Critical Thinking – What do you think of that?
In 1906, William Graham Sumner said, “The critical habit of thought, if usual in society, will pervade all its mores, because it is a way of taking up the problems of life.”
What is meant by this?
You may want to have a dictionary on hand. . .
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Defining Critical Thinking
(A statement by Michael Scriven & Richard Paul for the National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking Instruction)
Summary
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
It entails the examination of those structures or elements of thought implicit in all reasoning: purpose, problem, or question-at-issue; assumptions; concepts; empirical grounding; reasoning leading to conclusions; implications and consequences; objections from alternative viewpoints; and frame of reference. Critical thinking – in being responsive to variable subject matter, issues, and purposes – is incorporated in a family of interwoven modes of thinking, among them: scientific thinking, mathematical thinking, historical thinking, anthropological thinking, economic thinking, moral thinking, and philosophical thinking.
Critical thinking can be seen as having two components: 1) a set of information and belief generating and processing skills, and 2) the habit, based on intellectual commitment, of using those skills to guide behavior.
It is thus to be contrasted with: 1) the mere acquisition and retention of information alone, because it involves a particular way in which information is sought and treated; 2) the mere possession of a set of skills, because it involves the continual use of them; and 3) the mere use of those skills (“as an exercise”) without acceptance of their results.
Critical thinking varies according to the motivation underlying it. When grounded in selfish motives, it is often manifested in the skillful manipulation of ideas in service of one’s own, or one’s groups’, vested interest. As such it is typically intellectually flawed, however pragmatically successful it might be. When grounded in fairmindedness and intellectual integrity, it is typically of a higher order intellectually, though subject to the charge of “idealism” by those habituated to its selfish use.
Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual; everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought. Its quality is therefore typically a matter of degree and dependent on , among other things, the quality and depth of experience in a given domain of thinking or with respect to a particular class of questions. No one is a critical thinker through-and-through, but only to such-and-such a degree, with such-and-such insights and blind spots, subject to such-and-such tendencies towards self-delusion. For this reason, the development of critical thinking skills and dispositions is a life-long endeavor.
Why Critical Thinking?
The Problem:
Everyone thinks; it is our nature to do so. But much of our thinking, left to itself, is biased, distorted, partial, uninformed or down-right prejudiced. Yet the quality of our life and that of what we produce, make, or build depends precisely on the quality of our thought. Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life. Excellence in thought, however, must be systematically cultivated.
A Definition:
Critical thinking is that mode of thinking – about any subject, content, or
problem – in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking
by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and
imposing intellectual standards upon them.
The Result:
A well cultivated critical thinker:
· raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
· gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
· thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and
· communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.
Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.
This information is taken from:
http://www.criticalthinking.org/
&
http://www.criticalthinking.org/aboutCT/definingCT.shtml
This paragragh was very confusing but i mostly understand the words i knew but i got it after i read it slowley. I never really knew that critical thinking was were you think have to think ALOT . I only thought critical thinking was for reading , but i learned it was for everything. But this paragragh made think even more about critical thinking..
As I read this I found myself re-reading paragraphs, this article is vert intricate, the vocabulary is very complex, so when I looked them up in the dictionary I found that their meanings were simple, so once I replaced the vocabulary with a more simple replacement word, I was able to understand what Critical Thinking sort-of is. As I was reading this, I also realized that I’m more of a critical thinker than I thought I was. To be honest after I finished reading, I think I’m more excited about taking this class. However I still have to fully understand what critical thinking is, because I still have doubts in my mind.
There were a couple words that I did not under stand however it did let me understand a bit more about what critical thinking really is not just advanced reading but the way of looking at the information and processing it logically.
maybe you should lose most of the big words
prag·mat·ic
1. Dealing or concerned with facts or actual occurrences; practical.
Critical Thinking is self-understanding.It makes you look inside yourself and find your emotions.You express yourself and make people understand what your expressing.Critical thinking is all about understanding you,and yourself!!!!!
Critically Thinking is about expressing your self and your feelings whether it’s through poems, stories, comic strips, or in an essay. I think Critically Thinking this year is going to be very fun and exciting and we are already doing lots of projects in this class in the first week of school, most teachers assign projects in the the middle to the end of the year. Yesturday when we had to do the picture of the Navajo women that really got me thinking and got me into the picture, like I was actually there!
There were alot or words I didn’t understand for example mere and Rigorus. It was very critical complicated to read i had to read atleast once or twice until i got it. the print was very boring and I lost track sometimes becuase of that.
