METAPHORS: TOOLS FOR CRITICAL THINKING
Abstract
ABSTRACT. There is a large body of literature about the importance of teaching critical thinking skills and many different approaches have been advanced for teaching it. Little attention, however, has been devoted to the use of metaphor as an analytical tool. The following article utilizes the theories advanced by Campbell, Jung, and Bruner as they relate to a general understanding of how metaphor shapes human thought. The utopian garden (Eden) has been selected as an example of what Jung calls an archetype. This particular archetype is traced through three different historical ages (Biblical, Enlightenment, and New Age psychotherapy) in order to illustrate how each age has reconstructed the archetype to reflect its own metaphors. The utopian garden archetype contains within itself two implicit questions: Why did humanity leave an ideal garden? And how can we fmd our way back? RÉSUMÉ. Des très nombreuses études traitent de l'importance que revê l'enseignement de la pensée critique et des différentes approches proposées pour cet enseignement. Toutefois, peu de chercheurs se sont intéressés à la métaphore en tant qu'outil d'analyse. Cet article s'appuie sur les théories proposées par Campbell, Jung et Bruner dans la mesure où celles-ci se rapportent à une compréhension générale du rôle que la métaphore joue dans le façonnement de la pensée humaine. L'utopie du paradis terrestre y est utilisée pour illustrer ce que Jung appelle un archétype. Cet archétype particulier est examiné dans trois contextes historiques, à savoir l'époque biblique, le Siècle des lumières et la psychothérapie dite "du nouvel âge", afin d'illustrer comment chaque période reformule l'archétype en fonction de ses propres métaphores. L'archétype du paradis terrestre recouvre deux questions implicites: pourquoi l'humanité a-telle quitté ce lieu idéal? Comment faire pour retrouver ce paradis?Downloads
Published
1996-01-01
How to Cite
Ivie, S. D. (1996). METAPHORS: TOOLS FOR CRITICAL THINKING. McGill Journal of Education / Revue Des Sciences De l’éducation De McGill, 31(001). Retrieved from https://mje.mcgill.ca/article/view/8277
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Those wishing to reproduce all or part of any material published on this website are asked to email mje.education@mcgill.ca for permission and to acknowledge the McGill Journal of Education as the original source.
Authors must transfer copyright of their article to MJE. Authors may use all or parts of their work in any future publication with the article's origin in MJE acknowledged in the customary manner.
A copy of our standard form may be requested from mje.education@mcgill.ca