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READING
Critical Thinking
ust as you live in a world of arguments, you also live in a world calling for critical thinking. You may think critically about what your friends say; about the
ideas of a group as you work on a project; about what you see and hear in mass
media; about advertisements; about what peers or authority figures try to get you
to do; or about what to do, what to buy, and who to vote for.
Critical thinking is widely recognized as a valuable skill in everyday life. Many colleges and universities require students to complete at least one course in critical
thinking, and faculty rn~embers in most academic disciplines would say they teach
students to think critically. Employers say they want employees who have critical
thinking skills.
Critical thinking and argumentation go together well because they have so much
in common. Both involve reasoning and analysis, and both are used in problem
solving. When you create or evaluate arguments, you use critical thinking. Both
call for you to consider the quality of evidence and its relationship to claims to
decide what to accept. Argumentation goes beyond critical thinking to express
reasoning and overtly respond to others' arguments. Critical thinking goes beyond
argum~entation to consider whether to accept both arguments and other ideas. You
may think critically about a movie, but you don't argue with it. You may make an
argmnent about that movie, though, based on the critical thinking you did about
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it. You use the same abilities to do both, so learning argumentation helps you
become a better critical thinker.
Some people find the idea of critical thinking intimidating because it appears
to be difficult. They don't think that they'll be able to find all of the problems in
other people's ideas the way some critics do. Most people do it, though, without
knowing that's what they're doing. You've probably already picked up some skills
without knowing it but may not be entirely confident in your abilities. You may
already know how to analyze ideas concerning subjects with which you're quite
familiar but don't know how to transfer that ability to other subjects.
Critical thinking doesn't have to be so hard. It is not the easiest thing to do, but
it's an ability which you can improve as you learn to apply the principles of critical
thinking. One purpose of this text is to provide you with some guidelines to critical thinking that you can use in a variety of situations. This chapter will
Chapters 5-11 will provide you with more guidance to develop those skills.
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PART I
INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
definitions of critical thinking are included here, and many others differ from
them. In addition, the authors of these definitions typically spend considerable
time explaining what they mean, so just reading the definitions will probably not
provide you with a full understanding of any of them. However, it is a good way to
begin to understand the concept, because it helps provide a sense of how the term
is conceived of by different people who have tried to create a precise definition.
Argumentation scholars Frans H. van Eemeren, Rob Grootendorts, and Francisca Snoeck Henkemans (1996) summarized various ideas concerning critical
thinking. They note that the idea "traces back to Dewey's (1909/1991) idea of
'reflective thought': 'Active, persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or
supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it, and the
further conclusions to which it tends'" (165). They also refer to Robert Ennis's
definition of critical thinking as "reasonable and reflective thinking that is focused
on deciding what to believe or do" (184). Turning from what critical thinking is
to what critical thinkers do, they present Harvey Siegel's definition of a critical
thinker as one who is "appropriately moved by reasons .... A critical thinker must
be able to assess reasons and their ability to warrant beliefs, claims and actions
properly" (185).
Brooke Noel Moore and Richard Parker in their critical thinking text, say that
"Critical thinking is simply the careful, deliberate determination of whether we
should accept, reject, or suspend judgment about a claim-and of the degree of
confidence with which we accept or reject it" (4).
Alan Fisher's and Michael Scriven's definition includes the best ideas of other
definitions. They say: "Critical thinking is skilled and active interpretation and evaluation o(observations, communications, information and argumentation" (20).
What are some of the characteristics these definitions have in common? First,
they all indicate that critical thinking is not passive or automatic. They characterize critical thinking as "active;' "deliberate," and "careful." In other words, critical thinking takes some conscious effort. As with any skill, some aspects of critical thinking
become easier as you master them, but others will always require more work.
Second, they all say that critical thinking deals with ideas, including "beliefs,"
"observations," "con1munications," "information," and "arguments." We don't
think critically about flowers, although we may think critically about our understanding of how flowers grow, the meaning of flowers in our lives, the importance
of flowers in an ecosystem, or other ideas about flowers.
Third, the definitions show that critical thinkingfocuses primarily on reasoning and
arguments, although sometimes we may need to think critically about messages that
are not meant as arguments. For example, the news you see on television usually is
not meant as an argument, but you still may want to think critically about what is
reported and what is left out to decide how much you should believe about what
is said and shown.
Fourth, they agree that critical thinking involves making judgments about ideas so
we can decide "what to believe or do" and whether we should accept, reject, or
suspend judgment. Critical thinking is evaluative, but the evaluation doesn't necessarily have to be negative.
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:-:
Finally, the definitions reveal that critical thinking involves skills that allow the
thinker to make judgments. Evaluating reasoning goes well beyond "I agree" or "I
disagree" and is based on principles of reasoning that have been tested over time.
The applications of those principles are the skills involved in critical thinking.
Two other ideas are not apparent in any of these definitions but are very
important in understanding what good critical thinking is. First, critical thinking
should be applied both to the ideas ef others and to our own ideas. When Fisher and
Scriven explain what they mean by "active" in their definition, they say "the critical thinker must deal in an analytic and evaluative way with material they have
authored as well as that coming from others, and ... this means identifying good
and bad sources of information and judgment (on certain topics and under certain
conditions)-including oneself" (27). Critical thinking is useful as a way to evaluate other people's ideas, and it can be even more valuable when we use it as a way
to check our own thinking.
Second, critical thinking should be done as a means ef approaching truth on any subject,
not simply as a means to support preconceived beliefs. Richard Paul introduced
the concepts of "strong sense critical thinking" and "weak sense critical thinking."
