Critical Thinking and Creativity – An overview and Comparison of the Theories

In this paper, I plan to review some of the scholarly literature about creativity and critical thinking, looking for commonalities between them. I also plan to compare the public trade books about creative thinking and explore how that thinking aligns with the research. Finally, I would like to explore if the relationships between them can strengthen my creative and critical thinking abilities. Both consider thinking as processes rather than products or outcomes. Both involve the re-examination of existing information. It appears that creativity takes the next step after challenging assumptions and begins creating new ideas. Critical thinking challenges, but draws conclusions, rather than taking the concepts to new dimensions. Creative thinking is designed to create, and critical thinking is designed to analyze. It seems that creative thinking has aspects of critical thinking, and critical thinking has aspects of creativity. Like de Bono’s thinking hats the process of looking at the alternative perspectives brings out the end result in both. Each has value, and when used in conjunction, creates a powerful process of higher-order thinking.

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