the Gang of
Three
The outcome was a thinking system based
on the search of the truth.
This search was going to be carried out by
the method of argument.
Within argument there was to be the
critical thinking that sought to attack
untruth.
This attack was to use Aristotles logic.
19
The Inadequacy of Argument
To this day, argument is the basis of our

normal thinking e.g. law courts
There is a place for argument, and it is a
useful thinking tool.
But argument is inadequate as the main
tool for thinking.
Argument lacks constructive energies,
design energies, and creative energies.
20
Pointing out faults may lead to some
improvement but does not construct
something new.
Today there is a huge need to be
constructive and creative.
There is a need to solve problems and to
open up opportunities.
Parallel thinking is where thinkers put
forward his or her thoughts in parallel with
the thoughts of others not attacking them.
21
Lets What is
debate! your
Women are opinion?
better Womens
organizers viewpoint vs
compared Mens
to men! viewpoint!
22
Individual task
What was the outcome of the discussion?

Is the output a reflection of the style of our
thinking?
Is there any difference between traditional
thinkers and modern day thinkers?
23
COMPULSORY READING
Edward de Bono. (1993).The Nature Of

Thinking. In Teach Your Child How to
Think. London: Penguin Books. (pp. 56
62).
24

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FAH 0033

3. TRADITIONAL THINKING METHODS

The fall of the Roman Empire was followed

Thinkers were allowed to use reason to

Go out and collect an object

To this day, Western culture depends on

Socrates was trained as a sophist.

He was not concerned with building things

Aristotle was the pupil of Plato and the

In groups of three, discuss if this type of

To this day, argument is the basis of our

What was the outcome of the discussion?

Edward de Bono. (1993).The Nature Of

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