CRITICAL THINKING

“During times of universal deceit, telling the truth

becomes a revolutionary act.”
   ~ George Orwell
What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is reflective reasoning

about beliefs and actions. It is a way of
deciding whether a claim is always true,
sometimes true, partly true, or false.
Critical thinking can be traced in Socratic method is defined
Western thought to the Socratic method as "a prolonged series of
of Ancient Greece. questions and answers
which refutes a moral
assertion by leading an
Socrates was a Philosopher, born c. 470 opponent to draw a
BCE…c.399 BCE, in Athens Greece…The conclusion that contradicts
Socratic tradition in which probing his own viewpoint.”
questions were used to determine
whether claims to knowledge based on
authority could be rationally justified
with clarity and logical consistency…
“[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.”
Consequential Validity: Using Assessment to Drive Instruction

Critical thinking is the

disciplined art of ensuring
that

Critical thinking is that mode of http://

thinking—about any subject, www.criticalthinking.org/

pages/consequential-
validity-using-
you use the best thinking
you are capable of in any

content, or problem—in which the

set of
assessment-to-drive-
instruction/790

thinker
improves the quality of his or her
thinking by skillfully analyzing,
assessing, and reconstructing it.
thought. circumstances.

to question the parts of

When we think critically,
thinking, and the

Critical thinking is self-directed, self-

we realize that in every
standards for

disciplined, self-monitored, and self-

corrective thinking. It presupposes domain of human
thought, it is possible and
important

assent to rigorous standards of

excellence and mindful command of
their use.
We learn from history that we do not learn from history.
   ~ George Wilhelm Hegel
“THE GREAT MASSES OF THE PEOPLE…WILL MORE
EASILY FALL VICTIMS TO A BIG LIE THAN TO A
SMALL ONE.”
   ~ ADOLF HITLER, MEIN KAMPF, 1933
Definitions

 Different sources define critical thinking variously as:

 "reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do"[2]

 "the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing,

applying, analyzing, synthesizing, or evaluating information gathered from, or
generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a
guide to belief and action"[4][page needed]

 "purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis,

evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual,
methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment
is based"[5]

 "includes a commitment to using reason in the formulation of our beliefs"[6]
Cites from previous page of Definitians

 2) Ennis, Robert (20 June 2002).

"A Super-Streamlined Conception of Critical Thinking".
faculty.education.illinois.edu. Retrieved January 18, 2013.

 4) Scriven, M., and Paul, R.W.,

Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council for Excellence in Critic
al Thinking
(1987)

 5) Facione, Peter A. Critical Thinking: What It is and Why It Counts,

Insightassessment.com, 20011, p. 26

 6) Mulnix, J. W. (2010). Thinking critically about critical thinking.
Educational Philosophy and Theory. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00673.x,
p. 471
“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
   ~ Malcolm S. Forbes

 History and etymology

 The critical thinking philosophical frame
traces its roots in analytic philosophy
and pragmatist constructivism which
dates back over 2,500 years.
 Meaning
 Critical thinking clarifies goals, examines
assumptions, discerns hidden values,
evaluates evidence, accomplishes actions,
and assesses conclusions.
Skills

 The list of core critical thinking  Evidence through observation

skills includes observation,
interpretation, analysis, inference,  Context skills
evaluation, explanation, and meta-  Relevant criteria for making the
cognition. There is a reasonable judgment well
level of consensus among experts
that an individual or group engaged  Applicable methods or techniques
in strong critical thinking gives due for forming the judgment
consideration to establish:
 Applicable theoretical constructs for
 In addition to possessing strong understanding the problem and the
critical-thinking skills, one must be question at hand
disposed to engage problems and
decisions using those skills. Critical
thinking employs not only logic but
broad intellectual criteria such as
clarity, credibility, accuracy,
precision, relevance, depth, breadth
, significance, and fairness.
Procedure

 Critical thinking calls for the ability  Put to test the conclusions and
to: generalizations at which one arrives
 Reconstruct one's patterns of
 Recognize problems, to find workable beliefs on the basis of wider
means for meeting those problems experience
 Understand the importance of  Render accurate judgments about
prioritization and order of precedence
in problem solving specific things and qualities in
everyday life
 Gather and marshal pertinent (relevant)
information
 Recognize unstated assumptions and
values
 Comprehend and use language with
accuracy, clarity, and discernment
 Interpret data, to appraise evidence and
evaluate arguments
 Recognize the existence (or non-
existence) of logical relationships
between propositions
 Draw warranted conclusions and
generalizations
“Any formal attack on ignorance is bound to fail because the masses are always ready to defend
their most precious possession – their ignorance.”
   ~ Hendrik Van Loon

 In sum:

 "A persistent effort to examine any

belief or supposed form of knowledge in
the light of the evidence that supports
it and the further conclusions to which it
tends.”( b Edward M. Glaser (1941). An
Experiment in the Development of
Critical Thinking. New York, Bureau of
Publications, Teachers College, Columbia
University. ISBN 0-404-55843-7.)
Habits or traits of mind

 The habits of mind that characterize a

person strongly disposed toward
critical thinking include a desire to
follow reason and evidence wherever
they may lead, a systematic approach
to problem solving, inquisitiveness,
even-handedness, and confidence in
reasoning.[16] When individuals
possess intellectual skills alone,
without the intellectual traits of mind,
weak sense critical thinking results.
Fair-minded or strong sense critical
thinking requires intellectual humility,
empathy, integrity, perseverance,
courage, autonomy, confidence in
reason, and other intellectual traits.
Thus, critical thinking without
essential intellectual traits often
results in clever, but manipulative and
often unethical or subjective thought.
“Men become civilized, not in proportion to their willingness to believe, but in their readiness to
doubt.”   ~ H. L. Mencken

 16) The National Assessment

of College Student Learning:
Identification of the Skills to
be Taught, Learned, and
Assessed, NCES 94–286, US
Dept of Education, Addison
Greenwod (Ed), Sal Carrallo
(PI). See also, Critical thinking:
A statement of expert
consensus for purposes of
educational assessment and
instruction. ERIC Document No.
ED 315–423
Example thinker
 raises important questions and problems, formulating them clearly
and precisely
 gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to
interpret it effectively
 comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them
against relevant criteria and standards
 thinks open-mindedly within alternative systems of thought,
recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions,
implications, and practical consequences
 communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to
complex problems, without being unduly influenced by others'
thinking on the topic.
Critical Thinking as Defined by the National Council for Excellence
in Critical Thinking, 1987
 A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul, presented at the 8th
Annual International Conference on Critical Thinking and Education Reform,
Summer 1987.

 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. It entails the examination of those structures or elements of
thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue;
assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to
conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative
viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thinking — in being responsive
to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes — is incorporated in a
family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking,
mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking,
economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking.
http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766