Vitalising critical thinking: Embodied critical thinking in a philosophical context

This chapter delves into our experience of incorporating methods of embodied thinking into the training of critical thinking within university philosophy courses. To illuminate the primary features of this approach, we distinguish three traditions of critical thinking. Firstly, there is the tradition of critical thinking as a rational mode of thought and logical argumentation. Secondly, we explore the tradition of social critical thinking, often associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Thirdly, we introduce the approach of embodied critical thinking, rooted in phenomenological, pragmatist, hermeneutical, feminist thinking, and the turn to embodiment in the cognitive sciences. The tripartite division we present does not seek to establish a hierarchical categorisation, implying lower to higher forms of critical thinking or a progression from narrow to broader understanding. Instead, this threefold classification underscores that embodied critical thinking, rationalistic critical thinking, and social critical thinking represent different facets of the same conceptual coin. The differences lie in the emphasis on diverse aspects of critical thinking practices. Our endeavour is to address how critical thinking can be more effectively cultivated through methods grounded in embodied and experiential thinking.