04 Oct Critical Thinking ‘Takeaway’

Critical Thinking ‘Takeaway’

 WEEK 3 3RD DQ 

Our thinking, when unattended, could very well be incomplete, imprecise, biased, irrational, filled with fallacies, distorted, and influenced/manipulated by others. Yet, the quality of our lives depends on the quality of our thoughts. Principles of logic and the process of critical thinking guide us to evaluate and eliminate possibilities, accepting the most reasonable answer/solution/argument.

So, what characteristics do critical thinkers share? What do they have in common? Here are a few important common characteristics of critical thinkers:

·        Critical thinkers are normally reflective and inquisitive people.

·        Critical thinkers collect facts from the very beginning.

·        Critical thinkers seek clarity and are eager to gain in-depth knowledge about things of interest. 

·        Critical thinkers ask questions and evaluate arguments. Does it make sense? Who stands to gain the most?

·        Critical thinkers identify inconsistencies in arguments.

·        Critical thinkers know that there is a difference between facts and opinions. Facts are basically things that you know to be true. Opinions are formed based on hunches, emotions, and perhaps a little bit of factual evidence.

·        Critical thinkers are willing to criticize their own beliefs and, when needed, admit their lack of knowledge or understanding. Basically, they are as tough on themselves as they are on others’ points of view.

·        Critical thinkers are open to changing their minds by making improvements to their existing knowledge as well as gaining new knowledge because they accept learning as a lifelong pursuit.

A person with the above-mentioned characteristics may very well be you. Critical-thinking skills are acquired through practice. You can always develop and fine-tune your critical-thinking skills through continual practice. Such skills will help you express yourself more clearly, develop more balanced arguments, read critically, and gather pertinent information more efficiently.

We are living in an information age like never before, where information about just about anything can be gathered quickly — do not lose sight of the fact that we now have easy access to the extensive information that in the past was difficult to acquire — now, due to the abundance of information, we are faced with a challenge like never before because for this information to be useful, it must be properly processed, i.e., sorted out for relevancy, organized coherently, fully understood, checked for accuracy and completeness, balanced against contradictory information, and analyzed for its meaning and significance – and if we plan to act on this information, we also need to consider the consequences of our actions, i.e., how our actions may affect others.

Critical thinking and logic are tools that allow us to steer the incoming stream of information – i.e., sort out the not-too-obvious good from the not-too-obvious bad, combine apparently unrelated fragments, recognize patterns, and figure out how information can help us manage our practical affairs.

I thank you for your attention and I hope you have enjoyed this week’s topic.