Critical thinking

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Critical thinking consists of a mental process of analyzing or evaluating information, particularly statements or propositions that people have offered as true. It forms a process of reflecting upon the meaning of statements, examining the offered evidence and reasoning, and forming judgments about the facts.

Critical thinkers can gather such information from observation, experience, reasoning, and/or communication. Critical thinking has its basis in intellectual values that go beyond subject-matter divisions and which include: clarity, accuracy, precision, evidence, thoroughness and fairness.

Overview

Within the framework of skepticism, the process of critical thinking involves acquiring information and evaluating it to reach a well-justified conclusion or answer. Part of critical thinking comprises informal logic. Given research in cognitive psychology, educators increasingly believe that schools should focus more on teaching their students critical thinking skills than on memorizing facts by rote-learning.

As defined in A Greek-English Lexicon the verb krinō means to choose, decide or judge. Hence a krites is a discerner, judge or arbiter. Those who are kritikos have the ability to discern or decide.

The word krinō also means to separate (winnow) the wheat from the chaff or that which has worth from that which does not.

Critical thinking is very important, as it allows information received to be evaluated, decreasing the risk of acting on a false premise. The loss of this faculty through injury, intoxication, denial or subversion can lead to a greater risk of one making a fatal Error.

However even with the use of critical thinking, mistakes can happen due to the thinker not being in possession of the full facts. Plus there is always the possibility of Human error.

The process of critical thinking responds to many subjects and situations, finding connections between them. It forms, therefore, a system of related modes of thought that cut across fields like science, mathematics, engineering, history, anthropology, economics, moral reasoning and philosophy.

One can regard critical thinking as involving two aspects:

  1. a set of cognitive skills
  2. the ability and intellectual commitment to use those skills to guide behavior.

Critical thinking does not include simply the acquisition and retention of information, or the possession of a skill-set which one does not use regularly; nor does critical thinking merely exercise skills without acceptance of the results.

Methods of critical thinking

Critical thinking has a useful sequence to follow:

  1. Itemize opinion(s) from all relevant sides of an issue and collect Logical argument(s) supporting each.
  2. Break the arguments into their constituent statements and draw out various additional implication(s) from these statements.
  3. Examine these statements and implications for internal contradictions.
  4. Locate opposing claims between the various arguments and assign relative weightings to opposing claims:
  • Increase the weighting when the claims have strong support especially distinct chains of reasoning or different news sources, decrease the weighting when the claims have contradictions.
  • Adjust weighting depending on relevance of information to central issue.
  • Require sufficient support to justify any incredible claims; otherwise, ignore these claims when forming a judgment.
5. Assess the weights of the various claims.

Mind maps provide an effective tool for organizing and evaluating this information; in the final stages, one can assign numeric weights to various branches of the mind map.

Critical thinking does not assure that one will reach either the truth or correct conclusions. First, one may not have all the relevant information; indeed, important information may remain undiscovered, or the information may not even be knowable. Second, one's bias(es) may prevent effective gathering and evaluation of the available information.

Critical thinking may be distinguished, but not separated, from feeling. Refusal to recognize their interaction in real life leads to various forms of self-deception, individually and socially; and at the left, right, and mainstream of economic, political, and religious issues. Further analysis and resources about this interaction may be found in Roderick Hindery (2001): Indoctrination and Self-deception or Free and Critical Thought.

Overcoming bias

Main article: list of cognitive biases

To reduce one's bias, one can take various measures during the process of critical thinking.

Instead of asking "How does this contradict my beliefs?" ask: "What does this mean?"

In the earlier stages of gathering and evaluating information, one should first of all suspend judgement (as one does when reading a novel or watching a movie). Ways of doing this include adopting a perceptive rather than judgmental orientation; that is, avoiding moving from perception to judgment as one applies critical thinking to an issue. In the terminology of Edward De Bono's Six Thinking Hats, use white hat or blue hat thinking and delay black hat thinking for later stages.

