THINKING

 

WHAT IS THINKING?

• Thinking is a purposeful, organized cognitive process that we use to make sense of our world.
•  Thinking is beyond the level of repeating or memorizing information. Thinking is processing experiences by editing or rearranging them (Matthew Lipman)
• Thinking is bringing intellectual faculties into play. It requires one to ponder, reflect or weigh a matter mentally (Webster’s Dictionary)
• Thinking is a complex act comprising knowledge, attitudes and skills that allow the individual to shape his/her environment more effectively than intuition alone.

 

WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?

Often when we use the word critical we mean “negative and fault-finding”. This is the sense we have in mind, for example, when we complain about a parent or a friend who we think unfairly critical of what we do or say. Nevertheless, critical also means, “involving or exercising skilled judgment or observation”. In this sense critical thinking means thinking clearly and intelligently. It is the thinking that is clear, accurate, knowledgeable, reflective, and fair in deciding what to believe or do.

 More precisely, “Critical thinking consists of a mental process of analyzing or evaluating information, particularly statements or propositions that people have offered as true. It forms a process of reflecting upon the meaning of statements, examining the offered evidence and reasoning, and forming judgments about the facts.” (Wikipedia)

“Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. “

Critical Thinking is the general term given to a wide range of cognitive and intellectual skills needed to:

• Effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth claims.
• Discover and overcome personal prejudices and biases.
• Formulate and present convincing reasons in support of conclusions.
• Make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and what to do.

CRITICAL THINKING STANDARDS

The most significant critical (intellectual) thinking standards:

• Clarity
• Accuracy
• Precision
• Relevance
• Depth
• Breadth
• Logic
• Fairness

Clarity

Before we can effectively evaluate a person’s argument or claim, we need to understand clearly what he or she is saying. Unfortunately, that can be difficult because people often fail to express themselves clearly. Sometimes this lack of clarity is due to laziness, carelessness, or a lack of skill. At other times it results from a misguided effort to appear clever, learned, or profound.

Critical thinker not only strives for clarity of language but also seek maximum clarity of thought. As self-help books constantly remind us, to achieve our personal goals in life we need a clear conception of our goals and priorities, a realistic grasp of our abilities, and a clear understanding of the problems and opportunities we face. Such self-understanding can be achieved only if we value and pursue clarity of thought.

Precision

Everyone recognizes the importance of precision in specialized fields such as medicine, mathematics, architecture, and engineering. Critical thinkers also understand the importance of precise thinking in daily life. They understand that to cut through the confusions and uncertainties that surround many everyday problems and issues, it is often necessary to insist on precise answers to precise questions: What exactly is the problem we’re facing? What exactly are the alternatives? What exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative? Only when we habitually seek such precision are we truly critical thinkers.

Accuracy

There is a well-known saying about computers. “Garbage in, garbage out.” Simply put, this means that if you put bad information into a computer, bad information is exactly what you will get out of it. Much the same is true of human thinking and reasoning. No matter how brilliant you may be, you’re almost guaranteed to make bad decisions if your decisions are based on false information.

Relevance

Anyone who has every sat through a boring school assembly or watched a mudslinging political debate can appreciate the importance of staying focused on relevant ideas and information. A favorite debater’s trick is to try to distract an audience’s attention by raising an irrelevant issue.

Consistency

It is easy to see why consistency is essential to critical thinking. Logic tells us that if a person holds inconsistent beliefs, at least one of those beliefs must be false. Critical thinkers love truth and detest falsehood. For that reason critical thinkers are constantly on the lookout fro inconsistencies, both in their own thinking and in the arguments and assertions of others.

There are tow kinds of inconsistency that should be avoided.

Logical Consistency:

            Logical inconsistency, which involves saying or believing inconsistent things (i.e., things that cannot both or all be true) about a particular matter.

 

Practical Inconsistency:

            Practical inconsistency, which involves saying one thing and doing another.

Sometimes people are fully aware that their words conflict with their deeds. The politician who cynically breaks her campaign promises once she takes office, the TV evangelist caught in an extramarital affair, the drug counselor arrested for peddling drugs. Such people are hypocrites pure and simple. From a critical thinking point of view, such examples are not especially interesting. As a rule, they involve failures of character to a greater degree tan they do failures of critical reasoning.

