Magic Glasses of Critical Thinking

D. Michael Rivage-Seul is a liberation theologian and former Roman Catholic priest. He taught for 40 years at Berea College in Kentucky, where he directed the Peace and Social Justice Studies program. There he soon received Berea’s Seabury Award for Excellence in Teaching, the institution’s highest faculty honor. His publications include The Emperor’s God: Imperial Misunderstandings of Christianity and A Kinder and Gentler Tyranny: Illusions of a New World Order, co-authored with his life partner, Dr. Marguerite K. Rivage-Seul.

• List of Figures – Introduction: Critical Thinking, Magic Glasses, and Film – Part One: Critical Thinking in Our Post-Fact World of Fake News – Alternative Fact and Fake News Inside Plato’s Cave – My Own Escape From Our Culture’s Cave: From Ego-Centrism to Global Awareness – Inching Towards Cosmic Consciousness – Part Two: The First Eight Rules of Critical Thinking – Rule One: Reflect Systemically – Rule Two: Select Market as the Economic Root of Political Differences – Rule Three: Reject Neutrality – A Compromise World Vision – Rule Four: Suspect Ideology – Rule Five: Respect History – Rule Six: Inspect Scientifically – Rule Seven: Quadra-Sect Violence – Rule Eight: Connect With Your Deepest Self – Part Three: Reviewing History Through the Magic Glasses – How the Wealthy Privatized the Commons – Colonialism and Its Structures – Commoners Resist Privatization – Hitler and Fascism’s Defense of Privatization – Part Four: Fascism Today, Drawing Conclusions, and Breaking Silence – Continuation of Hitler’s System in Globalization and the War on Terrorism – Capitalism’s Contemporary Crisis and the Rise of Neo-Fascism – Rule Nine: Collect Conclusions and Live Critically – Rule Ten: Detect Silences (and Fake News) – Index.

“D. Michael Rivage-Seul has provided an invaluable resource for teachers and students of critical thinking. His ten rules lucidly explain concepts that most outside the Global South find difficult to understand and accept. His presentation makes those thoughts accessible to all. Bravo!”—Franz Hinkelammert, economist, liberation theologian, and Convener of The Critical Thinking Group, San Jose, Costa Rica