Define Critical Thinking

[Shy Tall Guy]

Without looking up someone else's definition, state what you believe the definition of "Critical Thinking" is.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Nobody interested? Too late at night to attempt it? To early in the morning? People will attempt to define a Troll, but not Critical Thinking?

Okay, I will post my attempt at a definition and maybe that will get things rolling.

Critical Thinking: A disciplined rational thought process where a person attempts to solve or arrive at a conclusion with regards to an issue or problem. The process involves gathering available data, observations, evidence and rational arguments - then uses logical analysis to evaluate the gathered information.

I know there is more to it than that, but I tried to keep it simple and general - and yes, I stressed "rational" by using the word three times.

Why am I interested? Well last night I was inclined to see what was out there on the net with regards to Critical Thinking as there seemed to a lack of it here. I found a few websites put up by "institutes" and foundations. On one of them several people made an attempt to define Critical Thinking and failed miserably. I found it ironic that an institute dedicated to Critical Thinking could not even define it.

I found several other "working" definitions that were okay, but they were overly long and wordy. I believe that Critical Thinking can be defined in just a few statements. Explaining all of the ramifications could take volumes, but I think the gist of the definition can be distilled much further than what I found on the 'net.

What do you think?

 

[RhumbRunner13]

I think your definition is very good, STG. The only thing I would add is that it is critical to set aside your own preconcieved notions before beginning. Sometimes that's very hard for us to do.

Sometimes in every day life, critical thinking is bypassed because we get too involved with the solution rather than the cause of the problem. "My monitor went black!" is a fair example. A critical thinker will start with the electrical power to the house, to the wall, through the surge protector to the monitor plug and finally the on/off button.

Good question, I'll think about it critically for a while!

Rhumb

 

[JerseyBoy]

I avoid all critical thinking until at least after lunch...or my 4th cup of joe, whichever comes first.

I used to know what that meant and just do it naturally now. I do programming for hospitals and that can be a nervewracking thing (why I like to skim thru lit to lighten the day). When things are 'not working' right people look right at you...I HATE when I come back to my office and the answeringmachine light is blinking.

Critical thinking takes a cool head and a deep breath.

'Grace under pressure' has always been my work montra...

...its also a great Rush album

 

[Dillinger]

Allow me to add:

Someone who actually thinks critically is capable of taking other's criticisms seriously - or at least making the attempt to do so.

Critical thinking might also be described as "thinking about thinking." And - to add a particular rant of mine that I've expoused here more than a few times. Words like "is" and "to be" actually block our ability to think critically. IS might very be the most dangerous word there is. Once we say something IS something else we define it and label it as such. It is much more realistic to say "this seems like that - in my opinion" than to say "this is that."

Here is a quiz entitled "How Independent Thinking
Are You?" - Give it a try!

http://www.docpotter.com/thifor-test.html

May I also suggest that you all give this tutorial a try? --
http://thisisnotthat.com/tutorial/index.html

Its very cool.

And, even though you asked not to use someone else's definitions - perhaps I can provide a quote anyway:

Ambrose Bierce, in his famous Devil's Dictionary, defined logic as "The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding."

There is an excellent book called "Thinking For Yourself" by Dr. Sharon Presley that I highly recommend. In fact, I think I mentioned this book here a few months ago.

Think for Yourself!
Questioning Pressure to Conform
Dr. Sharon Presley
Dr. Beverly Potter

ISBN: 1-57951-050-7

"Most of us believe that we think for ourselves, that we are independent thinkers. But out of desire for approval, fear of rejection, or just plain complacency, we often let other people determie our opinions and how to act - and vote - by default without our even being aware of it happening.

By uncritically accepting the views of our friends, family, employers - of our culture - we find ourselves going along with the crowd. We conform - sometimes to our detriment. It is easy to see how pressure to conform is a hidden villain in the drama of discrimination, hates crimes and other dynamics that diminish the quality of our lives. "

 

[JerseyBoy]

Someone who actually thinks critically is capable of taking other's criticisms seriously - or at least making the attempt to do so.

And it is often oh so tough to decide if the criticism was dealt with a sharp tooth as it is so often around here.

To be defensive is a built in attribute of most of us...hell, just trying to give my 10y/o tips on how to kick the soccer ball better gets me the evil eye.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Critical thinking:

The sound of my mother's voice in my head whenever I do something that she, personally, would not approve of.

 

[Saytur]

Just one observation, we are not capable of putting aside our personal bias. The trick in thinking critically is to recognise that bias and work around it to arrive at the most logical subjective conclusion.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

Defining "Critical Thinking" is a bit like defining "Sadness" or "Charity", it's a highly subjective process that is also highly specific.

A good example is the controversy surrounding the definition of the "Scientific Method". Everyone agrees that it involves Observation, Hypothesis, Experimentation, Repetiion, Conclusion, etc., but different scientists sometimes start in different places, or skip around. So, although everyone agrees that a methodology exists, they also agree that that methodolgy (like Scientific "Fact" itself) must be adapatable.

So I think you can say that Critical Thinking involves everything already discussed above, but how you apply it as a methodology would (rightfully) depend upon what you're analyzing.

 

[Hamletmaschine]

"Critical thinking" is a silly new term for what, until 25 years ago, was called "argumentation."

It's simply the ability to distinguish claims from data, and to judge the soundness of whatever warrant is being used to link the two. (I'm using Toulmin's terminology, for those who know it.)

