Critical-Thinking

CriticalThinkingThinkingisapurposefulmentalactivity—youcontrolit…Thinkingisatwo-sidedactivity—firstyouproduceideasandthenyouevaluatethem…Producingideaswidensyourfocus(resistthetemptationtosettleforafewfamiliarideas).Evaluatingnarrowsyourfocus.Sorttheideas,identifythemostreasonableones.WhycriticalthinkingisimportantSuccessinworkdependsonthinkingskills.Itisn’tenoughtopossessknowledgebutyoumustbeabletoapplyinformationtoyourjob.Criticalthinkingisareliablewayofsearchingforthetruth.FactsandOpinionsFactsarerealities;opinionsarebeliefsorjudgments.Opinionsmayfitthefactsorbeinerror.Eventhegreatestexpertssometimesholdincorrectopinions.Thatiswhyresearchissoimportantineverysubjectarea—itconfirmssomeopinionsanddisprovesothers.FormingOpinionsCriticalthinkersrealizehoweasyitistobemistakensotheyformtheiropinionswithcare.Theyrevisetheiropinions,evencherishedones,whenevertheyprovetobeinerror.Thereisnoshameinbeingwrong,butproblemsoccurwhenwestubbornlyclingtoamistakenview.Recognizingfacts&opinionsFact:BabeRuthwasafamousbaseballplayer.Opinion:Smokingshouldbebannedinallpublicplaces.Fact:Camel’shairbrushesaremadeofSiberiansquirrelfir.Opinion:Eyewitnesstestimonyisgenerallyunreliable.Separatingfacts&opinions1)Ifyoustateafactthatisnotcommonknowledge,orthatcan’tbeeasilyverified,brieflystatewhereyougotyourinformation.2)Ifyoustateanopinion—aviewothersmightdisagreewith,includeanswerstoquestionsothersmightask.3)Ifyouarenotsurewhetherastatementisafactoranopinion,treatitasanopinion.Opinionversuspersonalpreference…Oftenconfusingtomanypeople.Example:“Comicbooksareasinstructiveaboutlifeasnovelsare.”Whenaskedwhatevidenceexiststhatcomicbooksaresoinstructive,theydon’thaveananswer…Preferencesdon’tneedtobedefendedaslongastheyareexpressedaspreferences.(Ifweexpressthemasopinions,don’tbesurprisedifotherschallengethem.BasicApproachtoCriticalThinkingStepOne:Decidewhatyouthinkandwhyyouthinkit.StepTwo:Seekotherviewsandmoreevidence.StepThree:Decidewhichviewismostreasonable.StepOneBeginbydecidingwhatyourpositionisontheissueinquestion.(Puttingthisdecisioninwritingcanhelp.Don’tbediscouragedifthistakesseveralattempts.)Askyourselfwhatevidencedoyouhavetosupportyourview?Arethereotherconclusionspossible?Answerthesequestionsascompletelyasyoucan.(Youmightlistthemratherthanwritefullsentences.)StepTwoOtherviewpointshelpyoutestyourviewanddiscoveryourbiases.Yougainadditionalinsightsbylookingatnewideas.Gatherideasfrommultiplesources:libraries,instructors,orexpertsinthefield.Lookatideasthatbothagreeanddisagreewithyourviewpoint.StepThreeMeasureyourviewandtheviewsofothersagainsttheevidence.Decidewhichoneisthemostreasonablebasedontheevidence.Researchwilloftenproveyourviewpoint.Ifitalwaysprovesyourviewpoint,youmaybetwistingtheevidencetomeetyourneeds…CriticalReadingStrategies1)Chooseyourtimeandplace2)Readactively(askquestions/seekanswers)3)Concentrateonthetask4)Writeasummary(inyourownwords;emphasizekeypoints;&writeaccurately)5)ReflectontheideasCriticalThinking&WritingCriticalthinkingprovidestheideasforwriting,andwritingstimulatesmoreideas.Allowtimeforreflectioneveryday.Focusondiscoveringideas.Beopentoideasatothertimes.ExpressingyourthoughtsforothersCompletethethinkingprocessfirst.Discoverywritingispartofthethinkingprocess—youproduceratherthancommunicateideas.Useyourviewpointasyourcontrollingidea.Chooseasuitableorganization.Expressingyourthoughtsforothers-continued1)Introduction2)Yourcontrollingidea3)Yourfirstargumentforthisideaandsupportingevidence4)Yoursecondargumentandsupportingevidence5)Yourthirdargument(ifyouhaveone)andsupportingevidence6)ConclusionExpressingyourthoughtsforothers-continuedSupportyourviewwithevidenceBeexact,butlively.(Choosewordthatconveyyourideaexactly.)Breakyourthoughtsintoparagraphs.Usestandardpunctuationandobserveconventionsofgrammarandusage.(TheDepartmentofHealthStudiesusesAPAformatformostpapers.)CharacteristicsofCriticalThinkersKnowtheirownminds.Arehonestwiththemselves.Acknowledgealltruths—evenunpleasantones.Acceptresponsibilityandaccountabilityfortheiractions.Acceptsoundarguments—evenifthatmeansrejectingtheirown.Criticalthinkersovercomeconfusionandaskquestions.Theybasetheirjudgmentsonevidence.CharacteristicsofCriticalThinkers-continuedTheybasetheirjudgmentsonevidence.Theyresistmanipulation.Theylookforconnectionsbetweensubjects.Theybalancetheirthinking.Criticalthinkersareintellectuallyindependent.RecognizingandavoidingerrorsThreetypesofbroaderrorsincriticalthinkingErrorsofPerceptionErrorsofJudgmentErrorsofReactionPerceptionErrorsFaultywaysofseeingreality—preventingusfrombeingopen-mindedevenbeforewebegintothink.“Mineisbetter”thinkingSelectivePerception—focusingondifferentthings.PerceptionErrors-continuedPretendingtoknowResistancetochangeEither/orthinking(ExampleEvolutionversusCreationTheories)JudgmentErrorsOvergeneralizingorstereotypingHastyconclusionUnwarrantedassumption(assumptions:ideasthataretakenforgranted)Example:ifsomethingappearsinprint,itmustbetrue.Failuretomakeadistinction