Science or Pseudoscience? Theory or Conspiracy Theory? Critical Thinking in Practice

Abstract

In Coastal Carolina University\u27s Honors Program, students are offered numerous variations of the seminar Critical Methods of Inquiry (HONR 105). The course was originally designed as an introduction to the Paul-Elder Model of Critical Thinking that students could apply to other coursework and to their Honors thesis. But as the Honors Program developed, its faculty have augmented the course with themes that correspond to their own areas of expertise: e.g., rhetoric, contemporary social issues, critical theory, and pseudoscience. In the fall of 2021, students in Pseudoscience courses started creating this open educational resource (OER), which has been built upon by subsequent classes. Our intention is to create a free textbook for this course that might also be used by students of critical thinking elsewhere and of all ages, whether in a classroom or not. Our growing, interactive textbook employs the Paul-Elder Model and other critical-thinking resources, and is freely available to all, learners and educators alike. The topic of pseudoscience offers a rewarding way for students to learn the value of thinking critically, even as they get to argue things, like Flat Earth Theory and astrology, that may seem trivial at first. At a time when truth is understood as largely subjective, we have, not surprisingly, seen a resurgence in the popularity of pseudosciences and conspiracy theories, which many consider to hold significant truth value, just as valid as physical evidence. It is our aim here to demonstrate the reasoned analysis process — weighing truth, belief, opinion, and fact — so that others may be able to replicate this process and reason through their own questions about vaccines, extra-terrestrials, genetic modification, or the first people to arrive in the Americas.https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/oer-course/1007/thumbnail.jp