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ASSIGNMENT
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Sr No. PG NO.
TOPIC
1. INTRODUCTION 3
2. DEFINITION 3-4
3. LOGICAL REASONING 5
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INTRODUCTION:
DEFINITION:
LOGIC
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“A science that deals with the principles and criteria of validity of inference and
demonstration: the science of the formal principles of reasoning”
Critical Thinking
“Disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by
evidence”
EXPLAINATION:
Combining the two definitions, we can say that both logic and critical thinking
requires validity, truth of points in order to arrive at a proper conclusion. Logic
and Critical Thinking will allow a person to analyze situations, words, and
arguments and react accordingly to them without expressing any invalid
reasoning or actions. With the utilization of logic and critical thinking, he/she
can be seen as someone who. . .
The importance of these two things lies in their alignment with each other in
an individual. Utilization of these things will allow an individual to be a better
person overall. It will produce awareness to oneself and others around.
Although cultivation of the knowledge in order to know the truth from the
erroneous points takes some time it will be nevertheless beneficial to the
person.
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LOGICAL REASONING:
EXAMPLE:
Since this is a logical deduction, I am only going to consider what we know and
say “B betrayed A” because:
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RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOGIC AND
CRITICAL THINKING:
Logic is one of the standards by which we measure the quality of thinking. the
central standards of critical thinking are:
Logic
Clarity
Precision
Accuracy
Relevance
Depth
Breadth
Fairness
These standards can be used for both careful analysis of written thought, or for
incidental evaluation of a mental thought. The easiest way is to see them each
as measuring sticks on a continuum between their opposites:
Logic —— Illogicalness
Clarity —— Vagueness
Precision —— Imprecision
Accuracy —— Inaccuracy (In this case the difference between Precision and
accuracy is defined as accuracy being whether something is factually correct
while precision is about whether a number has many decimals, or if the
amount of details in your thinking is appropriately large or small. )
Relevance ——Irrelevance
Depth —— Superficalness
Breadth——Narrow-mindedness
Fairness —— Unfairness
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By using these measuring sticks it’s easier to identify why ones thinking is
flawed, by categorizing the flaw.
Thinking can be divided into several parts, that relate differently to logic as a
standard:
Information
Inferences
Concepts
Assumptions
Implications
Point of view
Significance
Whatever your particular line of thinking is, these elements are universal and it
will have all of them and no more. Even with trivial thinking like shopping there
is information, concepts etc.
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For more information about the subject I’d suggest reading. There are books
about critical thinking on amazon, but I’d also suggest you google the critical
thinking pages of hong kong university as they are well-designed.
IMPORTANCE IN COMMERCE
EDUCATION:
Logic concerns the rules of thought, that is, how thought proceeds “correctly”
from formulated propositions to necessary conclusions. It is the science of
reason, or right thinking, which guides philosophical and scientific investigation
and research. Critical thinking, on the other hand, weighs reality and human
experience objectively so as to weed out unsubstantiated subjective
conclusions about life and the world at large.
If someone (it happens often) says that the Earth is flat, as a result of the
corresponding article in Wikipedia, he is stupid and cannot get the authority
appealing as a part of his reasoning.
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The Earth is flat, so it is calculated both empirically and mathematically. And
anyone has to be able to do the simple observation to be sure it is real life, but
not someones dreams.
I recommend you to visit the site of my friends from Kiev, who created the
place of different logical fallacies and cognitive illusions.
I am pretty confident it will help you to expand the extent of your thinking
more or lesser. Anyway you will get something useful to be aware of.
Critical thinking is important in daily life so that you don’t do evil. Basically,
vast majority of people wants to be good, or at least look good with minimum
amount of effort. Evil people want the same, but they absolutely can’t qualify
for the benefits that good people enjoy and never will, and they know it. So the
first thing evil people do, is they lie, they portray evil as good.
