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
Ummm….Mr. Moshe, some of the words i couldn’t find in three dictionaries. it hink i spelled them wrong but when i looked at your blog thing i didn’t spell them wron. I thought the book was good for the 15 pages i read atleat. It didn’t go anything like the movie, which i thought was strange cause it went by chapters, you know?
I like the movie so far I thought that is was funny and interesting. I think that the movie will get better and I cannot wait to watch more. I am excited to read the book. I wonder why the bullies are so mean. I wonder what happened to hunkers parents?
In that movie on thursday I am wondering how old that bridge is, what color is it, why is he called the mighty, why is he under his bed, why cant he read, why is that guy cripled, why was he throwing popcorn, why is it called the doghouse gang, why does mighty always get in trouble with freak?? what does hunker mean?
I really like the movie so far. It is very interesting . I felt bad for kevin the cripled 1. But i am looking forward to reading the book.
– Amanda
The part of the movie we watched, I think, was very good. For some reason I really wanted to know more about Max’s parents. And I wanted to know what happened in Blade’s life to make him such a bully. I also think the way Freak stands up to the bullies isn’t really what he should be doing because stuff he says might get Max into trouble.
I like the movie the Mightey but, i’ll have to read the book to see if it’s like the movie. I think it’s good for that big kid to help out the little kid whoose disabled and to be his legs all though he has legs he can’t really run fast. Our we going to finsh the movie?
I really like the movie. So far it’s interesting that two kids who are totally different can get along so well. Also those mean kids (max and the doghouse boys) are crazy what kinds of kids do those things. I learned max is shy which is kind of hard to belive because he’s so tall and big. Plus kevin is small but has a big mouth and is not afraid to speak up. It’s really not fair that Mr. Moshe stopped the movie when the good part was going to happen.
i think that the movie is good so far. i find it funny how Freak is so small and he has such a big mouth and how Max is so big and he’s so shy. and what kind of name is Freak. what’s his real name anyway, did they once mention his real name. and in the introduction i saw that one of the actors was called Meat Loaf. what kind of name is that. Imagine being called Meat Loaf your whole life. thats embarrasing! i think i would change my name. and in the beginning when they were showing the names of the actors and the music was playing in the background. the music made me sleepy, it was so peaceful. speaking of sleep, in the movie when Freak said that you lose braincells when you sleep, is that true? Freak is so annoying though. every morning he wakes max up. he couldnt be my best friend, i need to sleep in on the weekends and i dont want someone waking me up in the middle of the night to get a purse out of the sewer.
I like the movie a lot so far. Its very cool how two totally different people can have such a bond in a way that one is the brain and the other is the body. you can tell freak really likes King Arthur and His knights because he constantly quotes from the book and he takes it upon himself to help others, like King Arthur.
The setting looks like New York. But there isn’t any nuclear plant, that i know of. I can see the disappointment on gramp’s face, why? Kevin is Max’s tutor. He asked Max to feel the story, but he did not. I notice at some part of the movie, there are mix of the Middle Ages music and drum beats. Which connect the two period of time, past and present. When the two “freaks” linked, made the movie a bit fictional. When Max and Kevin protected the woman from a man in the restaurant. How did the man get a vision of the mighty knight? And how can the purse woman know Max? The guy might be his dad, but the woman sure did not act like a mother.
This particular movie is very dramatic and incredibly amazing.
It delivers a great story.
I thought this movie was really good and I cant wait to read the book. As we were watching the movie we had to write down stuff we thought of. These are the questions I thought of…in the begining I wondered what’s the name of the bridge and how old it is, what city are they in, why is Max living with his grandparents,why is Kevin using cruches, how come Max failed twice, what happened to Max’s dad,and why was Max in the paper when he was little. The comments I thought of were that Blade and the doghouse boys were REALLY mean excpesialy for throughing a ball at Kevin (the cripeled kid), and the fact when ever Max got mad he got really strong. **I also wondered who Kevin was in reall life because he looked familure and it really botheres me that i dont know who he is! He kinda looks like the kid from Home Alone.
Some topics we could talkabout in class that has something to do with movie are trains and how they work,the picture with the pitchfork and the bullies in the movie.
lordison u seem reely smart in your comments no affense at all but u shood show that in reel life and you really do under stand this again i wasnt trying to b meen but u did a good job on the comments u r smart
so far i really like the movie and the passage even though i dont understand like many things. such as, what ever happend to max’s parents, was kevin dillon born that way, and i didnt get in the beginnig credits about the meatloaf guy.i really need answers to these questions so i can comprehend the story a little better
some things that make you wonder where is max’s dad. freak is really fond of the book The Mighty because he can relate to that to real life.
