Critical Thinking

(Define the term “critical thinking”. The textbook discusses 10 common errors in thinking- chose one or two errors and discuss/explain the error using your own example.) Critical thinking is a mechanism of observing something beyond your first impression and opinion. “Instead of simply responding with what you believe or feel about a subject, critical thinking guides you to think- to examine issues fully and objectively, test your own assumptions for bias, seek additional information, consider alternative interpretations, ask questions, and delay judgment”. Critical thinking is the reason why every professional writer, writes as good as they do. They don’t record their immediate observations; instead they explore the idea and analyze it fully. This process often allows the writer to have another point of view/perspective on the topic in which they are exploring. Critical thinking may seem like it is something that can easily be done, however, there are often common errors that occur during the process. One of these common errors that we see very often is hastily generalizations or “jumping to conclusions”. This error involves stating a rash judgment based on what you believe to be true or suspect, based on a limited amount of evidence. An example of this can include something as little as judging a restaurant and disapproving of it, based on “rumors” you have heard. Perhaps somebody didn’t enjoy the food and you heard about it. Not everybody likes the same kind of food, so before judging it, it would be in your best interest to try it yourself before you make the assumption. By examining such a thing yourself, you would be avoiding one of the common errors in critical thinking. “Comparisons are the weakest form of argument. Because no two situations are exactly alike, avoid making judgments based on limited or selected evidence”. Making faulty comparisons (false analogies) is another common error in critical thinking that we see very often. For example: a