Critical thinking helps us become aware of such unconscious practical inconsistencies, enabling us to deal with them on a conscious and rational basis.

            It is also common, of course, for people to unknowingly hold inconsistent beliefs about a particular subject. In fact, as Socrates pointer out long ago, such unconscious logical inconsistency is far more common than most people suspect. As we shall se, for example, many today claim that morality is “relative,” while holding a variety of views that imply that it is not relative. Critical thinking helps us recognized such logical inconsistencies or, still better, avoid them altogether.

Logical Correctness

To think logically is to reason correctly that is, to draw well-founded conclusions from the beliefs we hold. To think critically we need accurate and well supported beliefs. But, just as important, we need to be able to reason from those beliefs to conclusions that logically follow from them. Unfortunately,, illogical thinking is all too common in human affairs.

Completeness

In most contexts, we rightly prefer deep and complete thinking to shallow and superficial thinking. Thus, we justly condemn slipshod criminal investigations, hasty jury deliberations, superficial news stories, and snap medical diagnoses. Of course, there are times when it is impossible or inappropriate to discuss an issue in depth; no one would expect, for example, a through and wide-ranging discussion of the ethics of human genetic research in a short newspaper editorial. Generally speaking, however, thinking is better when it is deep rather than shallow, thorough rather than superficial.

Fairness

Finally, critical thinking demands that our thinking be fair that is, open-minded, impartial, and free of distorting biases and preconceptions. That can be very difficult to achieve. Even the most superficial acquaintance with history and the social sciences tells us tat people are often strongly disposed to resist unfamiliar ideas, to prejudge issues, to stereotype outsiders, and to identity truth with their own self-interest or the interest of their nation or group. It is probably unrealistic to suppose that our thinking could ever be completely free of biases and preconceptions; to some extent we all perceive reality in ways that are powerfully shaped by our individual’s life experiences and cultural backgrounds. But as difficult as it my be to achieve basic fair-mindedness is clearly an essential attribute of a critical thinker.

THE BENEFITS OF CRITICAL THINKING

In the previous section, we touched briefly on some of the standards governing critical reasoning (clarity, precision, and so forth). Now let’s consider more specifically what you can expect to gain from a course in critical thinking.

Critical Thinking in Classroom

When they first enter college, students are sometimes surprised to discover that their professors seem less interested in how they got their beliefs than then they are in whether those beliefs can withstand critical scrutiny. In college the focus is on higher-order thinking: the active, intelligent evaluation of ideas and information. For this reason critical thinking plays a vital role throughout the college curriculum.

            In a critical thinking course, students learn a variety of skills that can greatly improve their classroom performance. These skills include:

• Understanding the arguments and beliefs of others
• Critically evaluating those arguments and beliefs
• Developing and defending one’s own well-supported arguments and beliefs

Let’s look briefly at each of these there skills.

             To succeed in college, you must, of course, be able to understand the material you are studying. A course in critical thinking cannot make inherently difficult material easy to grasp, but critical thinking does teach a variety of skills that, with practice, can significantly improve you ability to understand the arguments and issues discussed in our college textbooks and classes.

            In addition, critical thinking can help you critically evaluate what you are learning in class. During your college career, your instructors will often ask you to discuss “critical” some argument or idea introduced in class. Critical thinking teaches a wide range of strategies and skills that can greatly improve your ability to engage in such critical evaluations.

            You will also be asked to develop you own arguments on particular topics or issues. In an American Government class, for example, you might be asked to write a paper addressing the issue of rater Congress has gone too far in restricting presidential war powers. To write such paper successfully, you must do more than simply find and assess relevant arguments and information. You must also be able to marshal arguments and evidence in a way that convincingly supports your view. In our experience relatively few first year college students are able to do that very well. The systematic training provided in a course in critical thinking can result in marked improvement in that skill as well.