Okay now……I must say the movie was really interesting. I never really had to sit there and actually critically think about a movie..Yeah.. I would ask questions..but not like this. Well guys, this is what I was thinking about “The Mighty”.. As you can see, Max lives with his grandparents, so where are his mother and father? And for those of you who saw the part where he was returning the purse to the lady who supposudley knew max and his parents, thats the part where he would probably have mentioned to Kevin what happened. But its going to leave me thinking until I see the rest of the movie. Also I noticed that Kevin is upsessed with this King Aurthur book because hes always using his imagination with being knights and getting treasure and what not.
Also I noticed today someone said in class while watching the part when they went to get the purse from the sewer, “How come the DogHouse Gang always finds them?”..and im like “I know right”..but then when you “think” about it, the DogHouse Gang wasnt really looking for them because they had plans that night also to grab the purse from the sewer and kevin just wanted to get it before they do and return it to its rightful owner..
Last thing is how old is this movie because that boy who they call “Freak”
(Kevin) is from that movie “Home Alone” I think. Is that him?
This is the end of my comment…
this article was at times confusing. it told the breadth of critically thinking. it said that humans are not aoutomatically critical thinkers, you must train to always be a critical thinker. this artical has also brought back to my attention that not everyone thinks the same. we have very diverse ways of putting things. we also have very diverse ways of brainstorming.
it was a good movie but why does he call his grampa grim where is his mom and dad? what happened to his dad?
Kelsey im smarter than you,and you to Kristin
the movie was cool. I want to know about the nuclear power plant and when they were on the road with knights and horses. that made me think that there might be other characters that help out max and kevin. And that guy in the apartment seems weird, and i want to know more about him.
As I was watching the movie, I picked up on a couple facts. I picked them out and these are what they are. The part of the movie that I saw was about a boy names Max. He wasn’t too smart. One day when he was in the gym, the doghouse gang was with him & so was Kevin. The doghouse gang threw a ball at Kevin and he fell, and now he cant walk without crutches. Then, since Max isn’t too smart, he needs a tudor. His tudor turns out to be Kevin, which everyone calls “Freak”. Freak starts to teach Max how to read and soon they become close friends. One day, Max and Freak go to a fair & watch fireworks. Soon after that, the doghouse gang comes and bring a knife. They try to hurt “Freak”, however Max saves him. In the next part of the movie, which is called “Walking High Above The World”, Max and Kevin go on a journy. They find a womans purse with several $100 bills in it. The doghouse gang comes with bats and threatens to hit them with the bats if they dont give over the purse. Then Max throws the top of a sewer at the gang. They all run away and Max and Kevin go to return the purse to the owner. That is all I saw today in the movie. I really liked it. It was interesting.
Well, I asked 3 question so far. Which are Wheres Max’s dad? How did Max’s mom die? and How did Kevin get so smart? Also the first part of the film made so since to me. Why would they show bridge and the highway if they werent intended in the story??? I jsut thought of a question to ask, How did Max and Kevin learn to interact like they did. Like how Max was the legs and Kevin was his brain??
The part of the movie that I saw was very good, but I did come up with a couple of questions and comments of my own.
Were is the movie located?
Why does Max take the blame for blade when he threw the ball at Kevin?
Why do they worry about reterning the purse to the lady?
What happened to Kevin that made him crippled?
Who did Max’s father kill?, and why?
How did Max’s mother die?
What happened to Kevin’s dad?
I think there are to many odd chances in the movie, for example what are the odds that Kevin becomes max’s tutur? Also what are the chances the owner of the purse is marrie to is max’s dad’s old friend?
I don’t know why they put the bridge, power plant, or road if they don’t have anything to do with the story, yet. I felt sorry for Kevin when fell from being hit with the ball. The gang seems to be almost everywhere where Max and Kevin are. Like when they were getting the women’s purse. It’s wierd how the sort of made a body, with Kevin being the brains and Max being the muscle. I don’t know just how genius boy can know like everything about knights and midevel stuff.I wonder were Kevin’s and Max’s dads are and why they were left. Without Kevin, Max wouldn’t have learned as many lessons as he did.
Oh hi again, 😀
The story about freak was interesting, with the little kid becoming Max’s brain and stuff like that. The music, thats the big thing. Freak is very interested in King Arthur, like when he said “Get ye hands of her you nave”.:-)
Today in class while we where watching the mighty i had some questions so i wrote them down here some of them go how does the title apply to the story?what is the place with the smoke called?what does king author have to do with the story?Why are his grand parents mad that they have him? why are those boys so mean to max and his friend? why dose he have a knife?how did he get that knife did he steal it?
critical thinking is anything you have to think hard about . that is what i think it it means because i didnt understandmost of the blog
While I was watching this movie I came up all of these questions. But the main one was whydo they use the beat to the King Arthur Movie? I began to think about it and it suddenly showed up right in my face that it went along with the freak.He was so interested in King Arthur.
