Critical Thinking

James J. Messina, Ph.D.

What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is thinking that is clear, precise, accurate, relevant, consistent, & fair

Critical thinking is how people approach Problems Questions Issues

The best way to get to the truth

Descriptors of Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, & self-corrective thinking that entails effective communication & problem-solving abilities

Critical thinking is a pervasive, purposeful, human phenomenon

Ideal critical thinkers are characterized by how they approach life & living in general

Approaches to life of good critical thinkers

Inquisitiveness about wide range of issues

Concern to become & stay well-informed Alertness to opportunities to use critical

thinking Self-confidence in their abilities to reason Open-mindedness about divergent world

views Flexibility in considering alternatives &

opinions

Approaches to life of good Critical Thinkers

Understanding the opinions of other people

Fair-mindedness in appraising reasoning Honesty in facing one’s own biases,

prejudices, stereotypes, egocentric, & ethnocentric tendencies

Prudence in suspending, making, & altering judgments

Willingness to reconsider & revise views Clarity in stating question or concern

Critical thinking approaches

Orderliness in working with complexity Diligence in seeking relevant

information Reasonableness in selecting & applying

criteria Care in focusing attention on the

concern at hand Persistence through difficulties Precision to the degree permitted by

subject & circumstances

Critical Thinking Requires Six Cognitive

Skills Interpretation Analysis Evaluation Inference Explanation Self-regulation

Affective Dispositions -- “a critical spirit”

Interpretation

Comprehend & express meaning or significance of wide variety of experiences, situations, data, events, judgments, conventions, beliefs, rules, procedures, or criteria

Analysis Identify the intended & actual inferential

relationships among statements, questions, concepts, descriptions, or other forms of representation intended to express belief, judgment, experiences, reasons, information, or opinion

Evaluation

Assess the credibility of statements or other representations which are accounts or descriptions of a person’s perception, experience, situation, judgment, belief, or opinion & to assess the logical strength of the actual or intended inferential relationships among statements, descriptions, questions, or other forms of representation

Inference

Identify & secure elements needed to draw reasonable conclusions; to form conjectures and hypotheses; to consider relevant information & to educe the consequences flowing from data, statements, principles, evidence, judgments, beliefs, opinions, concepts, descriptions, questions, or other forms of representation

Explanation

State the results of one’s reasoning; justify that reasoning in terms of evidential, conceptual, methodological & contextual considerations upon which one’s results were based & to present one’s reasoning in the form of cogent arguments.

Self-regulation Self-consciously to monitor one’s

cognitive activities, the elements used in those activities & the results educed, particularly by applying skills in analysis & evaluation to one’s own inferential judgments with a view toward questions, confirming, validation, or correcting either one’s reasoning or results.

Something else is needed

More to critical thinking than just cognitive skills

Human beings are more than just thinking machines

“The Critical Spirit”(affective dispositions)

A probing inquisitiveness A keenness of mind A zealous dedication to reason A hunger or eagerness for reliable

information

Why is critical thinking of value?

You can answer—why a value to you? What’s value of cognitive skills? What’s value of the critical spirit?

Would these mean more success at what you do?

Would it mean better grades for students?

Critical Thinking & Achievement

In a study of 1,100 college students Significant correlation between

Critical Thinking scores & college GPA

Critical thinking skills can be learned Significant correlation between critical

thinking & reading comprehension

Main Purpose of College Experience

Achievement of liberal (liberated) education. It’s about Learning to learn Learning to think for one’s self Leads away from naïve acceptance of

authority Leads above self-defeating relativism Beyond ambiguous contextualism

Culminates in principled, reflective judgment

What else? Critical thinking is fundamental, if not

essential for, “a rational & democratic” society Electorate Judiciary International commerce

Business & civic leaders maybe more interested in critical thinking than even educators

Necessary condition for the success of democratic institutions & free market society

A Critical Thinking Problem Solving Model

Problem Solving Content Issues

Description of Problem Factors: Constructive vs. Limiting Ownership Scope of Problem Consequence of Problem Alternative Solutions Rank Ordered Solutions

Process Issues in Problem Solving

Self-awareness of the problem solver

Motivation of the problem solver Decision making involved in

selecting solution by solver Execution of the solution

decided upon

Problem Solving Model

Components of Problem

S ensoryA ssessm ent Problem

Ins idePerspec tive

You asProblem solver

Rea l i tyT es ting

S izeM easurem ent

Visceral Components of the Problem

Size of Problem - costs, risks, losses Sensory Input

How’s it look? How’s it sound? How’s it taste? How’s its smell? How’s it feel?

Personal Components of the Problem

Inside perspective of problem solver of the problem

If on team --other members as problem solvers & their perspective

What Is Needed to Improve Problem Solving Process

Unconditional acceptance & non-judgmental attitude of fellow problem solvers

Respect for each participant’s input Freedom to openly express emotional

response to the problem & solutions Defined limits & boundaries on

problem solving process

Encouraging Creativity in Problem Solving

Create the desire to be creative--a person must want it

Expand Knowledge & skills of language by reading more to be creative thinker

It takes effort to create--genius is 1% inspiration & 99% perspiration--Edison

Ferment creativity--give it time Evaluate & validate creative ideas

Brainstorming Set a time frame to be completed Be clear what problem you are trying to

solve All ideas should be heard No idea is too wild to be expressed Quantity is wanted; each idea coming to

mind should be expressed Combining ideas for improvement is

highly desirable Criticism or negative discussion regarding

ideas is absolutely forbidden

Starbursting

Focuses on a topic & radiates outward with questions

Here anything goes Any questions are legitimate More the questions the better Begin by asking: “What are the

questions?”

