Michael Forsman 228 also points to critical thinking as a form of practical knowledge where one must be able to “think on one’s feet’s”. This practi- cal part also includes rhetorical abilities and the ability to participate in (critical) conversations at one’s department and in a certain academic field. Furthermore, Barnett point to critical thinking as a form of p litical engagement, which means that the ordonnance of higher studies must be about making students aware of the wider society and challenges that (other) citizens are facing. A fourth aspect of critical thinking that Barnett bring up is critical thought as a corporate reform. Here he is refer- ring to the growing interest in critical thinking that comes from the corporate world. Albeit, more for strategic and commercial purposes more than intellectual and reflective ideals. In other words, critical thinking can be used for different purposes, by different agents, in different contexts. There are also different “tribes” (national, corporate, academic, subcultural, political) with their norms and habitus, values, and territory, for what is being acknowledged as critical thinking. There are also discussions about critical predisposition. To become a critical thinker you need a well-tempered critical attitude that is based on curiosity and personal interest, persis- tence, and flexibility. This should be combined with a willing- ness to participate, develop and being responsible. This gives the subject competence to detect and avoid fallacious reasoning, to do deductive and inductive analysing, as well as careful and deliberate determinations of what to accept, reject, or suspend. Let us now have look at how Barnett’s (1997) and others de- scribe and imagine the ideal critical thinker. The critical thinker is focused on inquires and persistent in its search for valid data and results. The critical thinker is well-informed and trustful of reason, fair-minded in evaluations and prudent in judgements. The critical thinker is open minded and flexible, imaginative, and creative, but also orderly and rea- sonable (FACIONE, 1990). The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, and honestly detects and reforms any personal biases and limitations that stands in the way of a truly rational and clear way of thinking and is willing to re-consider when proven wrong (PAUL, 1993). As we can see, the discussion around the critical thinker stretches from ontology to psychology, individu-
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