Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking
There are many problems in the world today. To change many of these problems people may need to change their way of thinking and become critical thinkers. Everything we do is determined by how we think. We now face the probability of wars, we have hunger throughout, our natural habitats are declining, and we face global warming. Everyday lives are stressful in a fast paced world. It may be possible to solve these problems if more people understood how to be critical thinkers.
"Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments." Critical thinking is using criteria to judge the quality of something. In essence, critical thinking is a disciplined manner of thought that a person uses to assess validity (Beyer, 1995). It involves making a fair assessment, correct interpretation, and deducing reasonable conclusions.
It is human nature to act or react in a spontaneous way when arguing, having a normal conversation, or even joking around. With technology people feel they can say whatever they please without thinking of the consequences. Human perspective is innate including self-gratification, self-interest, and self-protection.
Many great thinkers, philosophers, and educators have attempted to explain the critical habit of thought. Leo Tolstoy said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” John Bury, Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University states, “The average brain is naturally lazy and tends to take the line of least resistance. The mental world of the ordinary man consists of beliefs which he has accepted without questioning” (Bury, 1913).Thinking is skilled work. It is not true that we are naturally endowed with the ability to think clearly and logically without learning how, or without practicing (Mander, 1936). It is important to understand the characteristics of critical thinking. These include: * Asking questions * Defining a problem * Examining evidence * Analyzing
There are many problems in the world today. To change many of these problems people may need to change their way of thinking and become critical thinkers. Everything we do is determined by how we think. We now face the probability of wars, we have hunger throughout, our natural habitats are declining, and we face global warming. Everyday lives are stressful in a fast paced world. It may be possible to solve these problems if more people understood how to be critical thinkers.
"Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments." Critical thinking is using criteria to judge the quality of something. In essence, critical thinking is a disciplined manner of thought that a person uses to assess validity (Beyer, 1995). It involves making a fair assessment, correct interpretation, and deducing reasonable conclusions.
It is human nature to act or react in a spontaneous way when arguing, having a normal conversation, or even joking around. With technology people feel they can say whatever they please without thinking of the consequences. Human perspective is innate including self-gratification, self-interest, and self-protection.
Many great thinkers, philosophers, and educators have attempted to explain the critical habit of thought. Leo Tolstoy said, “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” John Bury, Professor of Modern History at Cambridge University states, “The average brain is naturally lazy and tends to take the line of least resistance. The mental world of the ordinary man consists of beliefs which he has accepted without questioning” (Bury, 1913).Thinking is skilled work. It is not true that we are naturally endowed with the ability to think clearly and logically without learning how, or without practicing (Mander, 1936). It is important to understand the characteristics of critical thinking. These include: * Asking questions * Defining a problem * Examining evidence * Analyzing
References: Adsit, K. (1997). The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Teaching Critical thinking skills. Grayson H. Walker Teaching Resource Center. Beyer, B. K. (1995). Critical thinking. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. Bury, John. (1913). History of Freedom of Thought. Cambridge, USA: The University Press Mander, A. E. (1938) "Clearer Thinking: Logic for Everyman." Thinker 's Library. 3rd Ed. London: Watts & Co.. Underwood, M. K., & Wald, R. L. (1995). Conference-style learning: A method for fostering critical thinking with heart. Teaching Psychology, 22(1), 17-21.