Brittney Sealy… what? Was that… english… or… some weird form of it? 0.o
Critical thinking is about asking yourself questions that don’t need to be answered right away. Critical think is just about asking questions and think about them and try to answer them yourself in any way.
WHERE DOES THE IGHTY TAKE PLACE? BLADE AND HIS CREW ARE SOOOO MEAN. THE SONGS IN THE MOVIE HAD A NICE BEAT. THE LADY WHO GOT ROBBED IS O SOME KIND OF DRUGS.MAX HAS A DEEP VOICE. WHEN BLADE WAS CHASSING MAX & FREA DID YOU KNOWTHATTHEY WERE IN SINKING SAND? THE LADY ON DRUGS IS RICH! THE CLOWN AND THE OTHER ANIMALS WERE FUNNY. HAHAHAHA
I thought the blog was somewhat confusing. Some of the words I didn’t know, but once I looked them up I knew what they meant. I now have a better understanding of critical thinking after I read the blog.
However, I still don’t really know what the word ” pragmatical ” mean. The definition I found was :
” of or pertaining to a practical point of view or practical considerations. ”
If someone could explain “pragmatical ” to me in a way that I can understand, I’d appreciate it.
I reread the critical thinking blog again,(Look at the time of this post.) and it seems easier to understand at night when not a lot of things are going on in my mind. Though I still don’t understand a lot of the words, in which i will look up sooner or later, it makes more sense now.
I looked it up. 😀 Aren’t I smart with my pocket dictionary?
Umm… I don’t remember not knowing any other word… as I said in my first post… I read alot… so… this wasn’t too hard. After all, I scored a 99% on the reading FCAT. Sorry…. I’m boasting…. and digressing. Wait… can I say “digressing?” Am I able to put an “ing” on the end? I don’t know… I’ll just say: I digress… I do that often.
Yes, Amanda, you are now offically off topic. Did you look at my post with that word on it or did you look up the word?
I.. don’t… remember.
Wait! It was anthropological… but I know now. I looked at the screen like it was an alien or something when I saw it. Hee hee… just kidding. I had seen it before but I had never bothered to look it up. But now I did. 😀
I am offically going off topic. 🙂 I am sorry.
Amanda, will you stop picking on people? Wait what am I talking about? ANYWAY what was the word you didn’t know?
Now now Amanda don’t pick on Logan. Just because he didn’t know what Fairmindedness meant doesn’t mean you can pick on him.
So shoddy means inferior? Ok. Thanks, Amanda. 😀
WAIT! Are you sure the word wasn’t shoddy? I found shoddy- inferior
Maybe that was it 😀 I’m too lazy to look into the text right now. 🙂
Well… I had a dictionary right next to me on the desk… I come prepared. 😀
But I’m, surprisingly, a little uncertain about the true meaning of critical thinking. Actually, one side of me says I’m pretty sure about my conclusions… and another part of me… nope. 😀
Hey, Amanda! I think I spelled it right but I’m not for sure. Thanks for trying to look it up though. =)
Thanks to Sean we all know what anthropolgical means, so thank you Sean. Sorry that it took me a while but i looked up the others.
Exemplary – worthy of imitation
Empirical – relying upon or gained from experiment or observation.
Pragmatically – concerned with causes and effects or needs and results rather than ideas or theories.
I couldn’t find Shoody so if anyone knows what that means can you please tell me? Thanks. If the defintion of these words are not correct then you can ignore them.
I knew most of the harder words but it was still really hard to understand it because there were so manyof them.
Before i read this blog i thought i was very sure what critical thinking was but i learned that its not just about reading its actually thinking about something that you have seen or read.There where some words that confused me like synthesizing,and conceptualizing.
sorry for taking up the space
yo but stiil the one word that i thought was really heard anthropolgical which means the study of human kind was no part of critical thinking
I now know critical thinking is not only that, it is also so much more, like being self-disiplined.
This piece of information was easy to understand but the one thing that made me slow down in trying to read it are those very long and hard to understand words but i did look them up even though after i looked them up i still didnt quite understand about two of them.
All of the things this article said were true and they helped me better understand this subject. at first when i saw this on my schedule i thought it was very different from what it really is but know that i read this i sort of get hat it’s about im still a little confused about it but not as much. Anda piece of advise that i think everyone wants that i do to is for you to next time please put it into simple words that regular students like all of us would actually understand.