Defining Critical Thinking

DEFINING CRITICAL THINKING
10.1

Helping students become critical thinkers is the main purpose of college education, and most colleges will measure whether students actually improve their critical thinking abilities by the end of the first or second year. If you transfer to a four-year college or university after completing your associate’s degree, your professors will assume that you have learned and practiced some critical thinking skills. Similarly, employers look for applicants who have such thinking skills; they consider these abilities to be the most important skills employees can have. Yet figuring out exactly what the term critical thinking means is often a challenge for students and instructors alike.

Let’s start with what critical thinking is not. By critical, we do not mean “negative” or “harsh.” Rather, the word critical refers to thoughtful attention to the information, ideas, and arguments that you hear or read. In essence, critical thinking is a search for truth that requires asking questions, considering multiple points of view, and drawing conclusions supported by evidence. Experts in critical thinking believe that much of our thinking, by itself, is biased, one-sided, incomplete, uninformed, or prejudiced.

Yet both the quality of our life and the quality of what we produce, make, or build depends exactly on the quality of our thoughts. You probably know people who simply follow authority without asking questions. They typically do not think for themselves and depend on others to think for them. More troubling, they might assume that what they believe is true simply because they wish it, hope it, or feel it to be true. You might also know people who like things simply because they are popular, and still others whose beliefs may also be based on what they heard growing up without ever examining the ideas. As you might have noticed, such people tend not to have much control over their lives or any real power in business or society. Are you reminded of anyone you know whose thinking is either fuzzy or closed off? Have you ever followed a trend only because it was popular?

Critical thinkers are different. They examine problems, ask questions, suggest new answers that challenge the existing situation, discover new information, question authorities and traditional beliefs, make independent judgments, and develop creative solutions. When employers say they want workers who can find reliable information, analyze it, organize it, draw conclusions from it, and present it convincingly to others, they are seeking employees who are good critical thinkers.

Whatever else you do in college, make it a point to develop and sharpen your critical thinking skills. You won’t become a great critical thinker overnight. With practice, however, you can learn how to tell if the information is truthful and accurate. Take any chance you get to practice in class, while reading, spending time online, working at your job, commuting to school, or talking with friends and loved ones. This practice will pay off. It will help you make better decisions, come up with fresh solutions to difficult problems, and communicate your ideas well.

YOUR TURN > DISCUSS IT

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In your opinion, why do some people rely on others to think for them rather than think for themselves?