What is Critical Thinking?
CRT/205 What is Critical Thinking?
Steven Bradley
Student
University of Phoenix
Since critical thinking begins with assumptions we must first be aware of the assumption, then make the assumption and finally assess it. Critical thinking is how a person assesses the reasons for or against a decision being made so the assumption is neither good nor bad until fully assessed. Critical thinking is also done by being completely unbiased. This can be hard sometimes due to our emotions. Our emotions make up who we are which can sometimes cause barriers when making a critical decision. So the trick is to not ignore or deny our emotions but learn how to manage and handle them. In order to manage our emotions we may need to argue with ourselves or others whether or not something is true or not. An argument will allow the issue to be assessed along with the reasons of why or why not a decision is valid. The argument will also lead to one or more conclusions in determining what the final decision should be. The ultimate objective in thinking critically is to come to conclusions that are correct and to make decisions that are wise. (Critical thinking (10th ed.) (Moore & Parker). So to me critical thinking is not ill formed decisions but decisions that have been thought through and weighed to come up with the best conclusion. It usually isn’t our first thought that comes to mind. You have to critically think about the conclusions you are trying to come to without being biased in the process, which as I said can be difficult because we all have emotions.
Citations
Critical thinking (10th ed.) (Moore & Parker) Pg. 4
Steven Bradley
Student
University of Phoenix
Since critical thinking begins with assumptions we must first be aware of the assumption, then make the assumption and finally assess it. Critical thinking is how a person assesses the reasons for or against a decision being made so the assumption is neither good nor bad until fully assessed. Critical thinking is also done by being completely unbiased. This can be hard sometimes due to our emotions. Our emotions make up who we are which can sometimes cause barriers when making a critical decision. So the trick is to not ignore or deny our emotions but learn how to manage and handle them. In order to manage our emotions we may need to argue with ourselves or others whether or not something is true or not. An argument will allow the issue to be assessed along with the reasons of why or why not a decision is valid. The argument will also lead to one or more conclusions in determining what the final decision should be. The ultimate objective in thinking critically is to come to conclusions that are correct and to make decisions that are wise. (Critical thinking (10th ed.) (Moore & Parker). So to me critical thinking is not ill formed decisions but decisions that have been thought through and weighed to come up with the best conclusion. It usually isn’t our first thought that comes to mind. You have to critically think about the conclusions you are trying to come to without being biased in the process, which as I said can be difficult because we all have emotions.
Citations
Critical thinking (10th ed.) (Moore & Parker) Pg. 4
Citations: Critical thinking (10th ed.) (Moore & Parker) Pg. 4