Lauren Hayden

Knowledge is generated through the interaction of critical and creative thinking.

Evaluate this statement in two areas of knowledge.

“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and

skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating

information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection,

reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” (Paul, 1995), and

creative thinking is synthesizing information gathered from, or generated from,

one’s mind. In a way, information is put into one’s mind, analyzed using critical

thinking, and later used to make something new, with creative thinking. This is

how new knowledge is created. Accepted fact is taken, changed, and combined

to make something new (see diagram).

This interaction is very useful in an area of knowledge such as the natural

sciences. Scientists must gather data from the field, which requires critical

thinking, and then use their creative thinking skills to reason what the data

means. For example, at the beginning of January 2011, about 5,000 black birds

were found dead on the ground in Arkansas. Scientists performed autopsies on

the birds and critically deduced that the birds had suffered from physical trauma.

Then, the scientists had to use creative thinking skills to find reasons for this

physical trauma. The conclusions ranged from New Year’s fireworks to

hailstones to changes in the Earth’s atmosphere. Without the interaction, an

educated conclusion could not have been made because the scientists either

wouldn’t have know to collect data, or they wouldn’t have been able to synthesize

the data into a possible answer.

 While the creation of knowledge is generally seen as a benefit, it

isn’t always. If knowledge is being “created”, who is to say that it is always true?

Information can be incorrectly synthesized to make conclusions that are not true.

Of all the areas of knowledge, history is the most susceptible to this problem.

Historians may see two important points of history, and use them to conclude a

fact. However, there are two sides to every story, so the ‘fact’, could be wrong

because creative thinking is just that—creative. A good example is the ‘Robber

Barons’ of the Gilded Age. The original ‘Robber Barons’ were called so because

they used unethical business practices to monopolize their industry. Allen

Nevins, a historian who is known for his work on business revisionism history,

wrote about the positive effects of the ‘Robber Barons’, from their industrial and

military contributions. Through this example, it is evident that the creation of

knowledge is not always a good thing. Of course, it should be remembered that

history is an area that is highly biased, regardless of whether the facts presented

are true or not.

When one hears the word ‘creativity’, they automatically think of an art

project. Music, dance, painting, or in other words, the more abstract ways to

convey knowledge. In the fine arts, there isn’t necessarily any critical thinking at

all. If a performer is working improvisationally, then it could be pure creative

thinking. However, if they are interpreting a piece of music or theatre in their own

way, there is critical thinking involved because they need to be able to read the

notes, or lines written on the page. Therefore, one could argue that improvisation

in the fine arts is not creating new knowledge. After all, what do we learn from

making up a dance on the spot, or splashing paint across a canvas? We may

 learn limitations of the human body, or the way color mixes, but we are not

creating knowledge the same way science experiments are.

Overall, I find that the statement holds true. However, creating knowledge

doesn’t have to be positive, and the knowledge doesn’t have to be accurate. It

mostly depends on the amount of creative thinking versus the amount of critical

thinking.

Works Cited

"CriticalThinking.org - Defining Critical Thinking." Foundation for Critical Thinking:

Books, Conferences and Academic Resources for Educators and Students. Web. 24
Feb. 2011. <http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/define_critical_thinking.cfm>.
"GLOSSARY." Del Mar College. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
<http://www.delmar.edu/rn/handbook/docs/glossary.html>.
Hermes,, Amanda. "Creative and Critical Thinking Skills | EHow.com." EHow. Web. 24
Feb. 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/about_5453745_creative-critical-thinking-
skills.html>.
"The Robber Barons and the Real Gilded Age." The Freeman | Ideas On Liberty. Web. 24
Feb. 2011. <http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/the-robber-barons-and-the-
real-gilded-age/>.