An examination of the theoretical and philosophical foundations of reflective thinking and practice

The recent revival, especially in education, of a widespread interest in reflective thinking, has made the understanding of its theoretical and philosophical foundations of great importance. A corresponding practical application of reflective thinking, with an aspiration of achieving improvement in practice, has enunciated another aspect of the traditional connection of mind to matter. The clarification of the meaning of reflective thinking and practice involves an interdisciplinary consideration of the conceptual basis of its origins. By showing areas of agreement or apparent consensus among theorists and philosophers, some uniformity, consistency, and coherence in meaning begins to emerge. A comparison and cros-sreferencing of selected theory, and extensions through logical and philosophical analysis, as well as a process of inferential extrapolation, can provide a reflective approach for examining broad meaning. Reflective thinking can be described, though insufficiently, by the tautological use of reflective thinking to illustrate its own meaning. As a method without method, reflective thinking cannot be categorized or defined in prescriptive terms, nor can it be reduced to some variation of the scientific method. Reflective thinking, to be recognizable, often requires deference to a flexible multi-conceptual configuration, and emphasizes free-form reasoning and the linguistic functionalism of thinking. In any attempt to say what it is, reflective thinking is plagued by paradoxical self-reference. Clarification consists largely in recognizing distinct elements in the enigmatic character of reflective thinking and practice.