 

Critical Thinking in the Workplace

Surveys indicate that fewer than half of today’s college graduates can expect to be working in their major field of study within five years of graduation. This statistic speaks volumes about changing workplace realities. Increasingly, employers are looking not for employees with highly specialized career skills, since such skills can usually best be learned on , but for workers with good thinking and communication skills quick learners who can solve problems, , think creatively, gather and analyze information, draw appropriate conclusions from data, and communication their ideas clearly and effectively. These are exactly the kinds of generalized thinking and problem solving skills that accurse in critical thinking aims to improve.

 

Critical Thinking in Life

Critical thinking is valuable in many contexts outside the classroom and the workplace. Let’s look briefly at three ways in which this is the case.

            First, critical thinking can help us avoid making foolish h personal decisions. All of us have at one time or another made decisions about consumer, purchases, relationships, personal behavior, and the like that we later realized were seriously misguided or irrational. Critical thinking can help us avoid such mistakes by teaching us to think about important life decisions more carefully, clearly, and logically.

            Second, critical thinking plays a vital role in promoting democratic processes. Despite what cynics might say, in a democracy it really is“we the people” who have the ultimate say over who governs and for what purposes. It is important, therefore, that citizens’ decisions be as informed and as deliberate as possible. Many of today’s most serious societal problems-environmental destruction, nuclear proliferation, religious and ethnic intolerance, decaying inner cities, racial prejudice, declining educational standard, to mention just a few –have largely been caused by poor critical thinking . And as Albert Einstein once remarked, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the level of thinking we were at when we created then.”

            Finally, critical thinking is worth studying for its own sake, simply for the personal enrichment it can bring to our lives. One of the most basic truths of the human condition is that most people, most of the time, believe what they are told. Throughout most of recorded history, people accepted without question that the earth was the center of the universe, that demons cause disease that slavery was just, and that women are inferior to men. Critical thinking, honestly and courageously pursued, can help free us from the unexamined assumptions and biases of our upbringing and our society. It lets us step back from the prevailing customs and ideologies of our culture and ask, “This is what I’ve been taught, but is it true?

In short, critical thinking allows us to lead self-directed, “examined” lives. Such personal liberation is, as the word itself implies, the ultimate goal of a liberal arts education. Whatever other benefits it brings, liberal education can have no greater reward.

BARRIERS TO CRITICAL THINKING

The preceding section raises an obvious question: if Critical thinking is so important, why is it that uncritical thinking is so common? Why is it that so many people including many highly educated and intelligent people find critical thinking so difficult?

            The reasons, as you might expect, are quite complex. Here is a list of some of the most common barriers to critical thinking:

• Lack of relevant background information
• Poor reading skills
• Bias
• Prejudice
• Superstition
• Egocentrism (self-centered thinking)
• Sociocentrism (group-centered thinking)
• Peer pressure
• Conformism
• Provincialism
• Narrow-mindedness
• Close-mindedness
• Distrust in reason
• Relativistic thinking
• Stereotyping
• Unwarranted assumptions
• Scapegoating
• Rationalization
• Wishful thinking
• Short-term thinking
• Selective perception
• Selective memory
• Overpowering emotions
• Self-deception
• Face-saving
• Fear of change

Let’s examine in detail five of these impediments Egocentrism, sociocentrism, relativistic thinking, unwarranted assumptions, and wishful thinking that play an especially powerful role in hindering critical thinking.

 

 

                       

 

Egocentrism

Egocentrism is the tendency to see reality as center on oneself. Egocentrism are selfish, self-absorbed people who view their own interests, ideas, and values as superior to everyone else’s. All of us are affected to some degree by egocentrism biases.

Egocentrism can manifest itself in a variety of ways. Two common forms are:

 Self-interested thinking

Self-serving biased

 

 

Self-interested thinking

Self-interested thinking is the tendency to accept and defend beliefs that harmonize with one’s own self-interest. Almost no one is immune from self-interested thinking. Most doctors support legislation making it more difficult for them to be sued for malpractice; most lawyers do not. Most state university professors strongly support tenure, paid sabbaticals, low teaching loads, and strong faculty voice in university governance; many state taxpayers and university administrators do not. Most factory workers support laws requiring advance notice of plan closings; most factory owners did not. Most American voters favor campaign finance reform; most elected politicians do not. Of course, some of these beliefs may be supported by good reasons. Form a psychological standpoint, however, it is likely that self-interest plays at least some role in shaping the respective attitudes and beliefs.

