Critical Thinking
Part of our nature as humans is to think. Most of our thinking is one-sided, distorted, incomplete, and unfamiliar. However, the quality of our life and what we produce directly depends on the quality of our thought. Poor thinking can be costly, both in money and quality of life. “Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated” (The Critical Thinking Community, 2008).
Critical thinking is an attempt to produce reliable and rational evaluations about what is reasonable to believe and disbelieve. To think critically means one is using the tools of logic and science. Logic and science value skepticism over gullibility, reason over faith, and rationality over wishful thinking. “It involves three interwoven phases: it analyzes thinking, it evaluates thinking, and it improves thinking” (Elder & Paul, 2006). Critical thinking does not ensure that we will arrive at the truth, but it does make it more plausible than any alternative thinking does.
Critical thinking is being able to think for oneself and responsibly make decisions that affect one’s life. It can also be referred to as critical inquiry. As humans we are constantly processing information. “Critical thinking is the practice of processing this information in the most skillful, accurate, and rigorous manner possible, in such a way that it leads to the most reliable, logical, and trustworthy conclusions” (Schafersman, 1991).
Personal Experience
Reflecting on my personal experiences I am more aware that I use critical thinking in many of my daily decisions. Through experience my decisions are made more easily without notice of the analyzing and assessing strategies. I have also learned through experience that if I make decisions before asking myself questions and an ...