Blinded by science? Reasons for thinking twice

Date
2014-05-28
Authors
Poulston, JM
Supervisor
Item type
Conference Contribution
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Council for Hospitality Management Education (CHME)
Abstract

Critical thinking is a key skill promised by many undergraduate programmes, yet few offer specific courses in thinking, nor do university lecturers necessarily think critically or know how to teach critical thinking. This preliminary paper overviews critical thinking in hospitality pedagogy, then uses the literature on fluoridation and astrology to exemplify the discrepancies between observable phenomena and the common view. Empirical data are employed to interrogate the relationship between empiricism and belief, and survey data on contentious beliefs further explore this relationship. The paper concludes that the relationship between scientific evidence and belief is somewhat arbitrary, and advice from friends and personal experience are important influences on thinking and belief. Implications for hospitality and tourism education are addressed.

Description
Keywords
Beliefs , Critical thinking , Education , Paranormal , Reasoning
Source
Council for Hospitality Management Eduction (CHME) held at University of Derby, Buxton, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, Buxton, Derbyshire, United Kingdom, 2014-05-28 to 2014-05-30, published in: CHME 2014 Proceedings
DOI
Publisher's version
Rights statement
NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in (see Citation). The original publication is available at (see Publisher's Version).