New Conceptions of Thinking

What makes thinking good? Although both the general processes and the expertise views point to important dimensions of cognition, neither seems to present a full picture. This special issue explores new conceptions of effective thinking that push beyond both. The authors identify new dimensions of cognition that invite a more complex, expanded conception of good thinking -- one that may include, but is not limited to, general processes and expertise. Discussions feature:

* an argument that the cognitive concepts embedded within language provide children with cognitive structures for interpreting utterances and holding beliefs

* the key role of epistemic games in good thinking

* the importance of mindfulness -- an open, probabilistic state of mind that involoves the drawing of novel distinctions and the examination of new perspectives

* the significance of abstract conceptual structures in thinking

* a synthesis of several new views of thinking, including the ones put forth in this special issue, and an argument for a new, expanded conception of mind.

The papers collected in this volume bring genuinely fresh perspectives to bear on the nature of good thinking and what education can do to cultivate it. The contributions rest not so much in supplanting a dominant view, but rather in expanding it by prefiguring new directions in the study and teaching of thinking.