George, the phrase “critical thinking” is just one of those deliberately ironic Orwellian euphemisms that are all the rage among leftists. For other current examples, see also the “Fairness Doctrine” (no free speech for you!) and the Employee Free Choice Act (please let the goons know how you plan to vote on unionization so we know whose families to threaten, m’kay?).
I wrote about this particular euphemism for Carolina Journal a few years back. My comments back up Zelnick’s observations (emphasis added):
Next to “diversity,” used as a synonym for discrimination by race, a favorite euphemism at universities today is “critical thinking.” The usual occasions for its use, however, are rather ironic — to stymie rather than stimulate critical thinking.
The university itself is generally regarded as a place to stimulate critical thinking. Along with, and in many minds superior to, preparing students for their respective fields, universities are expected to teach students how to think critically and by doing so prepare them to be better citizens. In other words, it goes without saying that college courses are to teach students how to think critically about the subject matter.
Or it ought to go without saying. When it is said explicitly, then — as is the case for any unnecessary statement of defense — it invites skepticism. After all, why would one feel compelled to explicate what is already expected? It’s not as if classes without the phrase are looking to teach uncritical thinking.
Yet too frequently we find academics going to rhetoric well of “critical thinking” to justify their courses. Often, and not coincidentally, they’re frivolous or heavily politicized courses. Often the same folks who hide behind the verbal shields of “tolerance” and “diversity” to denounce intolerance among conservatives and try to get Christian student organizations to eradicate their beliefs from their organizational documents are the same ones hailing “critical thinking” that students dare not question.
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