Critical thinking is an action everyone has the ability to do consciously or unconsciously. To think critically, one must think back and reflect on the actions or information received (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). With critical thinking, one is able to determine the truth in knowledge, beliefs assumptions and actions (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). Every person has different ideas and past events that influence thinking and cognitive abilities. These factors also influence critical thinking. One main factor that affects a person’s ability to critically think is intelligence. Intelligence cannot be easily defined since there are differences in each individual. Other factors affecting critical thinking include beliefs, past experiences leading to assumptions, and prior education. This paper will help define intelligence and how it affects critical thinking. One must be able to critically think in order to survive because it affects all aspects of life (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). Determining the best choices in relationships, job opportunities, financial situations, and living require critical thinking (Merriam & Bierema, 2104). The reflective process involves looking at assumptions that are made prior to making the critical actions. These assumptions are what are influenced by different factors, such as life experiences, beliefs, research or education, and intelligence. Brookfield classified assumptions into three categories, prescriptive, paradigmatic and casual (Merriam &
To survive in such a multifaceted and diverse world we as people must possess the ability to think critically in highly complex situations. The world is an extremely challenging place, all of us are forced to adapt by constantly challenging existing principles and performing certain methods to ensure our growth both physically and mentally. Many claim that contemporary society needs a skill called critical thinking to adapt and survive. Critical thinking is a higher level of intellectual progression that makes use of diverse information, skills and attitudes in interpreting situations and confronting problems. Critical thinking is done
Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness. (Critical thinking community, n.d.)
Critical thinking is one of the most important traits that a person can have in their day to day lives. It involves the person to have the ability to ascertain claims and make judgments based on well-support evidence or logic rather than anecdote or emotion. There are 8 protocols that critical thinkers’ exhibit in their day to day lives in order to become better at their craft.
If I am to develop my personal critical thinking ability, I must first make a conscious choice to understand the basic concept of a premise and then make critical reflection of this basic concept by expanding my thinking approach. To achieve this, I must ask radical questions that will enhance the scope of analysis and judgment. I must move from the region of subconscious thinking to one of conscious thinking because in so doing, I become aware that I am actually thinking. This awareness will allow me to think beyond rudimentary concepts through critical reasoning and critical reflection to decipher underlying issues that are concealed in the concept under investigation. By understanding the predictable
Beliefs, attitudes and values are three little words that have and make a massive impact on who we are as individuals, who we are as people, and even how the world is viewed by ourselves and others. A belief is something that individuals or groups think, such as believing in a god. Where a Value would be the living life in the ways a religion expects, this value will be made from the belief that the person or group has in their God. The attitude towards this would be the feelings, beliefs and behaviour tendencies towards this, for example praying, reading the holy book,
In 1990, the American Philosophical Association defined critical thinking as “purposeful, self-regulatory process that results in reasoned judgment”. Critical thinking can be defined in a number of similar phrases that all seem to focus on the importance of conscious analysis. Our text starts off with the working phases of critical thinking as analyzing thinking, evaluating thinking, and improving thinking. The process of critical thought is cyclical and not linear. Being a “fair-minded critical thinker” is not a permanent attribute, and it must be consistently worked at as applying intellectual standards and elements of reasoning instead of emotion can be difficult. Overall, to be a strong critical thinker you must work toward strong intellectual traits such humility, courage, and integrity to better represent issues and or arguments.
What did you already know about Critical Thinking: Making Inferences and Analyzing the Author’s Message? Respond to each concept. What did you already know about making inferences? What did you already know about analyzing the author’s message?
Critical thinking is the ability to think of something, and be able to give an opinion/judgement about the subject. If you can’t think critically, you can’t understand the relationship between ideas, or facts given to you. Having
According to The Critical Thinking Community website, critical thinking is defined as the ability to consider and to analyze information in an unbiased manner in order to make decisions and judgments (2013). Critical thinking is important. Blooms Taxonomy breaks critical thinking as Evaluation Synthesis Analysis Application, Comprehension and Knowledge. The components of critical thinking are: the application of logic and accepted intellectual standards to reasoning; the ability to access and evaluate evidence; the application of knowledge in clinical reasoning; and a disposition for inquiry that includes openness, self-assessment, curiosity, skepticism, and dialogue.
Critical thinking involves rationalizing a given situation and objectively evaluating information (Myers, 2011). This particular method of processing information forces one to assess misleading evidence and strive for accuracy in recorded findings as opposed to trusting his/her, often faulty, intuition. The ability to think critically is very crucial to psychology when evaluating test results because it requires one to ask questions, second guess his/her assumptions, and ignore biases. Critical thinking can be influenced in both biological and psychological ways. The skill of thinking critically can be influenced psychologically because one must yearn to want to evaluate properly and question things rather than
Throughout the years, Critical Thinkers have learned ways to become effective when it comes to decision making and problem solving. Critical Thinking requires you to actively use your mind to mentally process thoughts and listen to ways to learn different ideas. Some people may lack the ability to apply critical thinking which inhibits thinking independently and open mindedly. This literature will examine several ways to become an effective critical thinker. This paper will determine what critical thinking really consists of, and ways to develop you're critical thinking in order to make a quick problem solving solution and decisions. It will also compare the effectiveness of a critical thinker versus a non-critical thinker.
The main concepts presented in the article are the varying definitions of each author on the concept of critical thinking. The information the author uses are definitions which are the opinions of varied authors and are similar in foundation in that to apply critical thinking one must be able to identify a problem, pose a question(s), provide valid supporting evidence, and come to a conclusion. Although the author’s definitions do not identify a problem, questions, evidence, or conclusions, the relationship Petress (2004) shows is that the reader must apply this process themselves as it is not always given. The information used does appear to be relevant, significant, and valid. The references the author listed does provide enough information for me to come to this conclusion. Since this work is a literature review and not a case study, numerical data are not necessary to determine validity of the information.
Critical thinking is the questioning of ideas. It is the process in which you take an argument and analyze it in order to conclude whether that argument is valid. Thinking critically is a good skill that can help others make intelligent decisions and helps them understand what to believe or not believe. Critical thinking is involved in our daily life. For example, every day we make decisions and before every decision we think critically if that is the right decision. We take into consideration the possible consequences of such decision and from that we reach a conclusion. Critical thinking involves disciplined thinking and it teaches you to think for yourself. It is personal growth and confidence that results from learning to exercise your mind to its fullest potential.
The process of critical thinking requires you to ask more questions of both others and of yourself before a decision or determination is made. In order to successfully evaluate data in a critical manner, you must have a system in place to assess information as it is presented. In any situation whether you are having a conversation, observing others, or material you have read, you must be ready to probe deeper and ask the right question at the right time.
The concepts of critical thinking and creative thinking are both gaining increasing importance in the world today. Critical thinking allows people to understand difficult concepts in a manner that is clearer and more defined. They can more readily understand those concepts if they employ critical thinking. In all portions of everyday life, a person is expected to make independent judgments. Those judgments are based on experience and knowledge. Without the ability to think critically, every situation that a person comes across would have to be considered in isolation from all other situations. When a person encounters a problem that is a new one, he or she may be able to use critical thinking to solve those problems.