Critical Thinking : The Constant Gardener

According to Paul & Elder, “critical thinking is the art of analyzing and evaluating thinking with a vision of improving it.” Their argument for the need to utilize critical thinking is the fact that without focus, most of the thinking done by people is partial, many times uninformed, biased, distorted, and prejudiced. What is not easily recognized is the fact that the very fabric of life is

The Hunger Games is a movie directed by Gary Ross based on the novel series “The Hunger Games” written by Suzanne Collins. Both the novel and movie adaptation features events and plot points that bring up many philosophical questions which make us question such points. The process in which we question and ponder the events or plot points can be referred to as ‘critical thinking’, which means to; understand the logical connections between ideas, identify, construct and evaluate arguments, detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning, solve problems systematically, identify the relevance and importance of ideas, and reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values. Basically, critical thinking is the act of analysing, breaking down, and reflecting on certain ideas. In the second viewing of the film in class, certain events occurred that made us think critically and reflect on such ideas.

Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons, depth, breadth, and fairness. (Critical thinking community, n.d.)

Over the last thirty years, the health care system has incurred dramatic changes, resulting in new advances in technology and medical theories. Greater demand for quality care by consumers, more knowledgeable patients, remarkable disease processes, shorter hospitalizations, and the continuing pressure to lower health care costs are all contributing factors in the necessary changes to the nursing practice. In order for nurses to deliver optimum care, they must develop a higher quality of thinking capability. We will review the information given in this research paper to discuss the impact of critical thinking in the nursing profession, as well as the various strategies / techniques used in assisting

2. In the 21st century exposure to media is an everyday event for most of us. Even at the grocery store, we see magazines and newspapers with eye-catching headings that may not be true. Also, the news is everywhere, and with technology on the rise, we even get news alerts on our phones. The media has taken over society. Most of the stories we read about seem to be true but in reality, are they giving a true insight of what is actually happening? Some of the stories cause people to become blindfolded from reality. This is because the stories that people read or see have a profound impact on shaping our reality rather they are true or not. We see the news about events that are going on in the world; rather they are catastrophic events or devastating events that were done by humans.

If I am to develop my personal critical thinking ability, I must first make a conscious choice to understand the basic concept of a premise and then make critical reflection of this basic concept by expanding my thinking approach. To achieve this, I must ask radical questions that will enhance the scope of analysis and judgment. I must move from the region of subconscious thinking to one of conscious thinking because in so doing, I become aware that I am actually thinking. This awareness will allow me to think beyond rudimentary concepts through critical reasoning and critical reflection to decipher underlying issues that are concealed in the concept under investigation. By understanding the predictable

Critical thinking is a complex concept that can be mastered over time. When thinking of a main character in a book, you often wonder to yourself

Voltaire once said, “No problem can withstand the assault of sustained thinking” (“Voltaire Quotes”) What Voltaire intended to convey was that extensive and critical thinking can allow people to arrive at rational solutions to problems. This is one of the reasons why the significance of thinking critically has become a popular issue that is discussed about in educational systems nowadays. It is imperative that students develop critical thinking skills and not just blindly be taught what to think, but rather how to think. Pure memorization will not lead to authentic learning; instead, encouraging critical thinking is what will help students evaluate problems and make reasonable decisions. As humans are susceptible to emotions, critical

After reading " CLUES to Critical Thinking" in chapter 5, I disagree with the Supreme Court's decision to allow Law enforcements to strip search an arrested individual who had only committed a minor offense. The Fourth Amendment clearly states that, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated. Unreasonable can be defined as not guided by or based on good sense, which in this case, strip searching an individual for a minor offense can be seen as unreasonable. The only time a cop should be able to strip search you is when the officer has a reasonable suspicion that you are either carrying contraband or an illegal weapon, that is what strip searches are for. It is not

In 1990, the American Philosophical Association defined critical thinking as “purposeful, self-regulatory process that results in reasoned judgment”. Critical thinking can be defined in a number of similar phrases that all seem to focus on the importance of conscious analysis. Our text starts off with the working phases of critical thinking as analyzing thinking, evaluating thinking, and improving thinking. The process of critical thought is cyclical and not linear. Being a “fair-minded critical thinker” is not a permanent attribute, and it must be consistently worked at as applying intellectual standards and elements of reasoning instead of emotion can be difficult. Overall, to be a strong critical thinker you must work toward strong intellectual traits such humility, courage, and integrity to better represent issues and or arguments.

When the Judge admonished the Jury, he told them they must reach a unanimous decision beyond a reasonable doubt. The "hero" of this movie appears to be Henry Fonda, the first juror to vote "not guilty". He kept challenging the evidence by saying "isn 't it possible?"...that the evidence was wrong. Do some critical thinking on this...using a good paragraph answer if "isn 't it possible?" is the same thing as "beyond a reasonable doubt." Start with a “yes” or “no” and then eleaborate.

The main concepts presented in the article are the varying definitions of each author on the concept of critical thinking. The information the author uses are definitions which are the opinions of varied authors and are similar in foundation in that to apply critical thinking one must be able to identify a problem, pose a question(s), provide valid supporting evidence, and come to a conclusion. Although the author’s definitions do not identify a problem, questions, evidence, or conclusions, the relationship Petress (2004) shows is that the reader must apply this process themselves as it is not always given. The information used does appear to be relevant, significant, and valid. The references the author listed does provide enough information for me to come to this conclusion. Since this work is a literature review and not a case study, numerical data are not necessary to determine validity of the information.

Bassham, G., Irwin, W., Nardone, H., & Wallace, J. (2002). Critical Thinking. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies Publishing. Retrieved August 25, 2004 from University of Phoenix, Resource, MGT/350–Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making Web site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

Poldma dissects the Interior Design one element at a time. Her book will assist with the research

The concepts of critical thinking and creative thinking are both gaining increasing importance in the world today. Critical thinking allows people to understand difficult concepts in a manner that is clearer and more defined. They can more readily understand those concepts if they employ critical thinking. In all portions of everyday life, a person is expected to make independent judgments. Those judgments are based on experience and knowledge. Without the ability to think critically, every situation that a person comes across would have to be considered in isolation from all other situations. When a person encounters a problem that is a new one, he or she may be able to use critical thinking to solve those problems.