1937 – 2017
Richard Paul (1937–2017) was an American philosopher and educator who made foundational contributions to the theory and pedagogy of critical thinking. A professor at Sonoma State University, he co-founded the Foundation for Critical Thinking and developed the influential Paul-Elder framework, arguing that critical thinking is a set of generalizable intellectual skills applicable across disciplines. He was a leading critic of subject-specificity accounts of reasoning, contending that robust critical thinking requires domain-transferable standards of clarity, accuracy, and logical rigor.
Co-founded the Foundation for Critical Thinking, a leading center for critical thinking research and professional development
Developed the Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework distinguishing 'weak-sense' from 'strong-sense' critical thinking
Argued against McPeck's subject-specificity thesis, defending the existence of general, domain-transferable thinking skills
Authored Critical Thinking: How to Prepare Students for a Rapidly Changing World, a widely used pedagogical text
Established the International Conference on Critical Thinking as an annual scholarly forum