critical thinking

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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University *

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449

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Philosophy

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Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Uploaded by ElderKouprey2332

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES Here are the educational objectives for this lesson.  Identify the parts (or elements) of thinking and explain how these parts work together in reasoning.  Identify the universal intellectual standards and explain their importance in human reasoning.  Identify the interrelated intellectual traits that enable one to open, discipline, and improve mental functioning.  Identify and explain the decision-making process developed by USAF Colonel John Boyd; explain how this process is applied to the tactical level in military operations.  Compare and contrast intuitive and analytical decision-making.  Compare and contrast individual and group decision-making.  Identify and describe the six core cognitive skills within critical thinking as identified by a consensus of experts in the Delphi Report. WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING? Critical thinking is a term that many institutions hold in high regard and that too few individuals practice consistently. Critical Thinking is:  Awareness  A process  Quality of thinking  Imposing intellectual standards  Challenging assumptions and exploring alternatives  Searching for hidden assumptions  Questioning and arguing logically  Developing an ever better worldview Critical Thinkers:  Are open-minded  Adopt a skeptical state of mind  Gather, assess, and interpret relevant information  Question [their] own assumptions  Consider points of view, the quality of information Critical Thinking Definition One Drs. Richard Paul and Linda Elder, authors of many critical thinking books and documents: Critical thinking is a process , and it deals with the quality of thinking by imposing intellectual standards . In fact, in other writings these two authors assert that critical thinking considers points of view , the quality of information, interpretation and inference, assumptions, and implications and consequences , and that critical thinkers think open-mindedly , and gather, assess and interpret relevant information . Critical Thinking Definition Two Stephen Brookfield ( Developing Critical Thinkers ):

Critical thinking consists of challenging assumptions and exploring alternatives . Critical Thinking Definition Three M. Neil Browne and Stuart M. Keeley ( Asking The Right Questions ): Critical thinking consists of an awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions, plus the ability and willingness to ask and answer them at appropriate times. Critical Thinking Definition Four Gary Jason (Critical Thinking): Broadly defined, critical thinking means developing an ever better worldview and using it well in all aspects of your life…the essence of critical thinking is questioning and arguing logically …the heart of critical thinking is the ability to…infer or reason well…questioning and arguing logically. Critical Thinking Definition Five Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau ( Critical Thinking, Reading, and Writing ): [Critical thinking includes] searching for hidden assumptions , noticing various facets, unraveling different strands, and evaluating what is most significant …[critical thinking] implies conscious, deliberate inquiry, and especially it implies adopting a skeptical state of mind. Critical thinkers are…sufficiently open-minded …[and] adopt a skeptical attitude...Critical thinking means questioning not only the assumptions of others, but also questioning your own assumptions SECOND-ORDER THINKING A critical thinker analyzes and evaluates their thinking with the goal of improving it. Critical thinking is:  Self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking.  Requires rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use.  Entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities, and a commitment to overcoming our natural human tendency to view the world in relationship to ourselves. Critical thinking adds a second level of thinking to ordinary thinking. The second level analyzes, assesses, and improves ordinary thinking. First-order Thinking First-order thinking is spontaneous and non-reflective. Our first-order thinking indiscriminately combines:  Insight and prejudice  Truth and error  Good and bad reasoning Second-order Thinking Second-order thinking raises first-order thinking to the level of conscious realization. The second level improves ordinary thinking by ensuring that our thoughts are:  Analyzed  Assessed  Reconstructed A well cultivated critical thinker: 1. Raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely. 2. Gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret effectively and comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions.

3. Tests the possible solutions against relevant criteria and standards. 4. Thinks open-mindedly, recognizing and assessing any assumptions, implications, and practical consequences. Applies core cognitive skills to make a decision. 5, 6. Communicates effectively with others to implement solutions to complex problems A FRAMEWORK FOR CRITICAL THINKING This lesson presents a framework for critical thinking developed by the late Dr. Richard Paul, Chair of the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking, and Dr. Linda Elder, Executive Director of the Center for Critical Thinking. The Paul-Elder framework of critical thinking is one of the most widely published and cited frameworks in critical thinking literature. According to the Paul-Elder framework, critical thinking is the:  Analysis of thinking by focusing on the parts or structures of thinking ("the Elements of Thought").  Evaluation of thinking by focusing on the quality ("the Universal Intellectual Standards")  Improvement of thinking by using what you have learned ("the Intellectual Traits") INTELLECTUAL STANDARDS Thinking critically requires command of fundamental intellectual standards.  To assess our own thinking, we must consistently dismantle our thinking and examine the parts with respect to standards of quality.  Critical thinkers routinely ask questions that apply intellectual standards to thinking. The ultimate goal is for these questions to become so spontaneous that they form a natural part of our inner voice, guiding us to improved reasoning. Clarity Clarity is a gateway standard. If a statement is unclear, it cannot be evaluated against the standards. We cannot determine if it is accurate or relevant. In fact, we cannot tell anything about it because we do not yet know what it is communicating. Questions that help us focus on clarity include:  Could you elaborate on that point?  Could you express that point in another way?  Could you give me an example?  Let me state in my own words what I think you said. Tell me if I am clear about your meaning. Accuracy A statement may be clear but inaccurate. To be accurate is to represent something in accordance with the way it actually is. People often misrepresent things, especially when they have a vested interest in the description. Critical thinking implies a heathy skepticism; therefore, question whether what you hear or read is true and accurate. We naturally tend to believe that our thoughts are accurate and that the thoughts of those that disagree with us are inaccurate. We must force ourselves to accurately assess our own views as well as those of others. Questions that help us make thinking more accurate include:  Is that really true?  How could we check to see if that is accurate?  How could we find out if that is true?

