Chapter one: Introduction Critical thinking
Critical Thinking
1. What Is Critical Thinking?
2. Critical Thinking Standards
3. the benefits of critical thinking
Learning
4. Barriers to Critical Thinking
Objectives
5. Characteristics of a Critical
Thinker
• Disciplined thinking empowers you. Learn,
think freely, reach your mind's peak.
• University = critical thinking, not just
memorizing! High school, prioritize deeper
thought.
INTRODUCTIO WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?
N • Critical thinking is a wide range of
cognitive skills and traits for effectively
identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments
and truth claims; to overcome personal
preconceptions and biases.
• It is a thinking guided by clear intellectual
standards.
Critical Thinking Standards
The standards are clarity, precision,
accuracy, relevance, consistency, logical
correctness, completeness, and fairness.
Before we can effectively evaluate a
person’s argument or claim, we need to
understand clearly what he or she is saying.
Clarity
Clarity is easy understanding. No
confusion, just transparent communication.
Break down complex things, use clear
pictures, give real-life examples.
Precision
• Precision refers to the quality of
being exact, accurate, and careful
in execution or measurement. Its
laser focus on details.
• Think pinpoint accuracy, not
blurry guesswork.
• Crucial in specialized fields
(think doctor, architect,
engineer), but also everyday
thinking to avoid messy mistakes
Accuracy
• Accuracy typically refers to the degree of
conformity of a measured or calculated
quantity to its actual (true) value.
• There is a well-known saying about
computers: “Garbage in, garbage out.”
Simply put, this means that if you put bad
information into a computer, bad
information is exactly what you will get
out of it.
• Critical thinkers don’t merely value the
truth; they have a passion for accurate,
timely information. As consumers, citizens,
workers, and parents, they strive to make
decisions that are as informed as possible
Relevancy
• Relevance refers to the quality or state
of being closely connected or
appropriate to the matter at hand.
• Anyone who has ever sat through a
boring school assembly or watched a
mud-slinging political debate can
appreciate the importance of staying
focused on relevant ideas and
information.
Consistency
• Consistency refers to the quality of being
reliable, steady, or uniform in behavior,
attitudes, or outcomes over time.
• Critical thinkers, truth detectives! They spot
inconsistencies like hawks – in their own
thoughts and others' claims.
Watch out for two types:
• Logical wackiness: Saying/believing
contradictory things (can't be all true!).
• Talk vs. action mismatch: Saying one thing,
doing another (hypocrisy alert!)
Logical Correctness
• Logical correctness refers to the
accuracy and validity of
reasoning or arguments
according to the principles of
logic.
• To think logically is to reason
correctly—that is, to draw well-
founded conclusions from the
beliefs we hold. To think
critically, we need accurate and
well-supported beliefs
Completeness
• Completeness refers to the quality
of being comprehensive, whole, or
containing all necessary elements
or parts. We naturally favor
comprehensive and deep thought
over quick and extraordinary
thought in most situations.
• Therefore, we correctly criticize
poor criminal investigations,
rushed jury selections,
sensationalized press reports,
unclear driving instructions, and
rapid medical diagnosis.
Fairness
Fairness refers to the quality of
being just, impartial, and equitable
in treatment or judgment.
Finally, critical thinking demands
that our thinking be fair—that is,
open-minded, impartial, and free
of distorting biases and
preconceptions, That can be very
difficult to achieve.
EXERCISE 1.1
Break into groups of four or five.
Choose one member of your group to
take notes and be the group reporter.
Discuss your education up to this
point. To what extent has your
education prepared you to think
clearly, precisely, accurately,
logically, and so forth? Have you ever
known a person (e.g., a teacher or a
parent) who strongly modeled the
critical thinking standards discussed
in this section? If so, how did he or
she do that?
The benefits of critical thinking
Let’s now consider more specifically
what you can expect to gain from a
course in critical thinking.
Critical thinking in the class room
In a critical thinking course, students
learn a variety of skills that can greatly
improve their classroom performance.
These skills include •
understanding the arguments and
beliefs of others
critically evaluating those arguments
and beliefs
developing and defending one’s own
well-supported arguments and beliefs
Critical thinking in work
place
Surveys indicate that fewer than half of today’s university
graduates can expect to be working in their major field of
study within five years of graduation—quick learners who
can solve problems, think creatively, gather and analyze
information, draw appropriate conclusions from data, and
communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.
These are exactly the kinds of generalized thinking and
problem-solving skills that a course in critical thinking aims
to improve.
Critical thinking in life
Critical thinking is valuable in many contexts outside the
classroom and the workplace. Let’s look briefly y at three
ways in which this is the case
First, critical thinking can help us avoid making foolish
personal decisions.
Second, critical thinking plays a vital role in promoting
democratic processes.
Third, critical thinking is worth studying for its own sake,
simply for the personal enrichment it can bring to our lives.
Barriers to Critical Thinking
Here is a • lack of relevant background
information
list of • poor reading skills
• bias
some of • prejudice
the most • superstition
• egocentrism (self-centered
common thinking)
barriers • sociocentrism (group-centered
thinking)
to critical • peer pressure
• conformism
thinking
Examples
Egocentrism is the tendency to see reality as centered
on oneself. Egocentrics are selfish , self-absorbed people
who view their interests, ideas, and values as superior to
everyone else’s.
Self-interested thinking is the tendency to accept
and defend beliefs that harmonize with one’s self-
interest. Almost no one is immune to self-interested
thinking.
Self-serving bias is the tendency to overrate oneself—
to see oneself as better in some respect than one is. We
all know braggarts, or know-it-alls, who claim to be more
talented or knowledgeable than they are.
Class
Assignment
• EXERCISE 1.2
Sociocentrism
Sociocentrism is group-centered thinking. Just as
egocentrism can hinder rational thinking by focusing
excessively on the self, so sociocentrism can hinder
rational thinking by focusing excessively on the group.
Group bias is the tendency to see one’s own group
(nation, tribe, sect, peer group, and the like) as being
inherently better than others. Social scientists tell us
that such thinking is extremely common throughout
human history and across cultures
Conformism refers to our
tendency to follow the crowd—
that is, to conform (often
unthinkingly) to authority or to
group standards of conduct and
Cont… belief
Characters
Critical
thinking
• The following list
contrasts some of
the key intellectual
traits of critical
thinkers with the
relevant traits of
uncritical thinkers.
Class Basements
• Exercise 1.3
Exercise 1.4
Case 1 Case 2
Class
Assignment
Exercise 1.6