Evil that people know is evil never lasts long. But evil that people believe is
good, will be done over and over, almost forever. That was the case with
slavery, Democrats came up with the idea that slavery is good for the slaves, it
civilizes them, it raises them up from the barbaric africanness. Child-abusers
came up with the idea that children need to be beaten, it’s like a dentist or
vaccination, necessary and good thing, even though unpleasant. In fact the
more is something unpleasant for children, the healthier it must be.
So, here’s why you need critical thinking, evil people want to control you with
your own desire to do good. They call themselves “anti-illiteracy” and if you
don’t want the evil people to be in charge in education, they accuse you of
being anti-education. They call themselves “anti-racism” and if you oppose
them, they call you a racist. You can hear it in media now all the time.
In a world where most people living in it are narrow-minded and ignorant, who
cannot understand and are more willing to ignore others and arbitrary matters,
this is where critical thinking enters and should be upheld.
IMPORTANCE IN BUSINESS:
Conceptualizing
Analyzing
Synthesizing
Evaluating
Observation
Experience
Reflection
Reasoning
Communication
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And all this is meant to guide:
Beliefs
Action
If you think about it, this makes sense. If we had to think deliberately about
every single action (such as breathing, for instance), we wouldn’t have any
cognitive energy left for the important stuff like D&D. It’s good that much of
our thinking is automatic.
We can run into problems, though, when we let our automatic mental
processes govern important decisions. Without critical thinking, it’s easy for
people to manipulate us and for all sorts of catastrophes to result. Anywhere
that some form of fundamentalism led to tragedy (the Holocaust is a textbook
example), critical thinking was sorely lacking.
Even day to day, it’s easy to get caught in pointless arguments or say stupid
things just because you failed to stop and think deliberately.
But you’re reading College Info Geek, so I’m sure you’re interested to know
why critical thinking matters in college.
Critical thinking matters in college because students often adopt the wrong
attitude to thinking about difficult questions. These attitudes include:
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right source (102). It’s understandable that a lot of students come into
college thinking this way–it’s enough to get you through most of your
high school coursework. In college and in life, however, the answers
to most meaningful questions are rarely straightforward. To get
anywhere in college classes (especially upper-level ones), you have to
think critically about the material.
Naive relativism. Naive relativism is the belief that there is no truth
and all arguments are equal (102-103). According to Roberts, this is
often a view that students adopt once they learn the error of ignorant
certainty. While it’s certainly a more “critical” approach than ignorant
certainty, naive relativism is still inadequate since it misses the whole
point of critical thinking: arriving at a more complete,
It allows you to form your own opinions and engage with material
beyond a superficial level. This is essential to essay and having an
intelligent discussion with your professors or
classmates. Regurgitating what the textbook says won’t get you far.
It allows you to craft worthy arguments and back them up. If you plan
to go on to graduate school or pursue a PhD., original, critical thought
is crucial
It helps you evaluate your own work. This leads to better grades (who
doesn’t want those?) and better habits of mind.
Doing college level work without critical is a lot like walking blindfolded: you’ll
get somewhere, but it’s unlikely to be the place you desire.
The value of critical thinking doesn’t stop with college, however. Once you get
out into the real world, critical thinking matters even more. This is because:
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People can and will manipulate you. At least, they will if you take
everything at face value and allow others to think for you. Just look at
ads for the latest fad diet or “miracle” drug–these rely on ignorance
and false hope to get people to buy something that is at best useless
and at worst harmful. When you evaluate information critically
(especially information meant to sell something), you can avoid falling
prey to unethical companies and people.
It makes you more employable (and better paid). The best employees
not only know how to solve existing problems–they also know how to
come up with solutions to problems no one ever imagined. To get a
great job after graduating, you need to be one of those employees,
and critical thinking is the key ingredient to solving difficult, novel
problems.
EXAMPLE:
This pertains specifically when you or someone else are tempted to throw
around superlatives in describing someone/something.
Claims like -
Nothing.
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But this isn't mere rhetoric or a "gotcha" kind of question.