Precision A statement can be clear and accurate but not precise, for example: "Sgt Jones is overweight." In this statement, we don't know Sgt Jones's bodyfat percentage. Your actions will be significantly different if Sgt Jones is two pounds over his weight limit with 14% bodyfat, or if Sgt Jones is 15 lbs over his weight limit with 21% bodyfat. Questions focusing on making thinking more precise include:  Could you give me more details?  Could you be more specific? Relevance A statement can be clear, accurate, and precise but not relevant to the question at issue. For example, a lance corporal that is always on time at his appointed place of duty and does not get into any trouble wants to know why his proficiency marks are not higher. While these actions influence this Marine's conduct marks, they are not relevant when discussing proficiency. Questions focusing on relevance include:  How is this idea connected to the question?  How does that bear on the issue?  How does this idea relate to this other idea?  How does your question relate to the issue we are dealing with? Depth We think deeply when we get beneath the surface of an issue or problem, identify the complexities inherent in it, and then deal with those complexities in an intellectually responsible way. A statement can be clear, accurate, precise, and relevant but superficial—lacking depth. Questions focusing on depth of thought include:  How does your answer address the complexities in the question?  How are you taking into account the problems in the question?  How are you dealing with the most significant factors in the problem? ELEMENTS OF CRITICAL THINKING  The "parts" or elements of thinking are as follows:  All reasoning has a purpose .  All reasoning is an attempt to figure something out, to settle some question , to solve some problem .  All reasoning is based on assumptions .  All reasoning is done from some point of view .  All reasoning is based on data, information and evidence .  All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, concepts and ideas .  All reasoning contains inferences or interpretations by which we

draw conclusions and give meaning to data.  All reasoning leads somewhere or has implications and consequences . Purpose Your purpose is your goal, your objective, and what you are trying to accomplish. We also use the term to include functions, motives, and intentions. You should be clear about your purpose, and your purpose should be justifiable. All reasoning has a PURPOSE.  Take time to state your purpose clearly.  Distinguish your purpose from related purposes.  Check periodically to be sure you are still on target.  Choose significant and realistic purposes. Question or Problem The question lays out the problem or issue and guides our thinking. Mission analysis and problem framing are processes that we use to clearly frame the problem that we are attempting to solve. When the question is vague, our thinking will lack clarity and distinctness. The question should be clear and precise enough to productively guide our thinking. All reasoning is an attempt to figure something out, to settle some QUESTION, to solve some problem.  State the question clearly and precisely.  Express the question in several ways to clarify its meaning.  Break the question into sub-questions.  Distinguish questions that have definitive answers from those that are a matter of opinion or that require multiple viewpoints. Assumptions Assumptions are beliefs you take for granted. They usually operate at the subconscious or unconscious level of thought. Make sure that you are clear about your assumptions and they are justified by sound evidence. Reasoning is often based on ASSUMPTIONS.  Clearly identify your assumptions and determine whether they are justifiable.  Consider how your assumptions are shaping your point of view.  Invalidated assumptions made during planning become risks as we transition to execution. Point of View Point of view is literally “the place” from which you view something. It includes what you are looking at and the way you are seeing it. Make sure you understand the limitations of your point of view and that you fully consider other relevant viewpoints. All reasoning is done from some POINT OF VIEW.  Identify your point of view.  Seek other points of view and identify their strengths as well as weaknesses.  Strive to be fair-minded in evaluating all points of view. Information

Information includes the facts, data, evidence, or experiences we use to figure things out. It does not necessarily imply accuracy or correctness. All reasoning is based on DATA, INFORMATION, and EVIDENCE.  Restrict your claims to those supported by the data you have.  Search for information that opposes your position as well as information that supports it.  Make sure that all information used is clear, accurate, and relevant.  Make sure you have gathered sufficient information Concepts Concepts are ideas, theories, laws, principles, or hypotheses we use while thinking to make sense of things. Be clear about the concepts you are using and use them justifiably. All reasoning is expressed through, and shaped by, CONCEPTS and IDEAS.  Identify key concepts and explain them clearly.  Consider alternative concepts or alternative definitions of concepts.  Make sure you are using concepts with precision. Interpretation and Inference Inferences are interpretations or conclusions you decide upon. Inferring is the process the mind goes through when making decisions when some piece of information is limited or missing. Inferences should logically follow from the evidence. Infer no more or less than what is implied by the situation. All reasoning contains INFERENCES or INTERPRETATIONS by which we draw CONCLUSIONS and give meaning to data.  Infer only what the evidence implies.  Check inferences for their consistency with each other.  Identify assumptions underlying your inferences. Implications and Consequences Implications are claims or truths that logically follow from other claims or truths. Implications follow from thoughts and consequences follow from actions. Implications are inherent in your thoughts, whether you see them or not. The best thinkers think through the logical implications in a situation before acting. All reasoning leads somewhere or has IMPLICATIONS and CONSEQUENCES.  Trace the implications and consequences that follow from your reasoning.  Search for negative as well as positive implications.  Consider all possible consequences Intellectual Integrity Intellectual integrity means striving to be true to one's own disciplined thinking and holding oneself to the same standards that one expects others to meet. Intellectual integrity requires:  Practicing daily what one advocates for others  Honestly admitting discrepancies in one's own thought and action  Identifying inconsistencies within one's thinking Intellectual Humility To be intellectually humble is to develop knowledge of the extent of one's ignorance. Intellectual humility includes:

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