Eemeren, Grootendorts, and Henkemans summarize the distinction as follows:
Weak sense critical thinking refers to the ability to criticize arguments in
order to attack one's opponent and defend one's own standpoint. Strong sense
critical thinking is the capacity to question positions and arguments with a
view to exposing their assumptions, as well as one's own unexamined values,
in order to get closer to the truth of the matter-even if doing so in the light
of a full and open examination of all the relevant arguments requires the
abandonment of a cherished position. (184)
Whether or not you agree that truth is "knowable," you should see that taking the
time to reflect on your thoughts and reasoning has a better chance of coming
closer to the truth than simply accepting the first conclusion you think of. Sometimes the snap judgments we make will turn out to be accurate, and if so, they will
stand. up to scrutiny. Sometimes, though, the snap judgments will be exposed as
flawed once we think about them, and that can lead to much better decisions.
Combining the ideas above leads to the following definition: critical thinking is the active application of principles of reasoning to your own ideas and those
of others to make judgments about communication and reasoning, to analyze
arguments, to expose underlying assumptions, to achieve better understanding,
and to approach the truth. The rest of this text is meant to provide you with some
tools for critical thinking.
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INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
What is the purpose of these lists? Should you memorize every item in them?
No. The lists reveal what experts in the field have determined critical thinking
involves and provide information to help you determine how you already think
critically and how you could improve.
The two lists of abilities are not the final word on what critical thinking
involves, but they do help clarify what those of us who teach critical thinking try
to accon1plish, and what you could learn in a critical thinking course. Teaching all
of the skills in the lists is beyond the scope of this text, so the following chapters
will focus on three of Halpern's five categories: argument analysis, verbal reasoning, and problem solving.
Critical thinking involves both skills and the disposition to use those skills. In
other words, you could have the skills, but if you aren't inclined to use them, then
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a. recognizing and defending against the inappropriate use of emotional and misleading language (e.g.,
labeling, name calling, ambiguity, vagueness, hedging, euphemism, bureaucratese, and arguments by
etymology [original word use]);
b. detecting the misuse of definitions and reification;
c. understanding the use of framing with leading questions, negation, and marked words to bias the
reader;
d. using analogies appropriately, which includes examining the nature of the similarity relationship and its
connection to the conclusion;
e. employing questioning and paraphrase as a skill for comprehension of text and oral language (l.e.,
recognizing main ideas);
f. producing and using a graphic representation of information provided in prose form.
2. Argument Analysis Skills
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
(continued)
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INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
you won't actually think critically. On the other hand, you may want to think critically, but if you don't have the skills to do so, then you won't be able to. While
there is no unanimous agreement that disposition is a necessary element of critical
thinking, the dispositions identified in the Department of Education study do
help us understand what critical thinking involves. Halpern summarized the list of
dispositions to include the following:
flexibility or open-mindedness, which is an attitude marked with the willingness to consider new options, try things a new waY, and reconsider old problems
being mindful, which involves the habit of self-conscious concern for and
evaluation of the thinking process
The dispositions aren't characteristics that you either have or don't have. They
are inclinations that you can develop to become a better critical thinker and decision maker.
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Figure 2.1 Some people may count on others failing to think critically.
Dan Piraro. Reprinted with special permission of Universal Press Syndicate.
on yourself and society, or your decision to chew gum, but those are separate issues
from the value of analyzing the advertisements themselves. However, if you are
tempted to spend large sums of money to call a psychic hotline, buy a particular
car, or respond to a variety of other advertisements, then carefully considering
their claims and support could be more important because the stakes are higher.
Determining when the context calls for critical thinking also has interpersonal
ramifications. Some people love to engage in vigorous discussions in which their
ideas are challenged and they have the chance to challenge other people's ideas.
Other people like to engage in conversations in which they express their opinions
and hear other people's opinions, but they hate being challenged to prove what
they say. Many people find both types of interaction undesirable. You should be
aware that putting all of your critical thinking skills to use and dissecting what
others say during casual conversations could lead to strained relationships.
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SUMMARY
Critical thinking is something each of us has the opportunity to do every day of our
lives. While there are a variety of definitions of critical thinking, most acknowledge
that critical thinking takes effort, applies to ideas, focuses on reasoning and arguments, and involves making judgments and using learned skills. In addition, critical thinking should be applied to both other people's ideas and your own, and it
should be done as a way to approach the truth regarding a given subject. Many
critical thinking skills have been identified that can give you some guidance as you
become a better critical thinker.
Critical thinking can be learned either by studying a particular subject or by
studying the general principles of critical thinking, although the thinking skills
appear to transfer better when the general principles are the focus of study.
Critical thinking is more difficult when yon think about unfamiliar subjects,
when you are very familiar with a subject, and when you already agree with what
someone says. You can think of it as being midway between uncritical gullibility
and unbridled skepticism. It involves carefully considering ideas instead of automatically accepting or rejecting them. Sometimes the best result that a critical
thinker may achieve is the recognition that he or she doesn't know what is true.
As a critical thinker, you must decide when to apply your critical thinking
skills and when the context does not call for putting forth the effort to think critically. While becoming a better critical thinker can improve your decision making,
it doesn't necessarily make your life easier.
KEY CONCEPTS
critical thinking the active application of principles of reasoning to
your own ideas and those of others
to make judgments about communication and reasoning, to analyze
arguments, to expose underlying
assumptions, to achieve better
understanding, and to approach
the truth.
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