The Integration of Philosophy and Critical Thinking Through the Pedagogy of Experiential Well-Being (PVB)

Abstract

This essay delves into the articulation between philosophy, critical thinking (CT), and the Pedagogy of Experiential Well-Being (PVB), a contemporary theoretical proposal that integrates cognitive learning with lived experience and the integral well-being of the human being. It is argued that philosophy provides the ethical, epistemic, and ontological foundation necessary to question reality in its complexity, while critical thinking constitutes the essential cognitive competence of the 21st century, an era marked by information overload, acceleration, and the loss of reflective meaning. Within this horizon, the PVB—developed by Juan David Builes Grisales—emerges as an active, inclusive, and experiential methodology that transforms theory into lived experience, knowledge into meaningful engagement, and reflection into action. Through the principle of the “connected-being,” this pedagogy integrates the cognitive, emotional, social, and existential dimensions, fostering processes of self-knowledge and meaningful dialogue. From this perspective, critical thinking becomes a practice of reflexive and ethical existence that weaves rational analysis with human sensitivity, transcending instrumental logic to orient itself toward purposeful and meaningful thought. Thus, the PVB not only teaches how to think, but how to think consciously, contextually, and humanely, reconnecting the student with themselves, with their environment, and with their community. In sum, the PVB offers an educational path that unites philosophical depth with transformative experience, fostering a more conscious, integral, and well-being-oriented education.