It is a deadly serious probe into gauging whether the claimant has truly
weighed up several candidates before making a reasonable assessment and
isn't just using the term "best" when s/he merely means "very good" or
"worst" in place of "really bad".
Now this isn't something to use to start checkmating people when they talk
about something obviously casual as "the best pizza in New York" but all too
often we tend to throw around these superlatives in a serious discussion, very
casually just for hyperbolic/dramatic effect.
But if someone can then actually give you those other ones on his/her list, you
know that you are dealing with a person who has seriously taken the time to
analyze a number of candidates. Not someone who is throwing around
superlatives for effect. That person likely knows his/her stuff.
Lastly, it is meant first and foremost to be a powerful check most of all on your
own tendencies to throw in big words.
When one starts quietly asking that one simple question before the temptation
to throw in words like "most/least/best/worst", it is a very humbling lesson on
the limits of one's own knowledge and expertise.
Personally speaking, in the vast majority of cases I struggle to make it past No.
3/4, if even that.
It's not very comforting. But then again, the purpose of critical analysis is not
to merely feel good.
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And few questions expose the limits of one’s knowledge in such quick and plain
a fashion as those four simple words -
The best way to improve thinking is to consider all of life's mysteries from a
skeptical perspective.
"Skepticism rather than credulity is the highest principle the human intellect
can use to ennoble our existence." Lawrence Krauss
I love that quote by Krauss because it reminds me that how we think is more
important than what we think.
If like many people you assume that rationality, objectivity and logic are
intuitive products of an applied mind - you're distinctly less likely to actually be
rational, objective or logical. Which is to say that thinking in and of itself is
useful only insofar as it's 'good' thinking.
Humans have always been able to grapple with ideas and confront
preconceptions - but never before have we been able to do so with the
probability of meaningful discovery so stacked in our favour.
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button we can learn more than even the most ambitiously optimistic minds
could have predicted.
You may find, as I have, that even a slight improvement in reasoning ability
transforms the lens through which one views the world.
If you desire to inhabit a rational and reasonable society then honing the blade
of critical thought is never time wasted.
On the other hand, if you believe there is no relationship between facts and
truth, or if you value "alternate means of knowing" - those not founded on
evidence and reason, then perhaps it's time to ask yourself.
Which is precisely why critical thought is every bit as important today as it's
ever been
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As humans, we typically operate on cognitive autopilot. We rarely stop and
reflect on how we interpret information and create mental models which
replicate our perception of reality.
But when our mental models fail to match reality, we simply ignore reality and
operate throughout the day on implicit assumptions. These are not conscious
choices. Our mental models allow us a simple way to cope with reality, yet we
fail to confront reality when it is different than our mental model. Essentially,
we have unknowingly created a ready-made default mechanism.
The more knowledgeable you are, the better your brain will be at
solving complex problems using critical thinking.
Often, our mind rises to the challenge of whatever problem we give it.
If we give our mind easy problems, it will come up with solutions fairly
easily. If we give our mind hard problems, it forces our mind to enter
“critical thinking mode” since the solution is not so obvious.
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Think of it like weightlifting. If you give your muscles easy weights to
life, they won’t grow. Same thing with your brain and easy problems.
3. Sleep
So basically, when you don’t sleep for 7–8 hours each night, your
working memory becomes clogged with a bunch of irrelevant
information.
4. Become a Multipotentialite
What is a multipotentialite?
According to Puttylike.com:
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When it comes to new interests that emerge, our insatiable curiosity
leads us to absorb everything we can get our hands on. As a result, we
pick up new skills fast and tend to be a wealth of information.”
Critical thinking is all about thinking divergently, so you can see why
becoming a multipotentialite has obvious benefits in that regard.
5. Question Everything
That is a scary but very real way to improve your critical thinking
ability.
The brain does not perform well at critical thinking when you ask it to
focus on coming up with ideas and innovative solutions.
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Often when I come back to the problem after a short break, I’ve found
that subconscious mind has come up with new solutions in the
background.
