Critical Thinking: A Philosophical Analysis of its Importance

This assignment delves into the concept of critical thinking, distinguishing it from everyday thinking. It highlights critical thinking's role in problem-solving, decision-making, and enhancing creativity, particularly in business contexts. The paper emphasizes the importance of accuracy, logic, and considering various perspectives, contrasting it with the often opinion-based nature of everyday thought. Furthermore, the assignment explores the relationship between critical thinking and philosophy, emphasizing how philosophy encourages deeper analysis and questioning. The paper also references the importance of critical thinking skills and how studying philosophy helps individuals develop these skills. The assignment references the works of McPeck (2016) and Tiruneh, Verburgh & Elen (2014) to support its arguments.

Running head: CRITICAL THINKING 1
Critical Thinking
Name
Institution

CRITICAL THINKING 2
CRITICAL THINKING
Question 1
Thinking is a mental process and ability to produce thoughts. However, critical thinking
refers to going beyond normal thinking unlike every day thinking where individuals think about
random things. In critical thinking, a person thinks deeper about specific problems or issues
before making a decision. Another difference is that every day thinking is an action that requires
an individual to think about a situation and the thought may be formed without evidence or facts
(McPeck, 2016). On the other hand, critical thinking requires an individual to put everything into
considerations such as assumptions before forming an opinion. Critical thinking requires
accuracy and logic while every day thinking in most cases happens in the form of faith or
personal opinion.
Question 2
Critical thinking is important since it provides an individual with the ability to solve
problems. People who think critically are likely to solve problems effectively. An individual who
thinks critically does not use guess in making decisions. This may contribute to the right
decisions. Critical thinking improves creativity. This is an essential skill in business, professional
alliance, and marketing. When people in businesses are creative with how they advertise or
market their products, they thrive in the competitive market. This is because they use cri9tical
thinking in coming up with business strategies that will assist them to outperform their
competitors.
Question 3

CRITICAL THINKING 3
Philosophy is the study of fundamental questions that come from reflecting on the
world’s nature and the place occupied by human beings. The importance of studying philosophy
is depended on thought. In Europe, critical thinking is referred to as philosophy since philosophy
is about searching for deep answers and not settling for the obvious. However, for people to get
deep answers, they should apply critical thinking and not just thinking (Tiruneh, Verburgh &
Elen, 2014). Therefore, philosophy is about analysis and discovery which leads to other
alternatives when making decisions. At this state, philosophers start to make critical choices
since they are aware of the consequences of the choices they are making.
We should care about philosophy since its importance in improving our critical thinking
skills. Fields such as history, physics, and economics provide us knowledge that may be useful in
our daily lives. Moreover, we should care about philosophy because of it a good way to know the
history of philosophical debates.

CRITICAL THINKING 4
References
McPeck, J. E. (2016). Critical thinking and education. Routledge.
Tiruneh, D. T., Verburgh, A., & Elen, J. (2014). Effectiveness of critical thinking instruction in
higher education: A systematic review of intervention studies. Higher Education
Studies, 4(1), 1-17.