CRITICAL THINKING You assist an evil system most effectively by obeying its orders and decrees.

An evil system never deserves such allegiance. Allegiance to it means partaking of the evil. A good person will resist an evil system with his or her whole soul. --Mahatma Gandhi Meaning: "Critical" as used in the expression "critical thinking" connotes the importance or centrality of the thinking to an issue, question or problem of concern. "Critical" in this context does not mean "disapproval" or "negative." There are many positive and useful uses of critical thinking, for example formulating a workable solution to a complex personal problem, "Critical" as used in the expression "critical thinking" connotes the importance or centrality of the thinking to an issue, question or problem of concern. "Critical" in this context does not mean "disapproval" or "negative." There are many positive and useful uses of critical thinking, for example formulating a workable solution to a complex personal problem, Definition: 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. -National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking,1987 "Critical thinking in nursing practice is a discipline specific, reflective reasoning process that guides a nurse in generating, implementing, and evaluating approaches for dealing with client care and professional concerns. Critical thinking is the skillful application of a repertoire of validated general techniques for deciding the level of confidence you should have in a proposition in the light of the available evidence. -- Tim van Gelder Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do. -- Robert Ennis .

Stages of Critical Thinking Stage One: We Begin as Unreflective Thinkers. We all begin as largely unreflective thinkers, fundamentally unaware of the determining role that thinking is playing in our lives. We dont realize, at this stage, the many ways that problems in thinking are causing problems in our lives. We unconsciously think of ourselves as the source of truth. We assume our own beliefs to be true. We unreflectively take in many absurd beliefs merely because they are believed by those around us. We have no intellectual standards worthy of the name. Wish fulfillment plays a significant role in what we believe. Stage Two: We Reach the Second Stage When We Are Faced with The Challenge Of Recognizing the Low Level at Which We and Most Humans Function as Thinkers . For example, we are capable of making false assumptions, using erroneous information, or jumping to unjustifiable conclusions. This knowledge of our fallibility as thinkers is connected to the emerging awareness that somehow we must learn to routinely identify, analyze, and assess our thinking. Stage Three: We Reach the Third Stage When We Accept the Challenge and Begin to Explicitly Develop Our Thinking Having actively decided to take up the challenge to grow and develop as thinkers, we become "beginning" thinkers, i.e., thinkers beginning to take thinking seriously.

 Stage Four: We Reach the Fourth Stage When We Begin to Develop A Systematic Approach to Improving Our Ability to Think. At this stage, we now know that simply wanting to change is not enough, nor is episodic and irregular "practice." We recognize now the need for real commitment, for some regular and consistent way to build improvement of thinking into the fabric of our lives. Stage Five: We Reach the Fifth Stage When We Have Established Good Habits of Thought Across the Domains of Our Lives.We know that we are reaching the stage we call the Advanced Thinker stage when we find that our regimen for rational living is paying off in significant ways. We are now routinely identifying problems in our thinking, and are working successfully to deal with those problems rationally. We have successfully identified the significant domains in our lives in which we need to improve (e.g. professional, parenting, husband, wife, consumer, etc.), and are making significant progress in all or most of them

Stage Six: We Reach the Sixth Stage When We Intuitively Think Critically at a Habitually High Level Across all the Significant Domains of Our Lives. The sixth stage of development, the Master Thinker Stage, is best described in the third person, since it is not clear that any humans living in this age of irrationality qualify as "master" thinkers. It may be that the degree of deep social conditioning that all of us experience renders it unlikely that any of us living today are "master" thinkers. Nevertheless, the concept is a useful one, for it sets out what we are striving for and is, in principle, a stage that some humans might reach.
Components of the Critical Thinking The eight components that have been identified as part of the critical thinking process include: 1. Perception 2. Assumption 3. Emotion 4. Language 5. Argument 6. Fallacy 7. Logic 8. Problem Solving

Perception: Perception refers to the way we receive and translate our experiences how and what we think about them. For some, plain yogurt is delicious, while for others it is disgusting. For the most part, perception is a learned process. Eg: In the workplace, one employee will perceive a co-worker to be a constructive decision-maker, while at the same time, another sees the same employee as an adversarial roadblock to progress.
2. Assumptions:Trying to identify the assumptions that underlie the ideas, beliefs, values, and actions that others and we take for granted is central to critical thinking. Assumptions are those taken-for-granted values, common-sense ideas, and stereotypical notions about human nature and social organization that underlie our thoughts and actions. Assumptions are not always bad. For example, when you buy a new car, you assume that it will run without problems for a while. When you go to sleep at night, you assume that your alarm will wake you up in the morning. Remember, assumptions depend on the notion that some ideas are so obvious and so taken for granted that they dont need to be explained. Yet, in many cases, insisting on an explanation

reveals that we may need more factual evidence in order to develop well-supported viewpoints and to come to sound decisions. The problem with assumptions is that they make us feel comfortable without present beliefs and keep us from thinking about alternatives.

3.Emotions:Emotions/feelings are an important aspect of the human experience. They are a critical part of what separates humans from machines and the lower animals. They are part of everything we do and everything we think. Emotions can affect and inspire thought, stated William James, but they can also destroy it. We all have personal barriers enculturation, ego defenses, self-concept, biases, etc.shaped by our exposure to culture and genetic forces. But to the critical thinker, personal barriers are not walls, merely hurdles. Critical thinkers dont ignore or deny emotions; as with other forces of influence on our thinking, they accept and manage them. 4. Language: Some say that language is the landscape of the mind. Others say that language is the software of our brain. Whatever the metaphor, it is clear that thinking cannot be separated from language. Furthermore, for the multitude that define thinking itself as expressed thought, language carries the content and structures the form of the entire thinking process. 5.Argument: Many people think that arguing means fighting or quarreling. In the context of critical thinking, however, this definition does not fit. An argument is simply a claim, used to persuade others, that something is (or is not) true and should (or should not) be done. When someone gives reasons for believing something hoping that another person will come to the same conclusion by considering those reasons the discourse is geared toward persuasion. An argument contains three basic elements: an issue, one or more reasons called premises in logic, and one or more conclusions. Arguments can be valid or invalid, based on how they are structured. Arguments are not true or false only premises and conclusions are true or false. The goal of a critical thinker is to develop sound arguments that have both validity (are structured properly) and true premises. When we have a validly structured argument with true premises, we have a sound argument. In sound arguments the conclusion must be true and therein lies the beauty and usefulness of logic.

6.Fallacy: Since we use language for the three primary purposes of informing, explaining, and persuading, we must be careful how we use it. We must make every effort to apply sound reasoning, particularly when language is used to persuade.