Problem Solving through Intimate Engagement

Engager’s have a history of success with similar problems

Dismisser’s had history of failure with similar problems--captive of the past

Rather than dismiss, engage the problem intimately by getting into it

Be willing to take the time to deal with the problem

Problem Solving through Intimate Engagement

Engagement takes: Effort to deal with it Time to mull it over Looking at & not averting or

looking away

Rules of Engagement with Problems

Become sensitive to your own confusion with a problem

Do not permit yourself to be confused-do not tolerate confusion

Use visual imagery to remember facts Relate the information to people,

animals or situations Make your visualization vivid,

dynamic, interactive, & unusual

Reality Testing of Possible Solutions to Problem

Critical Path Analysis Decision Trees Force Field Analysis PMI Plus – Minus – Interesting SWOT Analysis – Strengths,

Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats

Critical Path Analysis Calculate length of time to complete project List all activities in plan by: start date,

duration, if parallel or sequential If dependent on what do they depend Graph it out, Plot tasks on graph Schedule Activities Critical path-longest sequence of dependent

activities that lead to completion of plan

Decision Trees Start with the decision which needs to be

made draw a box Draw to right possible solutions on lines At End of each line if result is uncertain

draw circle if other decision draw box From the other decisions draw lines for

options which can be taken Calculate decision which has greatest

worth to you and give it a value Estimate probability of each uncertainty

Force Field Analysis List all forces for change in one column List all forces against change in other Assign a score to each force 1 (weak) 5 (strong) Draw diagram showing forces for &

against and size of forces Helps weigh importance of factors as to if

pursue or not the plan

PMI- Plus/Minus/Interesting Plus Column: all positive points of

taking the action Negative Column: all negative

effects Interesting Column: extended

implications of taking action, whether positive or negative

Assign positive or negative scores

SWOT Analysis Strengths: advantages, what you do

well Weaknesses: could be improved,

done badly, should be avoided Opportunities: good chances,

interesting trends Threats: obstacles, competition, are

required specifications changing

Critical Thinking Concepts

What is Thinking? Let’s look at the Biological Psychological Communications Cognitive Descriptions of thinking – What do

you think?

Biology of Thinking

Stages of Development of the Thinking Process

Stages of Cognitive Development - Jean Piaget:

1. Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 years old - no thinking structures

2. Preoperational Stage: 2-7 years old - develop language skills cognitive structures – prelogical

Stages of Cognitive Development - Jean Piaget:

3. Concrete Operational Stage: 7 years to Adolescence - Begins to question life. Solves problems but haphazardly

4. Formal Operations Stage:  Adolescence and onward - capable of sophisticated logical thought. Can think both abstract & hypothetically and solve problems using the logic of combinations

Later Theorists have added Fifth Stage

Dialectical Reasoning - stage beyond logic where critical thinking lies. Ability to perceive the frequent paradoxes in life and question and analyze the assumptions that underlie logic. 

Being able to look at two sides of an argument or problem to get a broader, deeper, & more reasonable perspective on the issues being addressed

What Is Critical Thinking?

Becoming aware that assumptions exist Making assumptions explicit Assessing their accuracy of assumptions

Do these assumptions make sense? Do these assumptions fit reality as we

understand and live it? Under what conditions do these

assumptions seem to hold true? Under what conditions do they seem false?

Misconceptions about critical thinking

Negative process--tears down ideas & puts nothing in their place

Leads to relativistic freeze--inability to make commitments

Involves traumatic change--one is expected to abandon old assumptions continually

It is dispassionate & cold

rather positive process to put things in more realistic perspective

rather commitments are informed ones

rather: Some beliefs stay the same--simply more informed

rather: highly emotive & liberating to be free of past assumptions & anxiety of self-scrutiny

Why is critical thinking important?

All actions, decisions & judgments spring from assumptions - if unchecked make poor decisions & wrong judgments

In personal relationships learn to keep lines of communications open & avoid uncritically reproducing patterns of modeled interactions learned from parental interaction

In workplace avoid stagnation & atrophy - willing to challenge current paradigms uncritically accepted from time & thinking no longer relevant to current reality

Personal barriers to critical thinking

Enculturation Self-concept Ego defenses Self-serving biases Expectation Emotional influences Cognitive consistency Stress

What does “not thinking critically” look like?

Blindly reproducing damaging old learned reactions

Blindly accepting face value of all justifications of organizations & political leaders

Blindly believe TV commercials Blindly trust political commercials Blindly accept & say that “if the textbook says

it it must be so” Blindly accept & say that “if the organization

does it it must be right”

What Does Critical Thinking Look Like?

