critical thinking Concepts and Tools

Part One: Main Ideas and Insights
Critical thinking does not necessarily come naturally to people, who are subject to biases and prejudicial assumptions. According to Paul & Elder (2016), critical thinking can be learned and mastered. Critical thinking is essential for improving quality of life and promoting best practices in any field. With critical thinking, a person actively seeks answers and solutions to problems, probing multiple points of view and perspectives. Therefore, critical thinking requires open-mindedness and strong communication skills. Critical thinking also requires time and self-discipline, including the painstaking gathering of data, information, and evidence, and picking apart each issue using systematic methods. Rather than being reactive or subjective, critical thinking involves thorough analyses and assessments, with problem solving as its primary goal. Critical thinking is clear, accurate, significant, and ultimately, fair.
According to Paul & Elder (2016), all thought involves the same eight elements including point of view, problems or questions, implications or consequences, purpose or goals, assumptions, information, concepts or theories, and interpretations. Based on these eight elements of thought, the authors also provide a checklist readers can use to gauge critical thinking and improve critical thinking skills. For example, all reasoning should have a purpose or goal that can be communicated clearly, and which is also relevant and realistic. All questions should ideally be sub-divided into smaller issues for simplification and clarification, and to avoid complications. The critical thinker should also cultivate sufficient self-awareness to identify biases and assumptions in thought patterns, acknowledge points of view and potential alternative ways of looking at the subject. Critical thinkers also support their analyses with appropriate data and evidence, guided by established and articulate theoretical orientations. The conclusions of critical thought should also lead to solutions, with all implications taken into account.
Paul & Elder (2016) also claim that there are universal standards of critical thought that can be applied to any scenario, regardless of constraints like culture, age, or religion. The standards of intellectual rigor that guide critical thinking include clarity, accuracy, relevance, depth, breadth, logic, and fairness. These criteria can be applied to verbal or written arguments, encouraging discursive practices. Then, the authors present a list of essential intellectual traits shared in common by critical thinkers. Those traits include humility, courage, empathy, autonomy, integrity, perseverance, reason, and fair-mindedness. The templates or checklists for critical thinking can and should be applied to any material a student or reader encounters, holding all material up to high levels of scrutiny. Doing so helps improve the tenor of academic discussions and promotes a culture of active intellectual inquiry and fairness.
Impediments to critical thinking include various types of egocentrism, which lead to logical fallacies. For example, egocentric thinking leads to the belief that something is true simply because one wants it to be true, or because their social circle claims it to be true. Aligning one’s thinking according to one’s social group or culture—known as sociocentric thinking—also impedes critical thinking. The authors urge readers to help promote a critical society—a society in which critical thinking is normative. To promote a critical society, critical thinking has to be consistently taught and ingrained. Paul & Elder (2016) therefore offer several concise and specific insights into the nature of critical thinking, including how it can be identified and cultivated. Likewise, the authors offer cogent solutions that help readers to understand how to replace egocentric and sociocentric thinking with critical thinking.
Part Two: Conclusions
1. Where do you think you are in terms of critical thinking?
I value critical thinking but can see that I can still learn how to apply critical thinking to more areas of my life. After reading the Paul & Elder (2016) text, I can see where I fall short, especially in terms of sociocentric and egocentric thinking. There are things I believe in for no apparent reason; these are things that I have never truly questioned. Likewise, I have been socialized into specific groups and have come to believe the dominant ideologies of those groups rather than questioning some of their basic tenets. I tend to believe things that reinforce my self-concept or my worldview, because thinking critically might create cognitive dissonance and even force me to change my entire identity. There could even be significant psychological or social consequences for applying critical thinking to some issues or areas of my life.
Using the stages of critical thinking chart on page 20 of the Paul & Elder (2016) book, I believe I am a practicing thinker. I am just starting to internalize the value of critical thinking. I apply critical thinking especially in educational contexts, as when I am asked to critically analyze or critique an article. However, I have also come to apply critical thinking to the media: recognizing biases and assumptions in the way information is presented, and especially seeing how marketers capitalize on an uncritical society.
2. What should you be aware of and work on?
There are several issues I should be aware of and work on in my goal to improve critical thinking and promote a more critical society. One of the things I should become more aware of is how to break down each problem or issue so that I can think about it more systematically. Another thing I can be more aware of is how I can better cultivate the core intellectual traits that are signs of being a strong critical thinker. I would like to work on being more intellectually courageous and empathetic, listening more closely to the types of reasoning used by other people. In the past, I have tended to react emotionally to those I disagree with; I would like to work on this by applying critical thinking, doing more research, and figuring out the basis for their beliefs as well as my own. Only by dissecting each belief or issue can be reach common ground. What is most challenging is when my values or worldviews conflict fundamentally with another person, in ways that prevent either one of us from seeing the issue from the same cognitive framework.
3. How has the book impacted and changed your life?
This book is valuable because it is concise and to the point. Rather than being filled with unnecessary anecdotes and examples, the authors chose to go straight to the point. Their templates have been extremely helpful for aligning my goals with the processes used to solve problems and recognize logical fallacies or biases. I have changed my approach to critical thinking accordingly, and better understand the overarching principles rather than getting worried about whether I am thinking “correctly.” The checklist for reasoning (pp. 4-5) is especially helpful for me to apply to any challenging situation.
4. Where could I apply critical thinking in your life?
I can apply critical thinking in almost every area of my life. When it comes to my health-related behaviors, lifestyle, and overall commitment to wellness, I need to make choices based more on critical thinking than on false information I find on the internet. Even when I find information from sources that seem credible, I still need to do the research. Another area I can apply critical thinking in my life is with regards to both voting and consumer behavior. The choices I make at the polls are sometimes influenced by other people, and the same is true for my purchasing decisions. Critical thinking helps me to differentiate between my opinions and that of my peers or social group—what the authors refer to as intellectual autonomy. Applying these principles allows me to promote a more critical society.







References

Paul, R. & Elder, L. (2016). Critical Thinking: Concepts and Tools.