One should become aware of one's own fallibility by:

  1. accepting that everyone has subconscious biases, and accordingly questioning any reflexive judgments;
  2. adopting an egoless and, indeed, humble stance
  3. recalling previous beliefs that one once held strongly but now rejects
  4. realizing one still has numerous blind spots, despite the foregoing

How does one ever eliminate biases without knowing what the ideal is? A possible answer: by referencing critical thinking against a "concept of man" (see Erich Fromm). Thus we can see that critical thinking and the formation of secure ethical codes form an integral whole, but a whole which remains limited without the backing of a concept of humanity.

Finally, one might use the Socratic method to evaluate an argument, asking open questions, such as the following:

  • What do you mean by_______________?
  • How did you come to that conclusion?
  • Why do you believe that you are right?
  • What is the source of your information?
  • What assumption has led you to that conclusion?
  • What happens if you are wrong?
  • Can you give me two sources who disagree with you and explain why?
  • Why is this significant?
  • How do I know you are telling me the truth?
  • What is an alternate explanation for this phenomenon?

Critical Thinking can be looked at within many frameworks or paradigms.

One is a four tiered system.

1: Dualistic reasoning: In this mode of thought things are thought of in terms of either/or, right/wrong or good/bad.

2: Multiplicity: At this level, the thinker understands that different agents may have different perspectives on a given object or matter.

3: Relativity: This level of thinking holds that different people have different perspectives, and that all are ultimately equal.

4: Relativity With Commitiment: This level of thinking recognizes that different agents hold different perspectives and opinions, but that criteria for judgement can assess the validity of a given perspective, stance or opinion.

Reaching a conclusion

One useful perspective in critical thinking is to employ Occam's Razor. Also called the "principle of parsimony," Occam's razor requires that one not make more assumptions than necessary. In other words, the simplest solution is likely the best. Given the nature of the process, critical thinking is never final. One arrives at a tentative conclusion, given the evidence and based on an evaluation. However, the conclusion must always remain subject to further evaluation if new information comes to hand.

Critical thinking in the classroom

In the UK school system, the syllabus offers Critical thinking as a subject which 16-18 year olds can take as an A-Level. Under the OCR exam board, students can sit two exam papers: "Credibility of Evidence" and "Assessing/Developing Argument". The exam tests candidates not on particular information they have learned during the course, but on their ability to think critically about, and analyse, arguments on their deductive or inductive validity. The full advanced GCE is now available and, though very challenging, is extremely useful for degree courses in politics, philosophy, history or theology (to name but a few), providing the skills required for critical analysis that are useful, for example, in biblical study. Though an untraditional A level, it remains both as valid and as useful as any other advanced GCE subject.

Quotation

William Graham Sumner offers a useful summary of critical thinking:

Critical thinking is the examination and test of propositions of any kind which are offered for acceptance, in order to find out whether they correspond to reality or not. The critical faculty is a product of education and training. It is a mental habit and power. It is a prime condition of human welfare that men and women should be trained in it. It is our only guarantee against delusion, deception, superstition, and misapprehension of ourselves and our earthly circumstances.

References

  • Vincent F. Hendricks, Thought 2 Talk: A Crash Course in Reflection and Expression, New York: Automatic Press / VIP, 2005, ISBN 87-991013-7-8
  • Paul, R. and Elder L. 2002. Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life. Published by Financial Times Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-064760-8.
  • Paul, R., Elder, L., and Bartell T. 1997. California Teacher Preparation for Instruction in Critical Thinking: Research Findings and Policy Recommendations. California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. Foundation for Critical Thinking, Sacramento California.
  • Whyte, J. 2003. Bad Thoughts - A Guide to Clear Thinking. Published by Corvo. ISBN 0-9543255-3-2.
  • T. Edward Damer. Attacking Faulty Reasoning, 5th Edition, Wadsworth, 2005. ISBN 0-534-60516-8


See also

External links

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