Critical thinking in English language and literature

¶ … processing that information in an analytical manner, and being able to bring outside materials to bear upon the material studied. It is more of a process, and can be utilized in public speaking, reading, watching television or movies, or a general approach to daily life.

In general, the basic aspect of critical thinking is to analyze the source material and decide upon its veracity and relevance. For example, not everything posted on the Internet is true; one must read to establish the sources of the material. A critical thinker also uses other senses to establish their opinion of the stimuli, be that visual, audible, or even body-language (in the case of speech, etc.). Using critical thinking to process information requires that you not only analyze the source material "critically," but that you think about the opinions and views being presented. Certainly, it is not as easy to read, write, and process critically, one has to think about what one says, how one says it, and whether the arguments are made to buttress the argument, but the idea of critical thinking is a great stimulation to one's own brain and learning.

When Ludwig Wittgenstein noted, "You cannot know a thing if you do not doubt it," he may have been thinking about how we might use critical thinking in a scholarly way. Applying critical thinking to books and articles would use the process to establish the professionalism and continuity of the publication, the author's expertise, whether this is an opinion piece, or whether one can trust that the facts have been checked. One would, for example, hope that a piece on the economic policy of the United States in the New York Times would hold more credibility than one posted on Homer's Blog. In most disciplines, critical thinking would find one going beyond and behind the words to find out what message is really being sent. Using critical thinking in conversations can sometimes be problematical. It is important that people be allowed their opinion, and not everyone will back up that opinion with facts. However, how one takes in the information and uses it is one's own responsibility, and critical thinking would have one ask the same questions about the facts of the information regardless of the medium.

In philosophy and scholarship, Critical Theory is somewhat a response to the maxim "whatever you say a thing is, it isn't." This has been argued for centuries, back to Ancient Greece and the idea of forms having structure and shape only when described in meaningful ways to an individual -- but not every individual agrees with those forms. Thus, critical thinking has a transformative methodology. The answers provided should focus on the manner in which we, as humans, should live. The discovery of that "truth" however, is part of a methodology developed in Ancient Greece by the philosopher Socrates. In its most fundamental form it is a way to debate opposing viewpoints, either with others or through self inquiry, using questions to stimulate thinking and elucidate new and different ideas. Often, it is dialectical -- using an oppositional discussion to defend or reject a hypothesis. The point of the methodology is to not only strengthen the argument, but to enhance one's own view and understanding of the situation. One does this by using logical statements, if then, if a then b, etc. As a way to negate other hypotheses. Thus, the basis of critical thinking is a negative methodology in which one continually disproves alternative views, eliminating them one by one, resulting in a final truth that holds up to more contradictions.

In utilizing critical theory, the status quo is critiqued and attacked. Actions are criticized because of the result they will bring. The transformation is brought about by making societal participants more aware of the language and the world in which they live. By rallying members of society around a common, clear and 'true' point, societal injustice and exploitation may be diminished. There are many approaches to the way in which humans analyze their place in society and nature, and in order to develop their own theories of self-actualization. For the purpose of this essay, however, we will focus on two: positivism vs. interpretivism.

The positivistic approach is excellent for examining exterior data that can essentially be utilized in an objective fashion. Since society is constantly changing, this approach allows a more robust look into the evolution and outcome of that change. One can also look at data through another view, the more streamlined knowledge-based examination of the universe. Proof, proof, proof is needed for this epistemological view, and it typically focuses on the way things are, or the tactical, rather than anything intangible. Someone following an interpretivist viewpoint, in contrast, wishes to understand more of the why, which is quite subjective as opposed to scientific (epistemological).

Most any question can have differing approaches; one can look at test scores from an elementary school; the number of free lunches, and the age and experience of teachers in that school. If scores are low, one approach might say that children who do not get high quality meals score lower even with experienced teachers -- but the approach to the variables differs and all may not be completely compatible.