I don’t understand what the word pragmatically means. I think that the text makes me think. I have to agree when it says critical thiking is a life long skill. I also learned more about what critical thinking is. Before I thought that critical thinking was just reading and now I know that it is more than that. The text goes way more in depth than I thought it would.
To Jeffrey Use contects clues and you should be able to figure it out
Last year when they said everyone was going to have a reading class, I just thought that this class is just going to be about reading books etc. But this class goes way further then reading books.In this blog there were alot of words that I did not know,but I used the dictonary and found out what those words meant. This class is about taking something and making it more than what it is, and using your imagination.
there are to many big words for a person with a small intelect
There is so much to critical thinking, it’s like a different world. In a way a critical thinking class is like History, Science and English, but we might be expressing our opinions on different topics, instead of just learning about different topics.
This a very difficult blog to read and i take that “a dictionary may be handy” as a warning but i can kind understand a little more about critical thinking its like a diffrent view of things from ordinnary life like how you might see people running from cops but would you ever think that the people in the cop car aren’t cops and trying to kill just a simple family so know i have a knew view of the definition of critical thinking not “thinking_critically” P.S- in paragraph 6 at the end you didn’t space in sight jeff out!
When you first saw the words ” Critical Thinking” on your schedule, you must of thought ” oh, reading” and never understood the real meaning of critical thinking. This study of the meaning brought new ideas into my head, confusing or not, and made me see that critical thinking is a way of seeing things beyond what they are,and understanding concepts and ideas better. At least thats what i got out of it.
I felt that the information given in this page was very informative.
At the same time it was very dull and boring and I think that everyone here would agree to that.
Before I read this blog, I thought that Critical Thinking was just an advanced reading class. I learned that it’s thinking of anything and thinking of in in different ways. I learnred new words like, rigorous, and pragmatically. It showed me the difference between reading and critical thinking.
There where alot of words that i didnt understand, but it helped me understand crit thinking is about.
As you could see this passage uses very highly sophisticated words. Which made it hard for me to understand,but i made it though. understanding that critical thinking is more than i thought it was.
critical thinking is not only thinking, but knowing what you are thinking.
——And asking questions about what you think. Know what I mean?
Critical thinking has to do with alot of thinking. This blog had alot of confusing words but I used the dictionary. I finally know what critical thinking is a mode of thinking about all types of thinking. It also has to do with self-discipline.
Some of the words in this blog were very confusing but after I used the dictionary they started making sense. Before I thought that critical thinking was just reading and things like that but now I understand a little better what critical thinking really is. (But I still hurts my brain!!) Just like in the paragraph, 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.
we are using the same internet same ip and all so it will keep happening
and as for camilaqa’s post…yes it is a lot of thinking.snd your brain can handle it..its not what you think about..its how you use it
Lordison,
I’m proud of you!! You have really got the hang of this honest and open discussion. Oen thing though: take time to check all of your spelling before you click “Add My Comment.”
Thanks,
Mr. Moshe
I think that this was an extrodinary way of defining what the bases are for Critical thinking. It explains time and time again that Critical thinking is not just settling its pushing forward, it’s thinking outside the box. Our society goes around living life settling with what we are given. I’ve merely tapped the potential I could reach thinking Critically, And this blog was not even close of explaining it all. But it was a great starter!
What I read really opened up my mind on what critical thinking really is. I just thought that critical thinking was just another fancy name for reading.It really taught me that critical thinking is about making your mind work and thinking about a certain problem. Now I understand that critical thinking can only come from you because it makes each and every individual mind think and ask questions about a certain problem so that you can figure it out.
I was reading this passage and there was one quote i just had to reread over like ten times. ” Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual” my thought of this saying was that maybe it means that everyone doesnt have your opion , but im not quite sure. I thought this passage was very deep but they used so many big word and having this long passage in this room is very distracting. I love this computer labtop thing in the classroom. Its a great way for everybody to write and learn
I think this reading got us all thinking. Im very smart and i know what all the words said i didnt even need a dictionary! WOW! HOW EXTRODNARY! This critical thinking is going to be used alot in the future! Watch 0ut Here Comes Critical Thinkng!
Well Zac, I don’t think you understand it. To big of words for you.
its hard just to think about critical thinking
To Christian: WOW!! That’s almost exactly how I’m thinking!!! =0 It lets you express yourself (unlike in other classes) and you can share your opinions with everybody without being told your stupid.
