What is Critical Thinking
Critical thinking consists of three steps:
1. Becoming aware that assumptions exist
2. Making assumptions explicit
3. Assessing their accuracy
Do these assumptions make sense?
Do these assumptions fit reality as we understand and live it?
Under what conditions do these assumptions seem to hold true? Under what conditions do they seem false?
Misconceptions about critical thinking
It is wholly a negative process-it tears down ideas and puts nothing in their place (rather it is a positive process to put things in a more realistic perspective)
It will lead to relativistic freeze-the inability to make commitments to people, ideas, and structures. (rather commitments are informed ones.)
It seems to involve traumatic change-one is expected to abandon old assumptions continually. (rather: Some beliefs stay the same-they are simply more informed)
It is dispassionate and cold. (rather: it is highly emotive and liberating to be free of past assumptions and the anxiety of self-scrutiny)
Why is critical thinking important?
All actions, decisions, and judgments spring from assumptions - if they are unchecked or inappropriate, we will make poor decisions and wrong judgments
In personal relationships we learn to keep our lines of communications open-we avoid uncritically reproducing patterns of the modeled interactions we learned from our parental interaction
In the workplace we avoid stagnation and atrophy and are willing to challenge the current paradigms which are uncritically accepted and may have come down in the workplace from a time and thinking which is no longer relevant to our current reality.
What does the absence of thinking critically look like?
We blindly reproduce the damaging reactions we have learned
We blindly accept at face value all justifications given by organizations and political leaders
We blindly believe TV commercials
We blindly trust political commercials
We blindly accept and say that if the textbook says it it must be so
We blindly accept and say that if the organization does it it must be right
What does Critical Thinking look like?
Contextual sensitivity - being sensitive to stereotypes about people from a particular group and trying to accept others at face value unconditionally
Perspective thinking - trying to get into the other person's head, or walking in the other person's shoes so as to see the world the way that person sees and perceives the world.
Tolerance for ambiguity - ability to accept multiple interpretations of the same situation
Alert to premature ultimatums - invoking a powerful idea or concept which inspires such reverence that any further debate is forestalled. e.g. a politician invokes "democracy"
Characteristics of People who Excel at Critical Thinking
Truth seeking: A courageous desire for the best knowledge, even if such knowledge fails to support or undermines one's preconceptions, beliefs or self interests.
Open-mindedness: Tolerance to divergent views, self-monitoring for possible bias.
Analyticity: Demanding the application of reason and evidence, alert to problematic situations, inclined to anticipate consequences.
Systematicity: Valuing organization, focus and diligence to approach problems of all levels of complexity.
Critical Thinking Self-Confidence: Trusting of one's own reasoning skills and seeing oneself as a good thinker.
Inquisitiveness: Curious and eager to acquire knowledge and learn explanations even when the applications of the knowledge are not immediately apparent.
Cognitive Maturity: Prudence in making, suspending, or revising judgment. An awareness that multiple solutions can be acceptable. An appreciation of the need to reach closure even in the absence of complete knowledge.
What are the Major Components in Critical Thinking?
Perception
Assumptions
Emotion
Language
Argument
Fallacy
Logic
Problem Solving
Perception
The way we receive and translate our experience
Also a significant filtering system
How we perceive defines how we think
Assumptions
Central to Critical Thinking
Implied, not conscious of them
Not always bad
Rest on notion some ideas are obvious
Make us comfortable with present beliefs & shut out alternatives
Emotion
Trying to “Leave emotion out of it!” is Impossible.
Part of everything we do and think
Personal barriers are a given
Critical thinker don’t ignore or deny emotions; accept and manage them
Language
Thinking can’t be separated from
Three primary purposes:
Inform
Persuade
Explain
Language denotes and connotes
Metaphors
For more information on this site about language see:
Metaphors
Metaphors are powerful language tools which influence how we think and problem solve. Metaphors are figures of speech which can give great color and depth to our language. Metaphors can be short phrases, stories, or poems. A metaphor is a verbal message which can be easily visualized by the reader or listener.
Argument
Claim, used to persuade that something is (or not) true or should (or not) be done
Contains three basic elements
Issue
One or more reasons (premises)
One or more conclusions
Can be valid or invalid based on structure
Only premises & conclusions true or false
Goal of Critical Thinking is sound arguments
Valid (proper structure)
With true premises
Sound argument has both: so the conclusion must be true
Therein the beauty and usefulness of logic
Fallacy
Reasoning that doesn’t meet criteria for sound argument is fallacious
Valid
True premises
Complete (all relevant information)
Fallacy is incorrect pattern of reasoning
Does not always mean conclusion is false
Ads & editorials
Logic
Two methods of reasoning
Deductive
Facts, certainty, syllogisms, validity, truth of premises sound arguments & conclusions
Inductive
Diverse facts, probability, generalizations, hypotheses, analogies inductive strength
Logic problems Problem Solving
Logic problems like any problem
Techniques:
Understand the problem. Read & heed
ID unknowns & knowns
Relationships between these (visual aids)
Generate strategy from step above
Apply and solve. Repeat if necessary
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1 comment:
Critical thinking is that mode of thinking - about any subject, content, or problem
- in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking
charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.
Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.
A well cultivated critical thinker:
raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively
comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing,
as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities.
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