This is one I learned from James Altucher. It’s simple but surprisingly
brilliant.
This habit improves your critical thinking because you are literally
training your brain to become an idea machine. Over time, your ideas
will become higher and higher quality.
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The OODA Loop is a high-speed decision making and feedback process in four
stages: Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act.
I use simple rules provided within the OODA Loop to assist me in speeding up
my critical and creative thinking abilities. However, do not confuse the word
“simple” with “simplistic” as the OODA Loop uses simple rules within a
complex system (which is exactly what the OODA Loop is).
The key to the loop is feedback. The OODA Loop is similar to Double-Loop
Learning, where the goal is to modify decision-making in light of new
experience.
Double-Loop Learning is the first loop uses goals or decision-making rules, the
second loop enables their modification… hence, double-loop.
Scout Mindset
I will talk about this more in the How-To Guide: Tools to Apply the Critical
Thinker’s OODA Loop section below.
Objectivity
It’s about seeking the truth. Here we should seek to follow a concept
introduced by Immanuel Kant as a way of evaluating motivations for actions –
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called the Categorical Imperative. Kant defines a categorical imperative as an
absolute or an unconditional requirement that must be obeyed in all
circumstances and is justified as an end in itself. For example, “Act only
according to the maxim whereby you can, at the same time, will that it should
become a universal law.” For more information, visit the Categorical
Imperative.
Avoid emotion
Imagine you can physically remove yourself from your body and objectively
view how you make decisions. It’s like pulling your mind from your body.
Reasoning backward
For example, solve the following problem: “I think of a number and add three
to it, multiply the result by 2, subtract 4 and divide by 7. The number I end up
with is 2. What was the number I first thought of?” To solve, read the problem
backward. You start with: 2 x 7 = 14. Then take 14 + 4 = 18. From there take 18
/ 2 = 9. Then take 9 – 3 = 6. Finally, the number you first thought of was 6.
Deductive Reasoning is: All ravens are black, that raven is black, therefore it is
black.
We make deductions from laws to see what should happen and then
experiment to see if our prediction was right. Think about it this way… to test
whether a burner is hot, we must touch the burner first using Inductive
Reasoning; however, if we were to use Deductive Reasoning, we would first
predict the burner to be hot and would realize there is no need to touch it.
One last benefit of Reasoning Backwards is that it forces our linear and logical
mind to catch things we wouldn’t normally catch. For example, read the
following sentence:
After reading this sentence, you will realize that the brain doesn’t recognize a
second ‘the’.
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Now read the sentence again, this time read it backward. Did you notice that
you missed the second ‘the’?
Think-Write-Share
The UFMCS uses this as the single most important idea to enable critical
thinking. For example, prior to taking on an issue, we should
first think independently and reflectively, then write down our thoughts
(which assists us in shaping and refining them), then share them in a
disciplined manner. This takes us from divergence to convergence.
Dialectical method
“Imagine that you are on a ski slope with other skiers…that you are in Florida
riding in an outboard motorboat, maybe even towing water-skiers. Imagine
that you are riding a bicycle on a nice spring day. Imagine that you are a parent
taking your son to a department store and that you notice he is fascinated by
the toy tractors or tanks with rubber caterpillar treads.”
Part 2:
“Now imagine that you pull the skis off but you are still on the ski slope.
Imagine also that you remove the outboard motor from the motorboat, and
you are no longer in Florida. And from the bicycle, you remove the handle-bar
and discard the rest of the bike. Finally, you take off the rubber treads from the
toy tractor or tanks. This leaves only the following separate pieces: skis,
outboard motor, handlebars, and rubber treads.”
Let’s now turn our attention to the four simple rules within the OODA Loop.
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Observe
Think of how we use sensors and gather information. In an ant colony, this is
where ants shoot pheromones to signal others when they have found food.
Here we are detecting events within our environment and identifying change
(or lack thereof). This could also be identified as Locate or Perceive (think
swarming tactics or artificial intelligence).
Steps: