Introduction

                                    Welcome to Stuart Fernie’s Blog

Please scroll down or find on the right links to articles, pages of reflections on films and books, and occasional pieces of short fiction.

Articles include discussion of Critical Thinking, "the relationship between an artist, a work of art and the consumer of a work of art", "respect, self-perception and self-healing", "Sicario" (2015), Steve McQueen, "Dracula entre l'amour et la mort" (the French-Canadian musical), science-fiction films, films about teaching, "A Tale of Two Cities" (1958), "The Invention of Lying", the Arts, the James Bond films, "Sweet Smell of Success", "Rollerball" (1975 and 2002), "The Professionals" (1966), "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "The Name of the Rose", "The Man who would be King", "Mr. Holmes" (2015), "The Last Samurai", "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961), "The Sand Pebbles", "Forrest Gump", "Gran Torino", "Gangs of New York", "Emperor of the North", "Five Easy Pieces", "Chinatown", "Casablanca", Blade Runner", "The Big Red One", early Luc Besson films, "Being There", "An Inspector Calls", "La Belle et la Bête", "The Searchers", "The Mission", "High Plains Drifter", "Nuremberg" (2025), "Prime Cut", the influence of existentialism in society today, anxiety, professional criteria and essential attributes in teaching, professionalism versus careerism, thoughts on the meaning of "success" and "worth", "Hobson's Choice", "Quai des Orfèvres", "Le Corbeau", "The Wages of Fear", advice and questions to assist in the writing of essays about films, thoughts on Proportion and Self-respect, "The Offence", "Trainspotting", "Three Days of the Condor", "Spotlight", "Good Night and Good Luck", "The Count of Monte Cristo" (French version, 2024), "Midnight Express", Jason Bourne, Advocating Arts and Humanities, "Heaven's Gate", "Civil War", "The Ghost and Mrs Muir", "Ad Astra", Duality in 19th century literature, "Living", "Hell in the Pacific", "Point Blank", "Vera Cruz", "Dr Strange in the Multiverse", my interpretation of "Il faut cultiver notre jardin", "Jean de Florette" and "Manon des Sources", "Drive my car", "The Batman", the place of acting in society, thoughts about religion and fate, "The Banshees of Inisherin", "Full Metal Jacket", "The Bishop's Wife", "Moliere", "Les Fleurs du Mal", "Soylent Green", "Bad Day at Black Rock", "The First Great Train Robbery", The Dreyfus Affair, "Persona", "The Seventh Seal", "A Clockwork Orange", "Night Moves", "Lonely are the Brave", "In the heat of the night", "The League of Gentlemen" (1960), thoughts on the nature of film noir, "Star Trek", "Seven Days in May", "Dead Poets Society", "Good Will Hunting", "Callan", "The Hill", "Cool Hand Luke", "The Hustler", "Road to Perdition", "The Verdict", "Three Colour Trilogy", "Jojo Rabbit", "Jeremiah Johnson", "Collateral", "Joker", "Barry Lyndon", "The Bridge at Remagen", "Le Mans '66 (Ford v Ferrari)", Charles Foster Kane ("Citizen Kane"), "The Deer Hunter", "Highlander", "No Country for Old Men", "Gattaca", "The Adventures of Robin Hood"(1938), "Apocalypse Now", "Spartacus", "The Bridge on the River Kwai", "The Long Good Friday", "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", "The Third Man", "Finding Forrester", "The Outlaw Josey Wales", "Untouchable" (2011),"Unforgiven", "The Manchurian Candidate", "The Wild Bunch", "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre", "Papillon" (1973), "Public Eye", "Existentialism in society today", "Seven Samurai", "It's a Wonderful Life", "Don Quixote", "We're No Angels", "The African Queen", "Babette's Feast", "War for the Planet of the Apes", "Dunkirk", “Dances With Wolves”, “Inherit The Wind” and “The Prisoner”. 

A link to my YouTube channel with video presentations of a number of my pages.

After I retired from teaching, I thought I’d write my memoirs, “What have I done?”, and present them online. Please find links to these memoirs, some French support pages and reflections on "Les Misérables" below.

I can be contacted through the comments sections or at stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk

Other blogs available:

French Support Pages

Discussion of “Les Misérables”

Tales of teaching – memoirs of a former French teacher

Versions françaises d’articles initialement publiés en anglais sur mon blog

All intellectual property rights reserved

Some reflections on Critical Thinking, what it is and when to use it

 

Some reflections on Critical Thinking, what it is and when to use it

 

Much is made these days of the term “critical thinking” and it is frequently used to suggest gullibility or naïve acceptance on the part of those who appear to put little thought into perspectives and perceptions.

So, what is “critical thinking” and why should it be considered important?

Before studying the operation of critical thinking, let us consider a few potential consequences of not applying what is, after all, merely a system of verification or checks and balances.

In the modern age when communication is easy and pressure to make commercial, legal or social decisions can be insidious and immediate, whether over the phone, via email or in a sales environment, it is essential to be able to verify or assess identity, figures, facts and reliability. Otherwise, you may enter into a contract with hidden clauses, false figures or disreputable partners. You may accept financial or business propositions over the phone from people falsely claiming to belong to a reputable organisation. You may hire dubious tradesmen to work on your home who fail to provide adequate documentation or guarantees. You may even be persuaded to vote for a politician who bombards you with general promises and statements of intent without furnishing details of just how his/her promises will be achieved and what he/she is likely to obtain personally from securing an elected position.

These (and many others) are all situations that may be avoided through use of critical thinking, which is merely the exercise of care and attention through application of reasonable doubt and verification. It is in your own best interests, indeed I would go so far as to say you owe it to yourself, to think critically.

At the heart of critical thinking is respect for objective truth.

Respect for truth must surpass opinion (which may consist of unsubstantiated thoughts or views), ambition (a prejudiced desire for a particular outcome to be the case), advantage (an unwillingness to accept a challenge to your belief if it weakens that belief) and pride (a stubborn refusal to change your mind despite clear and persuasive evidence).

Statements should not be accepted at face value. Corroboration or validation is required and may reasonably be expected. The proposer of a statement or contract should be able to provide clear evidence to support their claims.

Corroborated or validated accounts and evidence may be gathered to support or deny an affirmation (using facts, witness statements or accounts, images, sound recordings etc.). No extraordinary deductions should be reached – conclusions should be supported by facts, evidence and reason.

Recognition or acknowledgement of facts is essential, even (and especially) if the facts and evidence contradict previous statements or views. The overriding factor is a desire to reach the truth, not provide support for a particular standpoint.

Denial of facts or evidence, and conclusions drawn from them, is unreasonable and unacceptable as it is tantamount to setting subjective interpretation or insistence on a chosen viewpoint above objective evidence. Refusal to accept evidence and fairly-drawn conclusions will render a counter-argument invalid.

That said, some statements and evidence may be open to interpretation. Context and precision should be applied to reading of language or interpretation of evidence, and conclusions should be reached only if supported by reason and facts.

There may be insufficient evidence to support a conclusion but reasonable inferences may be drawn (clearly labelled as such), or there may be sufficient evidence to cast doubt on another assertion without necessarily proving a case.

Recognition of ignorance is essential – there should be no assertion of knowledge based on mere supposition or belief.

Insistence on a view despite counter-argument involving the presentation of facts and evidence suggests dependence on personal conviction rather than a pursuit of objective truth, and that view should be considered subjective or invalid.

 

Stuart Fernie (stuartfernie@yahoo.co.uk)

 

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