            Self-interested thinking, however understandable it may seem, is a major obstacle to critical thinking. Everyone finds it tempting at times to reason that “this benefits me, therefore it must be good”; but from a critical thinking standpoint, such “reasoning” is a sham. Implicit in such thinking is the assumption that “what is most important is what I want and need.” But shy should I, or anyone else, accept such an arbitrary and obviously self-serving assumption? What makes your wants and needs more important than everyone else’s? Critical thinking condemns such special pleading. It demands that we weigh evidence and arguments objectively and impartially. Ultimately, it demands that we revere truth even when it hurts.

Self-serving biased

            Self-serving bias is the tendency to overrate oneself to see oneself as better in some respect than one actually is. We have all known braggarts or know-it-alls who claim to be more talented or knowledgeable than they really are. If you are like most people, you probably think of yourself as being an unusually self-aware person who is largely immune from any such self-deception. If so, then you too are probably suffering from self-serving bias.

Sociocentrism

Sociocentrism is group-centered thinking. Just as egocentrism can hinder rational thinking by focusing excessively on the self, so sociocentrism can hinder rational thinking by focusing excessively on the group.

            Sociocentrism can distort critical thinking in many ways. Tow of the most important are:

Group Bias

Conformism

Group Bias

            Group bias is the tendency to se one’s own group (nation, tribe, sect, peer group, and the like) as being inherently better than others. Social scientists tell us that such thinking is extremely common throughout human history and across cultures. Just as we seem naturally inclined to hold inflated views of ourselves, so we find it easy to hold inflated views of our family, or community, or our nation. Conversely, we find it easy to look with suspicion or disfavor on those we regard as “outsiders.”

            Most people absorb group bias unconsciously, usually from early child-hood. It is common, for example, for people to grow up thinking that their society’s beliefs, institutions, and values are better than those of other societies.

Conformism

            Conformism refers to our tendency to follow the crowd that is , to conform (often unthinkingly) to authority or to group standards of conduct and belief. The desire to belong, to be part of the in-group, can be among the most powerful of human motivations.

            The lesson of these studies is clear: Authority moves us. We are impressed, influenced, and intimidated by authority, so much so that, under the right conditions, we abandon our own values, beliefs, and judgments, even doubt our own immediate sensory experience. As critical thinkers, we need to be aware of the seductive power of peer pressure and reliance on authority and develop habits of independents thinking to combat them.

 

Unwarranted Assumptions and Stereotypes

An assumption is something we take for granted, something we believe to be true without any proof or conclusive evidence. Almost everything we think and do is based on assumptions. If the weather report calls for rain, we take an umbrella because we assume that the meteorologist is not lying, that that the report is based on a scientific analysis of weather patterns, that the instruments are accurate, and so forth. There may be no proof that any of this is true, but we realize that it is wiser to take the umbrella than to insist that the weather bureau provide exhaustive evidence to justify its prediction.

            Many of our beliefs and opinions are also base n assumptions. One might base support of capital punishment on the assumption that it deters crime. A politician might base opposition to higher taxes on the assumption that most people don’t want to pay them. The assumptions may or may not be correct, but without evidence they are really only guesses. Whereas taking an umbrella poses no extra burden, holding a position based on assumptions can be problematic. We all know the frustration and distress of discovering that an important belief or decision was based on assumptions that turned out to have no basis in fact.

            Although we often hear the injection “Don’t assume,” it would be impossible to get through a day without making assumptions; in fact, many of our daily actions are base on assumptions we have drawn from the patterns in our experience. You go to class at the scheduled time because you assume that class is being held at its normal hour and in its same place. You don’t call the professor each day to ask if class is being held; you just assume that it is. Such assumptions are warranted, such means that we have good reason to hold them. When you see a driver coming toward you with the turn signal on, you gave good reason to believe that the driver intends to turn. You may be in correct, and it might be safer to withhold action until you are certain, but your assumption is not unreasonable.

            Unwarranted assumptions, however, are unreasonable. An unwarranted assumption is something take for granted without good reason. Such assumption s often prevent our seeing things clearly. For example, our attraction for someone might cause us to assume that he or she feels the same way and thus to interpret that person’s actions incorrectly.