"Critical thinking" is just old wine in new bottles.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

That's not really true. Critical Thinking, in its contemporary connotation, also involves many of the philosophies of "Skepticism" (and, yeah, it's a philosophy). There's more of an element of incredulity to Critical Thinking than to a more generic practice like "Argumentation", which is an unweildly and indistinct word.

 

[enjoyingitall]

The definition I present as a starting point with my students is that critical thinking involves asking questions, defining a problem, examining evidence, analyzing assumptions and biases, avoiding emotional reasoning, avoiding oversimplification, considering other interpretations, and tolerating ambiguity.

I came across that definition some time ago and I don't think I could reword it to make it any better. It lends itself to being understood, for the most part, by my students. At the very least, it begins the questioning process.

 

[Guest]

 

[lavender]

 

[Hamletmaschine]

That's not really true. Critical Thinking, in its contemporary connotation, also involves many of the philosophies of "Skepticism" (and, yeah, it's a philosophy). There's more of an element of incredulity to Critical Thinking than to a more generic practice like "Argumentation", which is an unweildly and indistinct word.

I would say you're right with respect to Critical Theory, but Critical Thinking as it is taught and practiced is just argumentation: i.e., analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of arguments.

Argumentation is hardly "unwieldy" or "indistinct": it is the practice of drawing inferences from data with the aid of some method of reasoning.

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

No, no -- I meant the word is unwieldy. It comes with baggage, with all the negative connotations of the word "argument".

 

[Hamletmaschine]

Yes, I agree.

Don't you think that the word "critical" also has negative connotations to many people--as if to be "critical" meant that one were obliged to be "negative," a nay-sayer?

That's hardly true, of course, but you're right: it is difficult to get people to appreciate argumentation and critical thought in a neutral or denotative sense.

 

[RosevilleCAguy]

Without looking up someone else's definition, state what you believe the definition of "Critical Thinking" is.

Something I DON'T do.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I think your definition is very good, STG. The only thing I would add is that it is critical to set aside your own preconcieved notions before beginning. Sometimes that's very hard for us to do.

Sometimes people don't have preconcieved notions - especially when faced with something they had never considered before.

My stressing of "rational" thought and arguments, and logical analysis covers recognizing and dealing with bias and preconceptions.I tried to keep my definition simple and general enough to cover the basics. what I was trying to do was provide a simple definition that could be used as a general opening introduction statement to further explanation of what is involved in Critical Thinking.

Looking over the definitions that are online

http://www.criticalthinking.org/University/univclass/Defining.html
http://lonestar.texas.net/~mseifert/crit2.html
http://ir.bcc.ctc.edu/library/ilac/critdef.htm

you get these "definitions" that sound like a laundry list of of the criteria for Critical Thinking, rather than a succint and general definition. I believe I understand where they are coming from though; often Critical Thinkers want to be exhaustively complete and not leave anything out. However, in their effort to be complete they muddle the message - something I often do here.

My excuse is that what I write here I do off the top of my head and rarely do I go back and edit my posts very much. When I write something that I want to last for a while, I write everything I can think of, then I go back and pare it down - eliminating what is unecessary to the message. See? I am doing it right here ^^^ this is unecessary to this post.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I would say you're right with respect to Critical Theory, but Critical Thinking as it is taught and practiced is just argumentation: i.e., analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of arguments.

Argumentation is hardly "unwieldy" or "indistinct": it is the practice of drawing inferences from data with the aid of some method of reasoning.

Analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of arguments sounds more like Informal Logic to me. To me, Critical Thinking encompasses that and other arenas of thought also. I also use what I call Critical Thinking when there is no dialogue and I am just considering a problem, issue or topic.

 

[District Line]

Critical Thinking

A minor point but I think critical thinking is considered as a subset of logic - informal logic. That is, critical thinking is a study or activity concerned with valid or sound arguments (as stated in above posts) but without strong emphasis on artificial languages or symbols but mainly orientated around natural or everyday languages.

Also, if there is a book or a college course about critical thinking, even these days, it is still largely based around the collection of Aristotle's work on logic,
The Organon.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Critical Thinking

A minor point but I think critical thinking is considered as a subset of logic - informal logic. That is, critical thinking is a study or activity concerned with valid or sound arguments (as stated in above posts) but without strong emphasis on artificial languages or symbols but mainly orientated around natural or everyday languages.

Also, if there is a book or a college course about critical thinking, even these days, it is still largely based around the collection of Aristotle's work on logic,
The Organon.

I could see where CT could be a subset of skills necessary for Informal Logic, but I believe it could stand on its own, and that as I would define it, would not necessarily be limited to argumentation or dialogues, although that is probably where it applied most of the time.

 

[Gnufi Poppets]

I am the learning all the about this critical thinking in the classes I am the taking! It is the most very much the enlightening that it is. I am right the here and right the now the telling the all of the you that the critical thinking it is the being the thinking that it is we are the doing with the head that is not the big penis head but the other head it is we are the having!

 

[Weird Harold]

I am the learning all the about this critical thinking in the classes I am the taking! It is the most very much the enlightening that it is. I am right the here and right the now the telling the all of the you that the critical thinking it is the being the thinking that it is we are the doing with the head that is not the big penis head but the other head it is we are the having!

I think Gnufi has pretty much nailed a definition of Critical Thinking.

For me Critical Thinking can be summed up as, "Consider the facts and make up your own mind."