Cited by 6Education and Critical Thinking DevelopmentIndian and Buddhist StudiesEpistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics

Debatable Truths: What Buddhist Argumentation Reveals about Critical Thinking

Lugli, Ligeia·2015·Contemporary Buddhism

Abstract

Asian students have often been reported to struggle with Western-style critical thinking. A good understanding of what constitutes this intellectual practice might help them overcome some of their difficulties. To this end, a precise definition is necessary. This paper offers a contribution in this regard. First, it presents a summary of the debate on this subject and spells out the three elements that, according to most theorists, constitute critical thinking, i.e., logico-argumentative abilities, dispositions to inquiry and evaluative epistemology. Second, it shows how this tripartite model is inadequate to explain the alleged difficulties of Asian students. Finally, it uses a medieval Indic text on Buddhist argumentation, the Tarkabhāā (XI CE), to expose the shortcomings of this model and to bring into focus three other specific characteristics of academic critical thinking: (1) the topic of inquiry, (2) the direction of the argument and (3) the object of critical scrutiny.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/14639947.2015.1026150

Cites

65 of 65 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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Authors
Lugli, L.
Affiliations
Mangalam Research Center for Buddhist Languages (US)
Corresponding author
Lugli, Ligeia
Venue
Contemporary Buddhism
Published
2015-05-07
Volume
16
Issue
2
Pages
371-400
ISSN
  • 1463-9947 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-7953
OpenAlex
W2268531032
Cited by
6
References
68
Citations by year
2025: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1
FWCI
1.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Contemporary Buddhism (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Education and Critical Thinking Development
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Indian and Buddhist Studies
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics
Keywords
critical thinking, Asian students, academic argumentation, Indian logic

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