            One of the most common types of unwarranted assumptions is a stereotype. The word stereotype comes from the printing press era, when plates, or stereotypes, were used to produce identical copies of one page. Similarly, when we stereotype, as the word is now used, we assume that individual people have all been stamped from one plate, so all college sophomores are alike, or all politicians, or police officers, or African Americans, professors, women, and so forth. When we form an opinion of someone that is based not on his or her individual qualities but, rather, on his or her membership in a particular group, we are assuming that all or virtually all members of the group are alike. Be cause people are not identical, no matter what race or other similarities they share stereotypical conceptions will often be false or misleading.

Typically, stereotypes are arrived at through a process known as hasty generalization, in which one draws a conclusion about a large class of things(in this case, people) from a small sample. If we meet one South Bergian who is rude, we might jump to the conclusion that all South Bergians are rude. Or might generalize form what we have heard from a few friends or read in a single news story. Often the medial advertisements, the news, movies, and so forth encourage stereotyping by the way they portray groups of people.

Critical thinking demands that we become aware of our own thinking, including our assumptions, a conscious assumption is one of which we are aware: we know that we are taking something for granted. We might stop and say, “I’m gong to assume that this weather report is accurate” or “I’m assuming that we have class today.” Of course, it would don’t be possible to uncover every assumption that informs our thinking. You have made countless assumptions since you awoke this morning. And being conscious of an unwarranted assumption does not justify it’ saying, “I’m aware of my tendency to stereotype” does not justify stereotyping.

            The assumptions we need to become most conscious of are not the ones that lead to our routine behaviors, such as carrying an umbrella or going to class, but the ones upon which we base our more important attitudes, actions, and decisions. If we are conscious of our tendency to stereotype, we can take measures to end it.

Relativistic Thinking

Relativism is the view that truth is a matter of opinion. There are to popular forms of relativism:

Subjectivism Relativism

Cultural Relativism

 

Subjectivism Relativism:

Subjectivism is the view that truth is matter of individual opinion. This is the view Janie apparently hold. According to subjectivism, whatever an individual believes is true, is true for that person, and there is no such thing as “objective” or “absolute” truth, i.e., truth that exists independent of what anyone believes. For example, suppose Bobby believes that abortion is wrong and Alice believes that abortion is not always wrong. According to subjectivism, abortion is always wrong for Bobby and not always wrong for Alice. Both beliefs are true for them. And truth for one individual or another is the only kind of truth there is.

Cultural Relativism

            The other common form of relativism is cultural relativism. This is the claim that truth is matter of social or cultural opinion. In other words, cultural relativism is the view that what Is true for person A is what person A’s culture or society believes is true. Drinking wine, for example, is widely considered to be wrong in Iran but is not generally considered to be wrong in France. According to cultural relativism, therefore, drinking wine is immoral in Iran but is morally permissible in France. Thus, for the cultural relativist, just as for the subjectivist, there is no objective or absolute standard of truth. What is true is what ever most people in a society or culture believe to be true.

Relatively few people endorse subjectivism or cultural relativism in the pure, unqualified forms in which we have stated them. Almost everybody would admit, for example, that 1+1=2 is true, no matter who might be ignorant or deluded enough to deny it. What relativists usually claim, therefore, is not that all truth is relative, but that truth is relative in some important domains. By far the most common form of relativism is moral relativism. Like relativism generally, moral relativism comes in tow major forms: moral subjectivism and cultural moral relativism.

 Moral subjectivism:

            Moral subjectivism is the view that what is morally right and good for an individual, A, is whatever A believes is morally right and good. Thus, if Andy believes that premarital sex is always wrong and Jennifer believes that it is not always wrong; according to moral subjectivism premarital sex is always wrong for Andy and is not always wrong for Jennifer.

 

Cultural Moral Relativism:

Cultural moral relativism is the view that what is morally right and good for an individual, A, is whatever A’s society or culture believes is morally right and good. Thus, according to cultural moral relativism, if culture A believes that polygamy is wrong, and culture B believes that polygamy is right, and then polygamy is wrong for culture A and right for culture B.      

