Information and feeling underlie all thinking. Thinking depends on information and is strongly influenced by feeling. CoRT 5 deals with information processes, such as questions, clues, guessing, belief, ready-made opinions and the misuses of information. It also deals with emotions and values. The aim of CoRT 5 is to encourage a definite awareness of these influences - not to change them. The students are also trained to recognise what information they have, what they still require and how to use information. The techniques used in each lesson are designed to develop detachment and observation.
Foreword
Model Lesson Sequence
Lesson Notes - How to Run the Lessons
Standard Lesson Format
Lesson 1: INFORMATION. Analysis of information and appraisal of its completeness. What desirable information is missing?
Teacher's Notes, Student's Notes (A), Student's Notes (B)
Lesson 2: QUESTIONS. Skilled use of questions. Purpose and direction of questions. Opening-up questions and closing-down questions.
Lesson 3: CLUES. Clues, deduction, implication. Maximum extrapolation of given information. Putting things together.
Lesson 4: CONTRADICTION. False jumps, false conclusions and other incorrect uses of information.
Lesson 5: GUESSING. The use of guessing when information is incomplete. Good guesses and bad guesses.
Lesson 6: BELIEF. Credibility. How we value our information. Proof, certainty, belief, consensus, authority, media, experience, anecdote, etc.
Lesson 7: READY-MADES. Usual substitutes for personal thinking- stereotypes, cliches, prejudices, standard opinions, etc.
Lesson 8: EMOTIONS AND EGO. The way emotions are involved in thinking. Usual emotions and ego-emotions (having to be right, trying to be funny, face-saving, etc.).
Lesson 9: VALUES. Values determine thinking and acceptability of the result. Appreciation of the values involved rather than trying to change them.
Lesson 10: SIMPLIFICATION AND CLARIFICATION. What does it boil down to? What is the situation? What is the thinking about?