Critical thinking is one of the most important skills in the modern world. The author maintains that there are two concepts of critical thinking: one is more popular and is connected to an adequate interpretation of a text, the skill relatively easily checked through school tests. The second presupposes the method applied by many philosophers throughout centuries: it implies distancing ourselves from the object under observation, thinking out of the box in which we exist and focusing on the origin and the essence of the object or the box itself. The author thinks that the method regarded as the domain of the pure reasoning has today become applicable in our everyday life. Critical thinking as a method and skill is the road to success in every sphere – business, science, art or politics.

In the author’s opinion, one of the main characteristics of the modern world is that not only philosophers see the necessity to think outside the box, to look at the boxes in which we exist from the outside. Philosophy has spent centuries working on the methods and ways of ‘leaving the box’, that is why the most valuable experience of critical thinking is to be sought in philosophical texts.

Ultimately, this book is not only an attempt to present the experience of critical thinking, but also a clear example of how philosophy should be taught in the 21st century: as the experience of critical thinking and its history.

The book consists of two sections:

The first includes four main questions related to critical thinking, or the main issues of philosophy that originated in Ancient Greece and became the foundation of philosophy as such and critical approach in particular.

The second section covers those statements that are still valid for critical thinking though they may have been put forward a hundred or two hundred years ago. It is believed that the statements offered in the book will assist readers to apply a different, ‘an outside’ look at the prevalent views existing around us, at the traditional or falsified information, and many beliefs and social facts based on them.

A list of recommended literature for further reading is provide at the end of each chapter in case readers wish not to restrict themselves with only familiarizing with the questions and statements related to critical thinking. The list will enable those interested in philosophy to deepen their knowledge about the history and development of critical approach.

Original illustrations are an integral part of the publication. On the one hand, they provide an artistic explanation of the text and, on the other hand, offer additional information to the reader, often motivating them to apply critical thinking to what they have read, which presents a new approach to guide books in general.

Gigi Tevzadze
Born in 1967, Gigi Tevzadze graduated from Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Faculty of Philosophy and Psychology with a degree in Philosophy. His work experiences include: Fieldwork at the Center for the Restoration of Rare and Endangered Animals (1985-1995), Publisher of the Regional Newspaper (1987-1988), Lecturer (1992 to present), Government Reform Consultant (1995-1997 – UNDP, 2000- 2001 – World Bank). He also worked as the Head of the Research Department of the Parliament of Georgia (1997-2000), Member of the Coordinating Council for State Anti-Corruption Policy (2001-2003), Georgia Education Reform Project -Director (2004-2006) and First Rector of Ilia State University (2006-2013); In 2006, with the support and instruction of the Government of Georgia, he founded Ilia State University. Since 2006 has been a professor at Ilia State University and director of the Institute for 4D Studies.

Gigi Tevzadze is the author of more than 60 scientific articles, 16 (including 3 fiction) books and several dozen blogs on Georgian, English, German, Macedonian and Russian languages. Areas of research include: Philosophy, Sociology, Political Anthropology, Education Policy, Theory of Evolution, Ethno-ecology, Human Genetics, Social Neuroscience, and Brain Research.

He is the author of the books: Final Philosophy, Enchantment, Evolution, Why You Believe in God, Georgia – The Return of Power, Unknown Books and Other History.