The Whitman Institute

Fred Whitman founded TWI as an operating foundation in 1985. His aim was to learn how people think and reason, what role emotions play in our decision making, and ultimately, what individuals can do to improve the way they go about resolving the many issues they encounter as they move through different stages of their lives. He hoped that by sharing what it learned, TWI could offer practical information and tools to the public while adding its voice to those who advocate teaching people how to think rather than what to think.

Most donors tend to fund causes that touch them personally, and Mr. Whitman was no exception. A painful family history that included mental illness and suicides -- plus a lifetime of instances where he felt irrationality, destructive emotions, and closed minds ruled the day -- led him to the realization that the quality of our thinking deeply affects the quality of our personal and public lives. Consequently,the operating premise that has driven the Institute’s work is that the capacity to weave rational inquiry and emotional intelligence into the fabric of our daily experience is key to individual and societal health.

Mr. Whitman often said he wanted TWI to “specialize in being generalists.” That contradictory sentiment guided its small staff in exploring the diverse factors that influence critical thinking and decision making. The Institute's initial work involved reviewing the research literature and developing profiles of existing educational programs. In addition, we transcribed for publication interviews we conducted with key individuals and the conversations from forums we hosted. Our track record with these multiple efforts was decidedly mixed.

Our most successful projects were Family Foundations at Work, which explored how family dynamics affect the decision making and management of family foundations, and Conversations with Critical Thinkers, which invited leaders in the field of critical thinking to discuss their work and experiences. Publications from these two projects are still available through TWI.

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With each project, TWI’s staff became increasingly aware of how many skill sets are implicated in critical thinking. Consequently, we’ve come to look at critical thinking through a holistic lens that includes the cognitive, emotional, communicative, and ethical spheres. Learning and implementing critical thinking skills in this broader context is no small accomplishment (as reflected in our own organizational history). An ever-present challenge involves applying this thinking in the moment and in real life when our emotions, our biases, and our values are in constant play.

Exploring how best to meet that challenge led us to start The Dialogue Project in 2001. We were intrigued by how group discourse that models curiosity, reasoning, empathic listening, and clear communication could broaden and deepen our understanding of ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us. We believed dialogue based on the ideal of rational inquiry offered much potential as a tool for personal growth and development because it is an experiential process that engages participants cognitively and emotionally. Consequently, we began to actively partner with several nonprofit organizations that were skilled in using dialogue across a range of ages and settings. These collaborations confirmed our belief in the potential of dialogue to enhance learning and understanding.

Our positive experiences with these partnerships, supported by an increase in our endowment upon Mr. Whitman’s death, led us to change our charitable status in 2005 from an operating to a grantmaking foundation. We believe that actively engaging as a funder with other organizations and grantmakers will extend our reach and better serve our mission.

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