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Compiled by Greg Murrell and Patrick Houlihan What is critical thinking? The Crititcal Thinking Across the Curriculum (CTAC) team at Albuquerque TVI Community College is struggling--as a group and individually--with a definition for "critical thinking." In the future, that collective definition will be published on this page, but for now, the following definitions compiled by Greg Murrell are presented in the interest of widening the discussion. In addition, you're invited to submit your personal definition of "critical thinking" to this growing list as well. Here is how other DADE instructors have defined "critical thinking": Rudd, Mark, DADE math instructor: "Problem solving." Barnet, Sylvan and Hugo Bedau. Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing: A Brief Guide to Argument. "In short, when we add the adjective critical to the noun thinking, we pretty much eliminate reveries, just as we also eliminate snap judgments. We are talking about searching for hidden assumptions, noticing various facets, unraveling different strands, and evaluating what is most significant. (The word critical comes from a Greek word, krinein, meaning 'to separate,' 'to choose'; it implies conscious, deliberate inquiry.)" p.3 Browne, Neil M. and Stuart M. Keeley. Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking. "Systematic evaluation of arguments based on explicit rational criteria...the habit of questioning the quality of the reasoning for a belief or contention..." ix. "Listening and reading critically-that is, reacting with systematic evaluation to what you have heard and read-requires a set of skills and attitudes. These skills and attitudes are built around a series of critical questions. Thinking carefully is always an unfinished project, a story looking for an ending that will never arrive. Critical questions provide a structure for critical thinking that supports a continual, ongoing search for better opinions, decisions, or judgements. Consequently, critical thinking, as we will use the term, refers to the following: 1. Awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions, 2. Ability to ask and answer critical questions at appropriate times, and 3. Desire to actively use the critical questions." p.2 Cederblom, Jerry and David W. Paulsen. Critical Reasoning. 5th edition. Critical reasoning is concerned with deciding what to believe, but this is not to say that critical reasoning alone can tell you what to believe. Critical reasoning is not a magical technique guaranteed to tell you whether to accept a particular belief in isolation. It does not operate in a vacuum. But in evaluating what appears to be “information” on these subjects and in judging whether this information justifies taking a particular position on the issue, critical reasoning should play a crucial role. Chaffee, John. The Thinker's Guide to College Success. "The word critical comes from the Greek word kritikos, which means to question, to make sense of, to be able to analyze. It is by questioning, making sense of things and people, and analyzing that we examine our thinking and the thinking of others. These activities aid us in reaching the best possible conclusions and decisions." p. 32 Chaffee, John. Thinking Critically. "An active, purposeful, organized cognitive process we use to carefully examine our thinking and the thinking of others, in order to clarify and improve our understanding." p. 48 Ennis, Robert H. Critical Thinking. "Critical thinking is a process, the goal of which is to make reasonable decisions about what to believe and what to do." p. xvii Epstein, Richard L. Critical Thinking. "Critical thinking is evaluating whether we should be convinced that some claim is true or some argument is good, as well as formulating good arguments." p. 5 Foundation for Critical Thinking. "Critical thinking is simply the art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of --in some set of circumstances and given your present limited knowledge and skill." p. iv. Common threads that run through definitions of critical thinking, according to the Foundation, are given on p. vii. Hanford, George H. from "A Reform Strategy That Is (Quietly) Working" in Education Week on the Web http://edweek.org Feb. 10, 1993. "[Critical thinking] is succeeding for two basic reasons: First, students whose education involves critical thinking--the ability to evaluate information and make judgements--learn more effectively because they have opportunities to think about what they are studying and are not treated as sponges asked to absorb what they are being told. Second, the movement relies on infusion rather than demonstration." Hastings, William M. How to Think About Social Problems "In serious thinking , it is the object of your thoughts - the problem - and not yourself that is the focus of your efforts. Thus, in trying to understand social problems, you almost always will have a specific goal in mind." p. 8 Heidegger, Martin. What is Called Thinking? "Thinking is not so much an act as a way of living or dwelling -- as we in America would put it, a way of life. It is a remembering who we are as human beings and where we belong. It is a gathering and focusing of our whole selves on what lies before us and a taking to heart and mind these particular things before us in order to discover in them their essential nature and truth. Learning how to think can obviously aid us in this discovery." p. xi "To this question [What is called thinking?] no answer is given in the sense of a definition or description. Indeed Heidegger teaches that none can be given. As we learn in the opening sentence: 'We come to know what thinking means when we ourselves try to think.' To define thinking for someone else would be as hopeless as describing colors to the blind. Thinking is questioning and putting ourselves in question as much as the cherished opinions and inherited doctrines we have long taken for granted. Each must learn to do it for himself." p. xii Hughes, William. Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills. "The ability to reason is the fundamental characteristic of human beings. ...Virtually every conscious human activity involves reasoning: we reason whenever we solve problems, make decisions, assess character, explain events, write poems, balance chequebooks, predict elections, make discoveries, interpret works of art, or repair carburetors. We reason about everything from the meaning of life to what to have for dinner." p. 3 Jason, Gary. Critical Thinking: Developing an Effective Worldview. In the view of this book, worldviews are tools, tools for surviving and living well. Broadly defined, critical thinking means developing an ever better worldview and using it well in all aspects of your life. The heart of critical thinking is the ability to ask fruitful questions and infer or reason well. Or as we shall say, the essence of critical thinking is questioning and arguing logically. Kiersky, James H. and Nicholas J. Caste. Thinking Critically: Techniques for Logical Reasoning. Our beliefs influence our emotions and our actions. So it is important that they accurately reflect the real world. This is the purpose of critical thinking – to help answer the question of whether or not to adopt a belief. Critical thinking is concerned with the justification and validation of our beliefs, not their origin. So the critical thinker is interested in whether the evidence presented for a claim is true and accurate. She is also interested in the adequacy of the evidence and even the fairness of the argument. Moore, B.N. and Parker, R. Critical Thinking. "Critical thinking is simply the careful, deliberate determination of whether we should accept, reject, or suspend judgement about a claim - and of the degree of confidence with which we accept or reject it. The ability to think critically is vitally important; in fact, our lives depend on it. The way we conduct our lives depends on what we believe - on what claims we accept. The more carefully we evaluate a claim and the more fully we separate issues that are relevant to it from those that are not, the more critical is our thinking." p. 4 Paul, Richard. Critical Thinking, 3rd Ed. "Critical thinking is a systematic way to form and shape one's thinking. It functions purposefully and exactingly. It is thought that is disciplined, comprehensive, based on intellectual standards, and, as a result, well-reasoned. Critical thinking is distinguishable from other thinking because the thinker is thinking with the awareness of the systematic nature of high quality thought, and is continuously checking up on himself or herself, striving to improve the quality of thinking." p. 20 Romain, Diane. Thinking Things Through: Critical Thinking for Decisions You Can Live With. "Critical thinking consists of those activities of the mind that are indispensable to making decisions we can live with. The processes involved in critical thinking include becoming aware of our emotions and reflecting on them, identifying our values, assessing information and the authorities who provide it, analyzing and clarifying language, imagining solutions to problems, evaluating alternative solutions, and assessing and producing arguments. p. 1 Ruggiero, Vincent Ryan. Becoming a Critical Thinker. "Critical Thinking means recognizing and evaluating opinions." p.13 "Critical Thinking entails reflecting on the meaning and significance of observations and the reasonableness of ideas." p.20 Thinking is sometimes regarded as two harmonious processes. One process is the production of ideas (creative thinking), accomplished by widening your focus and looking at many possibilities. The key to this process is to resist the temptation to settle for a few familiar ideas. The other process is the evaluation of ideas (critical thinking), accomplished by narrowing your focus, sorting out the ideas you've generated, and identifying the most reasonable ones." p.3 Soccio, D.J. and Barry, V.E. Practical Logic: An Antidote for Uncritical Thinking. "Rational discourse is the giving and receiving of reasons, according to commonly agreed-upon standards of verification, for the purpose of distinguishing truth from falsehood, appearance from reality, and mere opinion from informed opinion. Logic is the study of the rules of correct argument, and critical thinking is the careful assessment of both logical and nonlogical claims." p 4 Your definition How do you define "critical thinking"? Add your definition to the others. |
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