Asserts that, in modern society, knowledge, higher education, and society act upon each other as separate forces. Examines and compares critical theory and postmodernism and their impact on higher education. Concludes that the differences between these two frameworks as interpretations of higher education can be reconciled. (CFR)

Current concepts of critical thinking need to be reconstrued into the much broader concept of "critical being" and applied to higher education. Under this construct, critical persons (students) become more than just critical thinkers; they engage critically with the world and with themselves; they not only reflect critically on…