            Cultural moral relativism is a very popular view today, especially among the young. There are tow major reasons people seem to find it so attractive. One has to do with the nature of moral disagreement and the other concerns the value of tolerance.

            Ethics, obviously, is very different form math or science. In math and science, there are arguments and disagreements, but not nearly to the extent there are in ethics. In ethics there is widespread disagreement, the disagreements often go very deep, and there seems to be no rational way to resolve many of them. What this shows, some people conclude, is that there is no objective truth in ethics; morality is just a matter of individual or societal opinion.

            Another reason people find cultural moral relativism attractive is that it seems to support the value of tolerance. Throughout history, terrible wars, persecution, and act of religious and cultural imperialism have been perpetrated by people who firmly believed in the absolute righteousness of their more beliefs and practices. Cultural moral relativism seems to imply that we must be tolerant f other culture’s moral beliefs and values. If culture A believes that polygamy is wrong, and culture B believes that it is right, then culture A must agree that polygamy is right for culture, no matter how offensive the practice may be to culture A.

Wishful Thinking

Wishful thinking describes decision-making and the formation of beliefs based on what might be pleasing to imagine, rather than on evidence, rationality, or reality. It is a product of resolving conflicts between belief, and desire.

Once, as a Little Leaguer, one of the authors was thrown out at the plate in a foolish attempt to stretch a triple into a home run, possibly costing the team the game. Angry and disappointed, he refused to believe that he had really been thrown out. “I was safe by a mile,” he said plaintively to his disbelieving coaches and teammates. It was only years later, when he was an adult, that he could admin to himself that he really had been out, in fact, by a mile.

            Have you ever been guilty of wishful thinking believing something not because you had good evidence for it but simply because you wished it were true? If so, you’re not alone. Throughout human history, reason has done battle with wishful thinking and has usually come out the loser.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CRITICAL THINKER

So far, we have discussed:

1. The nature of critical thinking
2. Key critical thinking standards such as clarity, precision, accuracy, and fairness
3. The benefits of critical thinking
4. Some major impediments to critical thinking, including egocentrism, sociocentrism, relativistic thinking, unwarranted assumptions, and wishful thinking.

The following list contrasts some of the key intellectual traits of critical thinkers with the relevant traits of uncritical thinkers:

 

 

No.	Critical Thinkers	Uncritical Thinkers
1.	Have a passionate drive for clarity precision, accuracy, and other critical thinking standards.	Often think in ways that are unclear, imprecise, and inaccurate.
2.	Are sensitive to ways in which critical thinking can be skewed by egocentrism, sociocentrism, wishful thinking, and other impediments.	Often fall prey to egocentrism, sociocentrism, relativistic thinking, unwarranted assumptions, and wishful thinking.
3.	Understand the value of critical thinking, both to individuals and to society as a whole.	See little value in critical thinking.
4.	Are intellectually honest with themselves, acknowledging what they don’t know and recognizing their limitations.	Pretend they know more than they do and ignore their limitations.
5.	Listen open-mindedly to opposing points of view and welcome criticisms of beliefs and assumptions.	Are close-mined and resist criticisms of beliefs and assumptions.
6.	Base their beliefs on facts and evidence rather than on personal preference or self-interest.	Often base beliefs on mere personal preference or self-interest.
7.	Are aware of the biases and preconceptions that shape the way they perceive the world.	Lack awareness of their own biases and preconceptions.
8.	Think independently and are not afraid to disagree with group opinion.	Tend to engage in “groupthink,” uncritically following the beliefs and values of the crowd.
9.	Are able to get to the heart of an issue or a problem, without being distracted by details.	Are easily distracted and lack the ability to get the essence of an issue or a problem.
10.	Have the intellectual courage to face and assess fairly ideas that challenge even their most basic beliefs.	Fear and resist ideas that challenge their basic beliefs.
11.	Pursue truth and are curious about a wide range of issues.	Are often relatively indifferent to truth and lack curiosity.
12.	Have the intellectual perseverance to pursue insights or truths despite obstacles or difficulties.	Tend not to persevere when they encounter intellectual obstacles or difficulties.