Interview with Michael Baker

Can you please tell us a bit about yourself and your interest in logic?

I took my first philosophy course as a freshman at Albion College in Michigan. I pestered my professor with questions after every class. At one point in one discussion about Bishop Berkeley, he asked me if I enjoyed reading Berkeley and I replied “yes.” He then informed me that if I enjoyed reading Bishop Berkeley that I would end up majoring in philosophy. He was right. For the first time in my life, I was a serious student. I studied and philosophy for six years and I loved it!

Can you tell us about The Critical Thinking Company? Of all the logic books which you publish, which are your favorites? Are you planning any new books?

The goal of The Critical Thinking Co is to publish material that teaches/develops critical thinking skills in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. Our products develop critical thinking skills and improve content learning by requiring deeper analysis of subject matter. Deeper analysis improves critical thinking skills and produces a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

My favorites are . . .

  • Mind Benders (Deductive reasoning puzzles)
  • Building Thinking Skills
  • Critical Thinking (An informal logic text)
  • Cornell X & Z (Test of Critical Thinking Skills)
  • Comprehensive Test of Critical Thinking (Test of Critical Thinking Skills)
  • Science Detective

Yes, we have a lot of new product in development. We introduced 25 new products this year. Many of the products are designed to teach/develop critical thinking to early learners (preK-grade 1) and we are working on the following list of new material this year. Part of our educational philosophy is to hook children on critical thinking as early as possible (the sooner the better).

  • New Building Thinking Skills (K-1)
  • New Critical Thinking Text companion to our Comprehensive Test of Critical Thinking (7-12)
  • New Beginning Mathematical Reasoning book (age 3-4)
  • New Primary Mathematical Reasoning book (K-1)
  • New Science Detective book & software (grade 5-6)

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