Critical thinking is critical for society—so why have we abandoned it?

A review of Answers for Life: Are You Thinking Critically? (Outskirts Press, 2025) by Art Korpach.

Political polarization, social justice, climate change, the rise of woke policies in education, and so-called “stakeholder capitalism” are some of the most consequential fads facing Canadian society. In a time of political, social, and international uncertainty, finding a secure footing amongst the shifting ground is crucial.

In this disturbing context, Answers for Life: Are You Thinking Critically? stands out as a positive, refreshing call to intellectual rigour and self-reflection. Author Art Korpach, a multifaceted businessman and thinker, offers us a credible contribution on these and other pressing issues in his successful blend of memoir and philosophical inquiry.

From his background growing up as a young farm boy in a remote village of Saskatchewan, to becoming a Harvard Business School graduate, these experiences and several others along the way have inextricably shaped his life’s values. He emphasizes the importance of hard work and, even more so, of the Socratic method, a foundational but too-often-forgotten practice: ”Asking questions and critically analyzing the available information and possible strategies.” This type of simple yet powerful thinking is used throughout the book and shapes the core ethic we so desperately need now: to resist the pull of ideology or intellectual fads.

Korpach developed his critical thinking through his own life’s early experiences. He recounts how his father reminded him on an almost daily basis the importance of education: “Every grade of A earned one dollar. However, every grade of C or lower meant we owed one dollar to Father.” This straightforward incentive system allowed the young Art to give the best of himself.

His career was another fertile proving ground. His experience in oil and gas dramatically demonstrated that new technologies, like fracking technology in extraction, can upend a whole industry sector. Among the lessons these experiences gave him, Korpach tells us that: “persistence and innovation are critical,” and that “management of the soft/human issues is as important as the business fundamentals and financial projections.” Again, no mind-blowing revelations here, but being reminded of these kinds of intemporal truths by someone who has internalized them is valuable in and of itself.