Contextual sensitivity - being sensitive to stereotypes about people of particular group & accept others at face value unconditionally

Perspective thinking - trying to get into other person's head, or walk in other’s shoes to see the world way that person sees it

Tolerance for ambiguity - ability to accept multiple interpretations of same situation

Alert to premature ultimatums – not invoke powerful concept inspires no further debate is forestalled. e.g. a politician invokes "democracy"

What Are the Major Concepts in Critical Thinking?

Perception Assumptions Emotion Language Argument Fallacy Logic Problem Solving

Perception

The way we receive & translate our experience

Also a significant filtering system How we perceive defines how we

think

Assumptions Central to Critical Thinking Implied, not conscious of them Not always bad Rest on notion some ideas are obvious Make us comfortable with present

beliefs & shut out alternatives Jack & Beanstalk – what makes a hero?

Emotion

“Leave emotion out of it!” is Impossible

Part of everything we do & think Personal barriers are a given Critical thinkers don’t ignore or deny

emotions--they accept & manage them

Language

Thinking can’t be separated from language

Three primary purposes of language: Inform Persuade Explain

Language denotes & connotes Metaphors

Persuasion Persuasion is manner by which we

attempt to convince others to "our way of thinking" about a subject therefore:

logic fallacious reasoning problem solving all involve persuasion

Language Forms Emotionally charged language--cognitive

vs emotional meanings Manipulative language: cons,

doublespeak, jargon & bureaucrats Emotional appeal--Advertising Rhetorical devices

slanting weasel words fine print disclaimers obfuscation

 

Argument Claim, used to persuade that something

is (or not) true or should (or not) be done Contains three basic elements

Issue One or more reasons (premises) One or more conclusions

Can be valid or invalid based on structure Only premises & conclusions true or false

Argument Goal of critical thinking is sound

arguments Valid (proper structure) With true premises

Sound argument has both: so the conclusion must be true

Therein the beauty and usefulness of logic

Breaking down arguments to figure out if valid or invalid

Antecedent Identify AntecedentIf…

Identify what is known …if not known then hypothesized

Consequent Identify ConsequentTherefore…Because…

Identify what is known…if not known then hypothesized

Syllogisms Used in Arguments

Structures of

Syllogisms

Antecedent

If…

ConsequentThen…

Valid Affirming (modus poens)

Denying  (modus tollens)

Invalid Denying Affirming

Structure of Two Parts of Syllogism Arguments

PART 1: If__________ then __________ Statement

General Facts Statement with explicit or implicit “If… Then…” clause.

The if…” Clause is the Antecedent The “then…” Clause is the

Consequent

Structure of Two Parts of Syllogism Arguments

Part 2: _________ “therefore” ________Statement Argument Statement with explicit or implicit

“therefore” statement What appears before the “therefore” is the lead

statement of the argument What follows the “therefore” is what is being

argued If the antecedent is the lead it must be affirmed

for argument to be valid If consequent is the lead it must be denied for

argument to be valid

Rules for Arguments If the argument leads with the Antecedent, it

must be affirmed for the argument to be valid

If the argument leads with the Consequent, it must be denied for the argument to be valid

If the argument leads with the Antecedent which is denied the argument is invalid

If the argument leads with the Consequent which is affirmed the argument is invalid

Goal in Restating Arguments Try to avoid absolute statements e.g.:

All, Always, Must, Should, Best, Highest…

Restate arguments with relative words and statements e.g.: Most, Usually, could, might, very good, very high …

Logic Two methods of reasoning Deductive

Facts, certainty, syllogisms, validity, truth of premisessound arguments & conclusions

Inductive Diverse facts, probability, generalizations,

hypotheses, analogiesinductive strength Logic problems

Deduction vs Induction Logic=Scientific Method

DEDUCTION Draw a conclusion

that follows know facts stated in premises

Relies on certainty based on connection of premises & conclusion

Valid Argument vs Sound Argument

INDUCTION Derives probable

conclusion from observation of diverse facts

Learning from experience

Argument by analogy

Hypothetical Reasoning

Problem Solving Logic problems like any problem Techniques:

Understand the problem. Read & heed ID unknowns & knowns Relationships between these (visual

aids) Generate strategy from step above Apply and solve. Repeat if necessary

Logic Problems The Premise – establishes the setting of

the problem, subjects, how subjects are related, number of subjects (4-10)

The Conditions- rules which impose specific restrictions upon relationship among subjects (2-10 conditions)

The Question-questions about relationship-require deductive analysis

Fallacy Reasoning that doesn’t meet criteria

for sound argument is fallacious Valid True premises Complete (all relevant information)

Fallacy is incorrect pattern of reasoning Does not always mean conclusion is

false Ads & editorials

5 Most Common Fallacies

Non Sequitur-irrelevant reason-premise no relationship to conclusion

Ad hominum-person’s character attacked to discredit arguer rather than argument

Post hoc ergo propter hoc-generalization-one event which follows was caused by 1st

Slippery slope-black & white-no gray or middle ground-argues against 1st step since eventually follow through to the last one

Appeal to Emotion-emotional appeals rather than logical reasons to persuade