René Descartes
I think therefore I am.
"What then am I? A thing which thinks. What is a thing which thinks? It is a thing which doubts, understands, conceives, affirms, denies, wills, and refuses, which also imagines and feels."
John Locke
Experience is the foundation of all knowledge. We are born a blank slate (tabula rasa).
"Thinking on its own is not enough. Locke believed that knowledge was founded on empirical observation and experience. There are no innate ideas that are with us when we are born."
David Hume
Causality is learned by experience, not reason.
"Hume believed causes and effects are discoverable not by reason but by experience. Even with the perspective of the past, humanity cannot dictate future events because thoughts of the past are limited compared to the possibilities for the future."
Design Thinking
A non-linear, iterative process to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems, and create innovative solutions to prototype and test.
- Empathise
- Define
- Ideate
- Prototype
- Test
The Seven Ways of Thinking
A framework for structuring thought processes, moving from identification to conclusion.
- Identify
- Delineate
- Differentiate
- Advocate
- Revise
- Summarise
- Integrate
- Refute
Paired Concepts: Creative, Analytical, Critical, Concrete, Abstract, Divergent, Convergent.
Philosophical Perspectives
Generalized views of the world that form beliefs and guide action. Click to explore the frameworks.
To Predict
Positivism: Knowledge is deductive, value-free, and relies on empirical scientific evidence.
To Understand
Interpretivism: Natural science methods cannot apply to social science; interpretations are culturally derived.
To Emancipate or Liberate
Critical Theory: Research should be used to change situations, focusing on power relations and critiquing assumptions.
To Deconstruct
Post-Modernism: Truth claims are socially constructed to serve interests; distrusts universal definitions of reality.
Foundational Concepts
Metaphysics
The study of the nature of reality.
Epistemology
The study of being and knowledge.
Ontology
What exists in the human world that we can acquire knowledge about?
Reality Paradigms
Realism: One reality exists.
Naïve Realism: Reality can be understood using appropriate methods.
Critical Realism: Reality captured by broad critical examination.
Relativism: Multiple realities exist.
Realities exist as multiple, intangible mental constructions; no reality beyond subjects.
Modern Thinking Methods
Recognized methods for structured thought used today. Click to see more.
Critical Thinking
The analysis, assessment, and dispositions of thought, identifying skills and barriers.
Conceptual Thinking
The practice of connecting abstract, disparate ideas to deepen understanding and create new ideas.
Bloom's Taxonomy
A cognitive learning process: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyse, Evaluate, Create.
School of Thought
Considers factors like Logical Fallacies and Cognitive Bias that affect reasoning.