Distinction Between Critical Thinking and Psychology
Distinction Between Critical Thinking and Psychology by Akpan, A.M, OP
Introduction The mind in this discussion is the mind of the human person, also known as the psyche. Many a philosopher of mind asserts that it is an immaterial and spiritual component in the human person which is the center of thought and behaviour. It is also referred to as awareness and consciousness. From it flows, with necessity, thoughts and basis for human behaviour. Hence, to know why we think the way we do and why we do things the way we do them, we have to probe our minds. From the foregoing, we can posit of a correlation between thinking and behaviour, as they emanate from the mind. There is also a distinction that can be made between them. This distinction is, however, a formal and not a real one. Moreover, these two fundamental processes of the mind are studied under the categories of critical thinking and psychology. This essay intends to make a distinction between these two latter categories.
What Is Critical Thinking? In a number of ways, critical thinking has been said to involve a close and thorough assessment of the basis, nature and quality of our knowledge. It involves asking vital questions, gathering relevant information, testing well reasoned conclusions and solutions, thinking open mindedly, recognizing and assessing basic assumptions, implications, and practical consequences and communicating effectively. Critical thinking has to do with the analysis or evaluation of the process of thinking. This nature of analysis or evaluation is occasioned by the adjective, ‘critical’. “Critical thinking could be said to be - challenging a claim or an opinion (either one’s own or another’s) with the purpose of finding out what to believe or do. It is a cognitive process that involves logical and deep thinking. A number of philosophers who define critical thinking agree that it increases the probability of an outcome. Thus, the critical thinker is a moderate skeptic. More
Introduction The mind in this discussion is the mind of the human person, also known as the psyche. Many a philosopher of mind asserts that it is an immaterial and spiritual component in the human person which is the center of thought and behaviour. It is also referred to as awareness and consciousness. From it flows, with necessity, thoughts and basis for human behaviour. Hence, to know why we think the way we do and why we do things the way we do them, we have to probe our minds. From the foregoing, we can posit of a correlation between thinking and behaviour, as they emanate from the mind. There is also a distinction that can be made between them. This distinction is, however, a formal and not a real one. Moreover, these two fundamental processes of the mind are studied under the categories of critical thinking and psychology. This essay intends to make a distinction between these two latter categories.
What Is Critical Thinking? In a number of ways, critical thinking has been said to involve a close and thorough assessment of the basis, nature and quality of our knowledge. It involves asking vital questions, gathering relevant information, testing well reasoned conclusions and solutions, thinking open mindedly, recognizing and assessing basic assumptions, implications, and practical consequences and communicating effectively. Critical thinking has to do with the analysis or evaluation of the process of thinking. This nature of analysis or evaluation is occasioned by the adjective, ‘critical’. “Critical thinking could be said to be - challenging a claim or an opinion (either one’s own or another’s) with the purpose of finding out what to believe or do. It is a cognitive process that involves logical and deep thinking. A number of philosophers who define critical thinking agree that it increases the probability of an outcome. Thus, the critical thinker is a moderate skeptic. More
References: American Psychological Association (2011), “Careers in Psychology”, http://www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/careers.aspx (2nd June, 2014). Ennis, Robert H. “Critical Thinking Assessment” Theory Into Practice, Vol. 32, No. 3, Teaching for Higher Order Thinking (Summer,1993), pp. 179-186. O’Hare, Liam & McGuinness, Carol. “Measuring Critical Thinking, Intelligence, and Academic Performance in Psychology Undergraduates” The Irish Journal of Psychology, Vol. 30 No. 3-4, (2009), pp.123-131. Petress, Ken. Critical Thinking: An Extended Definition. Presque Isle: ProQuest Information and Learning Company, 2004. Stangor, Charles. “Introducing Psychology” http://ocw.mit.edu (2nd June, 2014).