Critical thinking...... (Dedicated to my Special One..:) ) Critical thinking is a way of deciding whether a claim is true, partially true, or false. Critical thinking is a process that leads to skills that can be learned, mastered and used. Critical thinking is a tool by which one can come about reasoned conclusions based on a reasoned process. This process incorporates passion and creativity, but guides it with discipline, practicality and common sense. It can be traced in the West to ancient Greece with its Socratic method and in the East to ancient India with the Buddhist kalama sutta and abhidharma literature. Critical thinking is an important component of many fields such as education, politics, business, science and the arts. Etymology One sense of the term critical means crucial; a second sense derives from κριτικός (kritikos), which means discerning judgment.[1] Various definitions Critical thinking has been defined as: the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion[2] disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence[3] reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do[4] purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based[5] includes a commitment to using reason in the formulation of our beliefs[6] in critical social theory: commitment to the social and political practice of participatory democracy, willingness to imagine or remain open to considering alternative perspectives, willingness to integrate new or revised perspectives into our ways of thinking and acting, and willingness to foster criticality in others.[7] the skill and propensity to engage in an activity with reflective scepticism (McPeck, 1981) disciplined, self-directed thinking which exemplifies the perfection of thinking appropriate to a particular mode of domain of thinking (Paul, 1989, p. 214) thinking about ones thinking in a manner designed to organize and clarify, raise the efficiency of, and recognize errors and biases in ones own thinking. Critical thinking is not hard thinking nor is it directed at solving problems (other than improving ones own thinking). Critical thinking is inward-directed with the intent of maximizing the rationality of the thinker. One does not use critical thinking to solve problems - one uses critical thinking to improve ones process of thinking.[8]
Posted on: Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:26:35 +0000
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