Book review: How Dogmatic Beliefs Harm Creativity and Higher-Level Thinking

To begin at the end:

In a rapidly changing world, people need creativity to adapt to novel tasks and situations. But they need analytical skills to know if their creative ideas are good ones. They need practical skills to implement their creative ideas and to persuade others of the value of those ideas. And they need wisdom to ensure that their creative ideas help achieve a common good, over the long and short terms, all through the infusion of positive ethical values. (Sternberg, p. 214)

It would be easy to criticize Sternberg for presenting what may be regarded by some as dogmatic beliefs if all they had read of this book was the above extract taken from the concluding chapter. It is however difficult to fail to understand the complexity of both addressing the issue of dogmatism as carried out by students, lecturers, legislators and critically those who produce standardized tests and ‘mastery’ assessments when all the book has been read and considered.

The selection of individual contributions to this volume has been made with a clear intention to be as wide ranging as possible whilst also utilizing the various novel and otherwise contributions to inform and support the living debate with regard to the necessity of addressing dogmatic thinking.

The seductive nature of dogmatic thinking is concisely expressed by Ambrose and Sternberg:

Dogmatism is counterproductive and dangerous but it can provide temporary, artificial certainty and illusory comfort in unpredictable times. (p. 4)

This collection is thorough as well as economical. At times, chapters are forcefully written in an almost Spartan manner, whilst at others, great attention has been given to presenting a detailed analysis of an individual chapter’s focus.

This approach of bringing many voices to this volume works well for example when a detailed view is examined concerning ‘world views’ and dogmatism:

World views are broad-scope conceptual lenses that operate at the implicit level and shape the ways in which an individual or group perceives and interprets phenomena. Each of the four world views – mechanism, organicism, con-textualism, and formalism – is based on a root metaphor that tacitly influences thinking. Each root metaphor carries with it basic tenants that shape epistemological, methodological, and ideological assumptions. (Chapter 2, ‘Finding dogmatic insularity in the territory of various academic disciplines’, Ambrose, p. 10)

A contrast to the necessary extensive exploration of ideas by Ambrose is contrasted by a pithy and forceful contribution in the chapter ‘Dogmatism and Genocide’ (p. 33) by Daniel Chirot.

Whether aspects of this book are concerned with the effects and purposes of war and war mongering, economic or cultural enslavement, the desire to eliminate groups opposed to accepted ideas or ecological intelligence, all the contributions feed into the conversation as to ‘What is the purpose of Schooling?’ (Sternberg, p. 207), ‘Why creativity should matter’ (Kaufman, Davis and Beghetto, p. 145) and how can light be brought to what the contributors collectively see as the growth of authoritarianism and dogma in both the politics of education and the circumscription of creative thinking. Excitingly, you will have more questions than answers from this stimulating collection.