Chapter 1: What is

Critical Thinking
Anyway?
 Learning objectives:

Students will be able to understand

critical thinking.
Student will understand
theImportance of reasoning in
critical thinking
Student will identify the barriers to
critical thinking
What is Thinking?
 What is thinking

Thinking is manipulating and

transforming information in memory.
 What is Critical thinking
critical thinking is a disciplined manner of
thinking that a person uses to come on
correct conclusion based on reasoned
judgement.
 Fun Exercise#1.
There was a robbery in which a lot of
goods were stolen. The robber(s) left in
a truck. It is known that : (1) Nobody
else could have been involved other
than A, B and C. (2) C never commits a
crime without A's participation. (3) B
does not know how to drive.
So, is A innocent or guilty?
 Fun Exercise#2:
In a lake, there is a patch of lily pads.
Every day, the patch doubles in size. If
it takes 48 days for the patch to cover
the entire lake, how long would it take
for the patch to cover half of the lake?
 Key features of critical
thinking:
There is always a purpose in critical
thinking
It is based on logical reasoning.
Critical thinking is always based on
evaluation
The ultimate of critical thinking is to
come to correct conclusion.
Video for critical thinking
 Key Terms
Facts and Opinion
A fact is a statement that is true and
can be verified objectively, or proven.
In other words, a fact is true and
correct no matter what. An opinion,
however, is a statement that holds an
element of belief; it tells how someone
feels. An opinion is not always true and
cannot be proven.
 Key Terms
OBJECTIVE AND SUBJECTIVE CLAIMS

An objective claim is a statement

about a factual matter-one that can
be proved true or false.
A subjective claim, on the other
hand, is not a factual matter; it is an
expression of belief, opinion, or
personal preference.
 Objective Claims & Facts
An objective claim may be true or
false; just because something is
objective does not mean it is true.
Taipei 101 is the world's tallest building.
Five plus four equals ten.
There are nine planets in our solar
system.
 Subjective Claims &
Opinions
subjective claims cannot be proved
true or false by any generally
accepted criteria. They do not make
factual (provable) claims, and
therefore they are, in a sense,
neither true nor false
Trout tastes better than catfish.
Touching a spider is scary.
Venus Williams is the greatest
athlete of this decade.
 Biases
Tendency to think that our side of an
issue must be the correct side.

Act of referencing only those

perspectives that support our pre-
existing views, while at the same
time ignoring or dismissing opinions
no matter how valid that
threaten our world view.
 Biases
For example, if you are on a non-carb
diet, you will be inclined to think that
all carbs are bad for you, even
though scientists say some carbs are
necessary for a balanced diet
For example, if you prefer Cristiano
Ronaldo, you will be tempted to
dismiss Leo Messi, even though
statistically he has scored 1 in every
20 goals for Barcelona in its 150 year
 Relativism
The belief that different things are
true, right, etc., for different people
or at different times.

The theory that value judgments, as

of truth, beauty, or morality, have no
universal validity but are valid only
for the persons or groups holding
them. .
Argument

An argument is a conclusion based

upon evidence (i.e. premises)

An argument is defined as "...giving

of reasons, evidence, or support for
the claim that something is true."
Components of Argument
There are 2 major components of
arguments:
1. Premises: Each reason, piece of
evidence, and each bit of data used
in an argument in support of the
conclusion is called a premise.
2. Conclusion: The conclusion of an
argument is the point that the rest
of the argument is supposed to
show to be correct or true.
 Barriers to Critical Thinking
Culture
Close mindedness
Belief system/emotional blocks
Biases
Claims without evidences
Opinion without Facts
Weak Argument (will study more in
the next chapter)