LEEP: Teachers Guide

Lipmans Caring Thinking Model

Matthew Lipman coined the term Caring Thinking and argued that it is the third
prerequisite to higher-order thinking (the other two being critical and creative thinking).
Affective Thinking is defined as the sense the individual makes of the world around her/
him in relation to what s/he feels is valuable, ethically or morally right; what s/he feels is
appropriate remedial or supportive action, and what s/he envisions as the ideal, what s/he
prioritizes as important, worth caring about. Lipman stressed that all students need
affective thinking tools. Moral and ethical personal growth is a developmental process,
and caring thinking is valued by all cultures in our communities. He claimed that the
Caring Thinking model promotes global awareness and supports authentic learning.
Lipman argued that Affective Thinking was not distinctly considered in the Blooms
Taxonomy. He explained that educators only focus on critical and creative thinking, much
of the thinking that is taught includes emotional thinking by accident rather than by design.
None of the cognitive or creative activities directly address affective thinking. The vague
inclusion of aspects of affective thinking is not good enough. One might nominate critical
thinking as the truth-seeking aspect and creative thinking as the meaning-seeking aspect.
But what aspect of high-order thinking is especially concerned with the dimensions of
values?
Lipmans Caring Thinking Model integrates well with critical and creative thinking. In
matters of importance, this model demands consideration of what is and what ought to be
in relation to what we care about, and what we ought to care about. It brings heart and
soul into analytical and evaluative thinking, and allows creativity to flourish and be valued
and nurtured.
Lipmans Caring Thinking: Getting to the Heart of Thinking
Kinds of
Thinking
Valuational
Thinking

Description

Possible Questions to Ask

Characteristics of
Gifted Caring Thinkers

Thinking about what we

value, prize, admire and
appreciate. (It is not about
evaluating or judging).
It is about what matters to us,
what we ought to care about,
and it is about appraising
how much we care about, or
value this. Things we value
can be concrete or abstract.

What do I care about? Why?

What is important to others?
Why?
What ought I care about?
Do I value something more
than others?
How would life/our society/the
world be without this?

intense emotional
depth and sensitivity
strong personal values
and standards

Lipmans Caring Thinking: Getting to the Heart of Thinking

Kinds of
Thinking

Description

Possible Questions to Ask

Characteristics of
Gifted Caring Thinkers

Affective
Thinking

Responding to how we feel

about things we value.
This happens when we
experience strong emotional
& cognitive response to
offenses or wrongdoing.
Affective thinking is about
developing our values and
ethics as we appraise what is
appropriate and
inappropriate behavior.

How do i feel about this act/

situation?
Who is benefitting/suffering
from this?
What is the situation here?
What ought it be?
What do others who disagree
with me have to add to my
understanding of this issue?

strong personal values

and standards
idealism and strong
sense of justice
unusual sensitivity to
the feelings of others
advanced moral
judgment

Active
Thinking

Active thinking is acting

upon what we value.
It is action to support a cause
or belief with a focus on what
individuals may do about a
circumstance or situation.
It is interventionist. It involves
responding in an effective,
productive way to things that
affect us.
It is closely linked to
normative, valuational
thinking, and affective
thinking.

What changes are needed

here?
What can I do to improve this
situation?
Will intervention improve or
worsen things?
What should we be saving
and maintaining?
If I values or care for this
(thing of values), what ought I
do to about it?

deep sincerity
passionate
commitment / inner
focus of control.

Normative
Thinking

Normative thinking is
thinking about what is, and
what ought to be.
It is the norm versus the
ideal. In examining big issues
or problems, it pushes us to
think about what we desire,
and what ought to be
desired.
It helps us to reflect upon
actual current or proposed
practice, examine what is
done, and generate ideas,
plans, an overview or
blueprint for what ought to be
done.
Normative thinking should be
integrated with active
thinking.

What is the current situation

or practice?
What sort of person do I want
to be?
What is the ideal here?
What sort of person ought I
want to be?

sensitivity to
inconsistency between
ideals and behavior
ability to conceptualize
and offer solutions to
societies problems
deep concern for
humanity and global
issues.

Source:
White, Sonia. Caring Thinking: Using Affective Thinking to Motivate Gifted Learners.
<http://giftedconsultant.ac.nz/Caring%20Thinking.pdf>

Brenifier, Oscar. Caring Thinking about Caring Thinking. <http://www.brenifier.com/en/

practical/caring-thinking-about-caring-thinking.html>