East West

Perspectives on critical thinking among Arabs and Americans

Dr..

Kamal Abdul Malik

03 June 2022

I was sitting in a restaurant in New York, when I heard a young American mother ask her son, who may not be more than five years old, “Alex, baby, what do you like to drink?” I think the boy chose milk, and when it was time to order a meal, I asked him again, She reads from the menu, that he chooses a meal, and chooses, then it was time for dessert and I asked him what flavor of ice cream he wanted, and he chose a kind with a strange name that I did not know, and strange details of the additions he wanted.

The mother looked at him with a smile, and said firmly, 'How do you say you add one more thing to the ice cream?'

We need to keep our teeth, okay baby?” and I listed the additions for him to choose from.

I contemplated this scene, and thought about the way we grew up in our Arab societies, and I remembered that as children we were never asked what we wanted to drink or eat;

We were all served a uniform type of drinks and food, and even adult guests were served the same drink, most likely black tea with several spoons of sugar (things are different now and we ask: do you like tea or coffee?).

Let's go back to Alex and his mom.

We will likely discover that this boy has his own room, his bed, his colorful bookshelves, and his own wall posters, which could be a singer, a famous sports figure, or a cute animal like a panda with its kohl eyes.

In this large space, Alex grows up with the freedom to choose toys, stickers, colors, even a T-shirt, the different designs, and the words on it.

Therefore, when Alex goes to school, it is normal for him to read the texts, to form an opinion on them, to choose a hobby, a sport, an instrument he likes, and of course he will choose friends, who will invite him to his birthday party.

At university, he will read critically, discuss the texts he examines, form an independent viewpoint, and not repeat what his professors say in the lecture hall.

In an English course on Arab heritage, I had Arab and American students, and I was discussing a translated passage from Ibn Khaldun's Introduction (1332-1406).

I asked an Arab student about his opinion of Ibn Khaldun’s ideas, and he replied: “You ask me, Prof, about Ibn Khaldun?

I?

I can tell you what he said,” I said, “I want to hear your opinion.” He was silent and puzzled.

I moved to the American student, and he proceeded to present his opinion on Ibn Khaldun and his criticism of his ideas about “asabiyya” and the rise and fall of nations. He compared Ibn Khaldun and Edward Gibbon (1737-1794), the English historian, and his book “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,” in which he traces the history of Western civilization from the height of the Roman Empire until the fall of Byzantium in the 15th century.

Then, the scene repeated, and I was shown the clear differences between students who grew up to think critically and encouraged to form their own opinions, and students who grew up without encouragement to form their own opinions and who believed that the best they could do in their college education was to memorize information and reproduce it in exams. .

I thought to myself: Perhaps this promising student had a mother like Alex's mother, who would ask him what he wanted to drink or eat, and would provide him with room, space, and freedom of choice.

This visiting student will return to his country, and he will invest what he has learned in our country, and increase it, participating in the production of knowledge that makes his country at the forefront of nations.

Critical thinking is the basis of true learning, and our path - we Arabs - towards progress and prosperity.

 Visiting Scholar at Harvard University 

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