Higher Learning and the Critical Stance

In engaging with a diverse range of philosophers, traditions and writers, this article develops and defends a concept of the critical stance. It is argued that the realisation of this ideal should be a goal for those teaching in higher education today. The critical stance refers to a particular manner in which students and teachers engage within the learning environment. This article argues that the critical stance is an attitude or disposition towards oneself, others and the object of inquiry that challenges and impels learners to reflect, understand and act in the milieu of potentiality. It examines the nature of this attitude and the pedagogical implications of its pursuit. The aim of this article, therefore, is to present a perception of what should be a central goal for higher learning and usher in a challenge to those teaching in higher education to consider the nature and import of such a disposition within their own perceptions of, and practices within, the learning project.