THINK! Session #3, The Psychology of Thinking

HumanistsMN's mission includes a commitment to "educate the public about . . . the importance of science, reason, and critical thinking." Accordingly, we are again offering THINK!, a course intended to improve participants' thinking skills. This course is adapted from material Jerry Smith taught to upper-level undergraduate students at the University of Northern Iowa. It has been offered to HMN participants on several occasions, most recently in 2019-20. The course consists of twenty sessions, one or two of which will be offered each month on Saturday or Sunday late afternoons.

This third session develops the psychological foundations for understanding and improving higher-order thinking. After reviewing the history of thinking about thinking, we will consider the human brain and how it gives rise to consciousness. The motives that drive thinking and emotions that influence it will be discussed. Low-level cognitive processes like perception, attention, and memory provide inputs to higher level mental activities--learning, judgment, imagination, and reasoning--the last being a major focus of the course.

While the course material is cumulative--each session draws on its predecessors--participants can still benefit if they were unable to attend earlier sessions. The course will be taught using PowerPoint presentations, copies of which will be made available to participants beforehand. Although a lot of material will be covered, each session includes considerable time for attendee participation, as by identifying thinking mistakes, analyzing arguments, and responding to discussion questions.

So, if you've wanted to develop new thinking skills (or refurbish old ones), do come! Interested participants are welcome to join us after the event for dinner at Vina, a moderately priced Vietnamese restaurant located at 756 Cleveland Avenue South, a few blocks from the library.

This event is sponsored by HumanistsMN. If you are not already a member, please consider joining to help us cover our costs and build the humanist movement. Sign up at humanistsmn.org.