Insight Studies

A Practice-Based Approach to Self-Knowledge and Critical Thinking

Kenneth Melchin (Autor)

Buch | Hardcover

128 Seiten

2025
University of Toronto Press (Verlag)
978-1-4875-6610-4 (ISBN)

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Insight Studies draws on Bernard Lonergan’s philosophy to teach critical thinking skills through a practice-based method inspired by how we learn musical instruments.

Insight Studies emphasizes the importance of understanding the operations that generate and verify the knowledge we rely on in our daily lives. Grounded in the philosophy of Bernard Lonergan, the book employs a practice-based approach similar to learning a musical instrument, fostering critical thinking skills through engaging learning modules.
The book features modules that include puzzles with detailed instructions to help learners focus on their own cognitive processes and operations of knowing. This approach broadens the scope of critical thinking to encompass the operations of questioning, understanding, verifying, valuing, and cooperating. Each chapter illustrates the relevance of these skills across various fields, including ethics, conflict resolution, psychology, sociology, philosophy, politics, and personal relationships.
Structured as a nine-module course text, Insight Studies can be adapted for in-class, online, or self-directed learning. Designed to be learner friendly, this book equips readers with transformative skills that are applicable to everyday life.

Kenneth R. Melchin is a professor emeritus in Theology and director of the Lonergan Centre at Saint Paul University.

Preface

1. Introduction to Insight Studies
Insight Studies: What Kind of Organism Am I?
Self-Knowledge, Relationships, and Democracies
Self-Knowledge and Critical Thinking
A Practice-Based Approach
Outline of the Chapters and Learning Modules

2. Getting Started: Practice Modules 1–3
Selecting Puzzles that are Right for You
Module 1: Establishing a Daily Routine of Puzzle Solving
Module 2: A Special Procedure for Puzzle Solving
Excursus: Introducing Self-Knowing
Module 3: Focusing on Your Mind’s Operations
Applying the Skills

3. Identifying the Operations: Practice Modules 4–6
Module 4: Differentiating Groups of Operations
Excursus: Some Observations on the Skill Development Process
Excursus: Introducing the Theory of Knowing
Module 5: Identifying the Operation of Direct Insight
Module 6: Identifying the Operation of Judgment
Applying the Skills

4. Feelings, Values, and Decisions: Practice Modules 7–9
Module 7: Identifying Feelings and Values
Excursus: Revisiting the Theory of Knowing
Module 8: Feelings, Values, and Decisions
Module 9: Observing an Inner Normativity
Applying the Skills

5. Applications
Ethics and Discernment
Conflict and Insight
Sociology and Everyday Arguments
Psychology and Problem Solving
Philosophy and Self-Possession
Politics and Spirituality
Concluding Reflections

6. Afterword

Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Erscheinungsdatum	27.08.2025
Verlagsort	Toronto
Sprache	englisch
Maße	159 x 235 mm
Gewicht	340 g
Themenwelt	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Ethik
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Östliche Philosophie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie
	Sozialwissenschaften ► Pädagogik
ISBN-10	1-4875-6610-7 / 1487566107
ISBN-13	978-1-4875-6610-4 / 9781487566104
Zustand	Neuware