Critical thinking is thinking beyond expectations. It is an abnormal thought. When you think critically you ask yourself questions and answer them in an advanced way. Critical thinking is communicating information when an answer answers a question in a universal way. It can be defined in many different ways, but one definition can’t be big enough to describe it.
Vlad Korenblit
1st Period
Hi Chriis! i agree with you but you used to many big words which i didnt understand
This blog was really confusing but it made alot of scence ,but alos at the same time I dont agree to what some of it is saying .in the blog if Im not mistaken it had said ‘Critical Thinking of any kind is never universal to any individual’ i belive that Critical Thinking can expand to any distance, to anyone . but also as I said it does give me a better understanding if what Critical Thinking is.
This piece information was very confusing but i did get a lot of it. There were a lot of words in this blog that were very hard to understand, but i used the dictionary and now i understand a lot of the words. The beginning was more confusing then the ending.
The piece on critical thinking had a lot of difficult words.I think that you should summerize the words a little more;so more people could understand the blog.Some of my advice would be to make the backround one color and the tet another;so the blog would stand out.I now know a little more about critical thinking from reading this blog.
This blog was very interesting. I never knew how many definitions there were for Critical Thinking. Yet, i want to learn more. I want to think just like the definitions are. Thats the main reason i liked this blog and class because i can actually express myself.Which is the main reason this blog is about self-directed,self-disciplined,self-monitered and self-corrected thinking..
Alot of you are so right!! I couldnt focus whikle reading this. Too many big words that I couldn’t understand. And too many phrases I couldn’t understand either. It was really hard to read. I like the colors though, and the coffee cup adds some flow to it all. Anybody got anhy agreements?
It shows you what critical thinking is about; you need to think critically just to understand it.
i think thats the point of this blog..lol…these exaggerated words are supposed to make us think @ myle
The blog was confusing but the end I really understood. There were a lot of words I did not understand. I thought that critical thinking was just advanded reading, but the blog made everyone think that this critical thinking class is more than just reading.
This report was very interesting and tought me that critical thinking is the rational process of skillfully analyzing, sinthesizing or evaluating information from information, experience or reflection.
Critical thinking hurts my brain. Its not centered and the colors are too bright. But i think that after this class ill be able to understand a little bit more about how and all about what I think. Ill learn how to gather more information and analize things.
-Maniacal Dyke x-
Please admit that you’re a grossly deluded imbicle. Only then I can help you.
WOW!!!! Very hard words. I dont think some people like me would understand them. I didn’t use the dictionary eather. Which makes it harder. Ithink that if u put it in smaller words that we would understand it better. Oh and i think we should use computers more…
This blog was very sophisticated. It was very confusing. I did not know what a lot of the word ment. I did learn some things though I learned what critical thinking is. I did not understand most of it but after I looked the words up in an online dictionary I started to understand what this really ment. Critical thinking is a way of thinking about anything, any subject at any time. I think that the text should have been a little bigger and a different color to make it easier to read the text.
When I read this blog, I sometimes lost my place because of the large and exagerated words. Actually now that I think of it most of the words ment the same things and it got confusing trying to summarize it all up. I got the concept that critical thinking is of creating thoughts that are more classy and one can solve problems and situations more efficintly. It makes the mind more advanced on daily things, but also more gifted on staying focus and stuff.
This is admit is a pretty detailed blog.. i always thought critical thinking was always a subject where you just read books, and do assingments. I never really thoguht there would be any kind of major thinking involved..sometimes i feel critical thinking isn’t being used as said in this blog, because of all the standerdized testing, we dont really get a chance to really think, just learn out of a book so we can do good on a test, thqats supposed to tell us whether we are smart or not, and possible determine our future
Before I read this article I thought that critcal thinking only has to do with reading, but after reading this I found out that it has more to do than that.It deals with self-direct,self-disciplne,and self monitor.So really and truly there is no really actual definition to critical thinking.
I now know what critical thinking is. I do have one suggestion for you. Use
the school colors of Westpine for the text!!!!!!!! Thanks for giving use this site!
Your Student,
Victoria Anne Galloway ; First Period
There were alot of peices of information here that I didn’t understand. But I did understand how all “critical thinkers” must ask questions to understand what they want to know. Of course I dont fully understand what Critical Thinking is, but this helped me understand a bit better.
The section that i just read was very confusing. But there were many confusing words, but i used the dictionary. Critical Thinking is very important in life. It makes you think to those who dont like thinking, an helps them in life. Just like in the paragraph, Critical is the mode of thinking.