Critical Thinking and the Thought Process

The practice of critical thinking is an influence of various elements that affect not only individual behavior and personality, but one's thought processes as well. The first element that affects an individual's thought processes, i.e., critical thinking, is the personality of the individual. A person's thought processes is influenced by external factors such as time and place where the individual constantly interacts with others, influence of society via the mass culture, and self-perceptions developed from the self and through other people. Determining an individual's thought processes also takes into account the cognitive development within the individual as well, where the line distinguishing mind and brain is determined. Brain is the physical manifestation of thinking and thought processes in humans, while the mind represents the metaphysical form in which thinking occurs. Distinguishing between these two concepts is vital, since each concept plays a role in developing critical thinking through the process of evaluation and analysis, which are the primary activities that concern its (critical thinking) development. Other activities that can develop critical thinking are investigation, interpretation, and judgment, which are activities that require evaluation of facts and information in either the subjective or the objective approaches. In Chapter 3, the issue of knowing the truth is discussed, which serves as the basis for the need to practice critical thinking among people. This is related in Chapter 4, where the need to know, that is, the pursuit or quest for knowledge is perceived as the highest end or achievement of humans, as Plato asserts in his discourses on human knowledge. Thus, critical thinking is necessary in the pursuit for the truth and knowledge. Lastly, the last chapter (16) discusses the importance of narrowing down an issue into specific and concrete concepts in order to provide the researcher a more organized and clearer idea in pursuing the topic of inquiry. These elements, therefore, play significant roles in affecting the process of critical thinking, directly and indirectly.