Critical thinking challenging independence as an educational objective

The concept of independence of thought reminds us of Bacon, Descartes, and Kant. It was the latter who through the analysis of errors in thought opened a new chapter in epistemology. Pearce, the founder of the Pragmatism, claimed that thinking, by its very nature, is similar to a dialogue and as a result dependent upon language and other social conventions. Dewey, expanding on the Pearce's epistemology, explained the development of goals within a problem solving framework, with experience being the very core of educational process. Wittgenstein considered the effect of language within the framework of linguistic games as the very root of the way we think and view the world. It seems that based on these views, educational systems that promote special mental frameworks, do not necessarily make the development of wisdom possible. Based on an historical approach, post-structuralist perspectives considered critical thinking with emphasis on language, as an educational objective. In Psychology, with a non-historical approach, also critical thinking is considered as a goal. The combination of these two approaches and the way it makes for the inclusion of critical thinking as an educational goal in the curriculum are discussed herein.