Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Deals with the Coherence of the Structure of Reasoning and the Relevance of the Content of Reasoning

*Critical thinking also includes coherence of the reasoning that is done on the data *Logical thinking is solely concerned with the correctness of the structure or form of reasoning, critical thinking on the other hand deals with the coherence of the structure of reasoning and the relevance or appropriateness of the content of reasoning *Critical thinking deals with the relevance and truth of the reasons used to justify certain claims

Critical Thinking Deals with the Coherence of the Structure of Reasoning and the Relevance of the Content of Reasoning

*Critical thinking has to be logical, but it is wrong to think that critical thinking is just, or is nothing more than, logical thinking *Logical thinking is important as it is concerned with the coherence of reasoning *Reasoning may be logical or coherent even if it is based on false data or wrong information *The determination of whether the data or content of one's reasoning are true or false is a necessary part of critical thinking

Critical Thinking is Concerned with Correct Reasoning

*Critical thinking may indeed, in some cases, come in the form of criticism *But criticism can be done without critical thinking *Critical thinking is concerned with correct reasoning

Argumentation

*Involves only statements which are linguistic expressions that are either true or false *It is usually expressed in the grammatical form of a declarative sentence when a sentence is used in its ideal function of describing or asserting a fact *It cannot contain a question, command, or an exclamation

Critical Thinking is Important in Everyday Decision-Making

*It includes the study of some formal reasoning skills such as the skill of evaluating arguments. *We can always make decisions, on simple and complicated matters, on practical and theoretical levels,, on subjective or personal and objective issues, which determine the courses of our actions and affect the quality of our life *Effective decision-making requires the right thinking skills and these are best developed through the formal study of critical thinking skills

Critical Thinking as Good Thinking

*It is not just a mere act of criticizing, thinking logically, and engaging in impractical skills *It is related to other forms of thinking such as imagining, doubting, recalling, and analyzing *Strategic thinking as good thinking corresponds to what is most appropriate to achieve a certain goal *Creative thinking is the most appropriate form of thinking for generating new insights, novel approaches, fresh perspectives, and whole new ways of understanding and conceiving things

Reasoning

*Its two types are inductive and deductive *The difference between these two concerns whether the support that a premise or a set of premises provides for the acceptance of a conclusion is complete or incomplete; and consequently on whether the truth of its conclusions is a certain or merely probable

Argumentation, reasoning, and critical thinking

*The fundamental goal of reasoning is to provide sufficient reasons to one's claim or position on a certain issue. *Persuading others to accept one's argument is an effect of reasoning but is not the primary goal of reasoning.

Critical Thinking

A form of higher-order thinking consciously controlled reflective thinking thought that draws on, but can be distinguished from, lower-order cognitive processes like perception, attention, and memory (Smith 2003)

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Characteristics of Critical Thinking

Misconceptions on Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is nothing but logical thinking

Misconceptions on Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is nothing but the activity of making criticisms.

Misconceptions on Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is nothing but the formal study of some formal reasoning skills that are hardly useful in dealing with real-life issues.

Critical Thinking

It is the methodical analysis of reasoning and is about understanding the implications of inputs(data) and influences (bias) to the reasoning process.

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Number of Misconceptions

Critical Thinking

Reasonably reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do (Ennis 1991)