Critical Thinking

Towards a Definition
Obj: Define and explain the nature of critical thinking

Nawa Stephen
 Types of Thinking
• Analyzing
• Evaluating Problem Solving
• Reasoning Decision Making
New
Ideas

Critical Left Right Creative

Thinking Thinking
 Critical
Thinking
 What is Critical Thinking?
• The term Critical is a Greek derivative with two roots,
namely;
kriticos - “discerning judgment” & kriterion - “standards”
• Etymologically, the term implies discerning judgment
based on standards
• Critical can also mean, “characterized by careful analysis
and judgment”
• In its strictest sense, Critical implies
an attempt at objective judgment so as to determine both
merits and faults
• Thinking is a mental process that produces thoughts.
• It differs with reasoning in that the latter uses
LOGIC. Thinking is not always logical and
conscious, but reasoning is.
 Cont’

Critical thinking - thinking explicitly aimed at well-founded judgment, using

appropriate evaluative standards in an attempt to determine the true worth,
merit, or value of something (Paul & Elder 2006).

Critical thinking has three dimensions

1. Analytic – focuses on the parts of thinking in any situation—its purpose,
question, information, inferences, assumptions, concepts, implications,
and point of view
2. Evaluative – it seeks to determine strengths and weaknesses of any
thinking process: the extent to which it is clear, accurate, precise,
relevant, deep, broad, logical, significant, and fair.
3. Creative – it helps manipulate & generate different kinds of ideas, in
unusual ways and make unconventional connections to devise new
solutions to problems
 What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is the art of thinking about thinking while thinking in order to make
your thinking better, more clearer more accurate or more defensible, Richard Paul

• Reflect on our thinking with the attempt to explain issues involved to

ourselves and thereby understand them
• Evaluate the thinking process that goes into the decisions that we make so
as to make sure that we are making the right decisions
• Compare our decisions with other decisions that could be made in the
same situation so as to determine the defensibility of those decisions

Don’t think & accept things at face value, rather, analyze and
assess for clarity, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth and
logicalness
 What is Critical Thinking?

Critical Thinking: The systematic evaluation or formulation of beliefs, or

statements, by rational standards, Vaughn, pg. 4

 It is systematic - it involves distinct procedures and methods.

 It entails evaluation and formulation because it’s used to both assess
existing beliefs (yours or someone else’s) and devise new ones.
 It operates according to rational standards in that beliefs are judged by
how well they are supported by reasons
Critical thinking involves logic - the study of good reasoning, or inference,
and the rules that govern it

But it’s broader than logic - it involves also the truth or falsity of statements,
the evaluation of arguments and evidence, the use of analysis and
investigation, and the application of other skills that help in decision making
& knowledge construction
 Cont’

Critical thinking entails the ability to think clearly and rationally about what
to do or what to believe. (Robert Ennis) It includes the ability to engage in
reflective and independent thinking.

Critical thinking skills enable you to do the following;

 understand the logical connections between ideas;
 identify, construct and evaluate arguments;
 detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning;
 solve problems systematically;
 identify the relevance and importance of ideas;
 reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values.
Critical thinking skills are essential for all careers where we have to
communicate ideas, make decisions, analyze, and solve problems, hence it’s a
domain-general thinking skill
 Misconceptions
a. Critical thinking is too confrontational – criticizing others all the time
 First, by rejecting bad ideas, we become better at finding the truth.
 Second, thinking critically does not mean we criticize people all the time.
When others are right, we don't have to disagree. When they are wrong,
critical thinking helps us recognize the mistakes being made

b. Critical thinking is not practically useful because people in real life do not
listen to reason. People act on self-interest, emotion, or personal
relationships.
 This objection confuses rational thinking with talking about reasons. It might
be true that many people are irrational, and to influence them we need to
appeal to authority, emotions, or anything other than reason
 We can still use critical thinking to think strategically about the best means to
achieve our objectives
 Importance of Critical Thinking
Domain-general thinking skill – crucial in education, research, finance, engineering,
management, the legal profession etc.

The new knowledge economy – Due to emphasis on information and technology the
new economy places increasing demands on flexible intellectual skills, and the ability
to analyse information and integrate diverse sources of knowledge in solving
problems. Critical thinking promotes such thinking skills

Language and presentation skills. Thinking clearly and systematically can improve the
way we express our ideas. In learning how to analyse the logical structure of texts,
critical thinking also improves comprehension abilities.

Self-reflection. In order to live a meaningful life and to structure our lives accordingly,
we need to justify and reflect on our values and decisions.
Foundation of science and democracy. Science requires critical use of reason in
experimentation and theory confirmation. Democracy requires critical thinkers on
social issues to inform their judgments about proper governance and to overcome
biases and prejudice.
 The Future of Critical Thinking

In January 2016, the

World Economic
Forum issued a report
"The Future of Jobs".
It reads,
“The Fourth Industrial
Revolution…will cause
widespread disruption
not only to business
models but also to
labour markets over the
next five years, with
enormous change
predicted in the skill sets
needed to thrive in the
new landscape”
.
Ask Questions

Critical
Thinking is
NOT
driven by
answers;
It IS driven by
the questions
that you ask.
 Suppose you have just read an article that says that the
elephant population of Botswana is
increasing.
• Why?
– Why is the population increasing?
• What?
– What effect is this increase having on the elephant population?
• Where?
– Where is the population increasing? Is it all over Botswana or just in isolated
locations? Tuli or Ngami for example
• Who?
– Who is affected by the increase in the population of elephants? Are the
farmers affected? Other animals?
• When?
– When did this increase begin occurring? How long will the increase
continue?
• How?
– How can we stabilize the elephant population?