Rethinking critical thinking in the dawn of dark times: what role can Greco-Roman philosophies play?

Following Trump’s time soon to come, critical thinking (CT) has become more important than ever. However, CT faces a challenge: excessive debates about it have obfuscated its meaning. This study adopts an eclectic application of Greco-Roman philosophies by first using Aristotle’s fourfold causality to clarify CT’s current schools and debates, allowing us to move beyond evaluating the pros and cons of each CT approach. The main challenge of CT involves its domestication and absorption within the structured education system and social governance, which trivialize the distance that a critical learner should keep from others and themselves. As a solution to the challenges associated with CT, this study suggests repositioning CT as a Greco-Roman spiritual exercise, offering a way for individuals to mediate the expected distance for criticality. Such antique CT is not teachable, but teachers should lead students to practice such spiritual exercises to interrupt the discourses of dark times.