What is Critical Thinking?

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November 30,
2022
What is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas.
Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and thought since the time of early Greek philosophers such as
Plato and Socrates and has continued to be a subject of discussion into the modern age.
Critical thinking might be described as the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking.
In essence, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to reason. It is about being an active learner rather
than a passive recipient of information.
Critical thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them at face value. They will
always seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings represent the entire picture and are open to
finding that they do not.
Critical thinkers will identifyanalyses and solve problems systematically rather than by intuition or instinct.
Someone with critical thinking skills can:
 Understand the links between ideas.
 Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.
 Recognize, build and appraise arguments.
 Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.
 Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.
 Reflect on the justification of their assumptions, beliefs and values.
Critical thinking is thinking about things in certain ways so as to
arrive at the best possible solution in the circumstances that the
thinker is aware of. In more everyday language, it is a way of
thinking about whatever is presently occupying your mind so that
you come to the best possible conclusion.
Critical Thinking is:
A way of thinking about particular things at a particular time; it is not the accumulation of facts and knowledge or
something that you can learn once and then use in that form forever, such as the nine times table you learn and use
in school.
Instructor: Dr. Steven J Clarke

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November 30,
2022
The Skills We Need for Critical Thinking
The skills that we need in order to be able to think critically are varied and include observation, analysis,
interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem solving, and decision making. Specifically we
need to be able to:
 Think about a topic or issue in an objective and critical way.
 Identify the different arguments there are in relation to a particular issue.
 Evaluate a point of view to determine how strong or valid it is.
 Recognize any weaknesses or negative points that there are in the evidence or argument.
 Notice what implications there might be behind a statement or argument.
 Provide structured reasoning and support for an argument that we wish to make.
The Critical Thinking Process
You should be aware that none of us think critically all the time.
Sometimes we think in almost any way but critically, for example when our self-control is affected by anger, grief
or joy or when we are feeling just plain ‘bloody minded’.
On the other hand, the good news is that, since our critical thinking ability varies according to our current mindset,
most of the time we can learn to improve our critical thinking ability by developing certain routine activities and
applying them to all problems that present themselves.
Once you understand the theory of critical thinking, improving your critical thinking skills takes persistence and
practice.
Try this simple exercise to help you start thinking critically.
Think of something that someone has recently told you. Then ask yourself the following questions:
Who said it?
Someone you know? Someone in a position of authority or power? Does it matter who told you this?
What did they say?
Did they give facts or opinions? Did they provide all the facts? Did they leave anything out?
Instructor: Dr. Steven J Clarke