why is critical thinking important

why is critical thinking important

The Importance of Critical Thinking

1. Introduction

– An attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one’s experiences. – Knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning. With critical thinking, one is most likely to identify and construct valid deductive arguments, as well as detect fallacious reasoning. – Some skill in applying those methods. This usually means that the person is able to perform these tasks in a way that is clear, precise, and correctly argued. – The ability to reflect upon one’s behavior and beliefs. In critical thinking, one attempts to evaluate and improve thinking, keeping in mind that the ultimate goal is to solve problems and make decisions.

We live in a knowledge-based society, and the more critical you think, the better knowledge you will have. Critical thinking provides you with the skills to analyze and evaluate information so that you are able to obtain the greatest amount of knowledge from it. It provides the best chance of making the correct decision and minimizes damages if a mistake does occur. The basic elements of critical thinking are as follows:

2. Benefits of Critical Thinking

There are several benefits resulting from critical thinking. The practice of the correct procedures of critical thinking can have a profound and lasting effect on one’s life. This practice involves the use of those modes of thinking which involve analyzing and evaluating the content of a given statement, process or a given problem. Another benefit is understanding that making active decisions is better than making passive ones. Critical thinking will also enable one to think creatively and not just accepting what they see or read.

Critical thinking involves reflecting on the validity of what you have read in light of our prior knowledge and understanding of the world. This helps the thinker to address the information from a different and possibly a new angle. It encourages the thinker to restructure and reframe his view of the problem that can lead to a solution.

The benefits of critical thinking come from defining the problem clearly and evaluating the evidence for and against the problem. Many mistake the differences and details of the elements, to take the most appropriate action. In every day, a person is faced with a problem and a decision that needs to be made. Critical thinking leads to developing the best action or decision and taking it. It is consistent and is not swayed by irrelevant personal and emotive side issues.

3. Real-Life Examples of Critical Thinking

Certainly, if you have a perfectly good reason for taking one course of action over another, then you do not need to be doing much hard thinking; exploratory thinking is triggered by surprise and/or confusion, which can often be seen in undesirable changes of current states. For instance, one could think about changing their career but this change may be too scary due to the fear that it may not work out well, hence they will most likely not complete the change. This is in terms of satisfying a condition, to have an end is to aim at something, in this case, an improved state in a career that one is unhappy with. Once the decision has been made, there then follows the practical thinking stage known as deliberation where one will plan how the job change is to take place. It might be shown that the career they want to get into is one hired by connections and further education, hence it can be reasoned to take a transitional job and part-time education. Medicine is an area dramatically influenced by scientific thinking. The techniques that are now known as the scientific method have become so habitual that many doctors practice them without realizing they are reasonable thinking activities. One such method of critical thinking is diagnosis. The doctor will gather information about a patient in order to attempt to identify a problem. This is often seen as a detective-like task and has sometimes been called a pattern recognition analysis. Once a diagnosis has been made, the doctor will plan a treatment. This too can be a problem-solving activity often involving decisions under uncertainty and including weighing up opportunity costs. Finally, a doctor will evaluate the treatment. Historically, there have been several key examples of critical thinking. For example, Socrates asked people questions to reveal their irrational thinking or lack of reliable knowledge. His method was a form of dialogue-based argument which he called dialectic (elenchos). His desire was to establish an objective understanding of what was held to be true. An example of this can be seen in Plato’s Euthyphro where Socrates debates with Euthyphro about the nature of piety. This is now known as the Euthyphro problem and is used as a question of a single principle.

4. Developing Critical Thinking Skills

“Most people believe that they are naturally ‘good thinkers’. They are people who have a positive thinking about situations and people and are able to be understood. However, people are taking in information all the time, whether it is good or bad that is dependent on the person. Our actions are determined by our thoughts, if we have a negative outlook, the decision we make will not always be what is best for us.” This is why it is extremely important to develop critical thinking skills. Without thinking critically, you may believe in incorrect information and therefore make decisions that are not good for you, without realizing. People who are subject to negative thoughts or emotions almost always take in information that is consistent with their mood. So an angry person will focus on information that appears to make things worse and an anxious person will be focusing on information that is uncertain in its meaning. This type of approach in thinking is illogical but it occurs. The following information is a guided approach to thinking and generating a state of mind that is inclined with logic rather than emotion. It is a generation of awareness of thought and the process involved in thinking. The information also provides a guide to implementing the Socratic method. This is a series of questions which can be used on a specific thought or general problem to take the thinker to a solution. Finally, there are techniques from Cognitive Behavior Therapy to change thinking styles, they may be applied in a variety of situations.

5. Conclusion

The consideration and selection of the best tool to use relating to each of the intellectual tasks of critical thinking is something which is no less complex than the judgments we are attempting to make. This is why the ability to think critically is something which must be learned if it is to be more than an intrinsic instinct and why a vast number of tertiary education establishments have included it as a learning objective. For new critical thinkers who are students of a particular discipline, this learning will be most effective if the tools of critical thinking are learned in relation to their chosen discipline.

We have seen from this discussion that thinking critically in academic work involves using complex judgments and choices to determine the merit of claims on what to believe and what to do. These judgments are made with the intent of solving a problem and can only be successful if the phase of understanding has been rigorous. In making these complex choices, critical thinkers use a variety of intellectual tools. These include recreation strategies to identify and remove barriers to understanding, deciding where to target their “believing” at the judging phase, and a variety of tools to help with the evaluative judging phase.

Unfortunately, the recreation strategy is something which cannot be used as a set of mechanical instructions. Critical thinking and recreation of understanding is something which happens inside our heads. This does not mean that there are no strategies available to help us but rather that matching the right strategy to the task involves careful reflection and added experience.

When you have reached your conclusion, there may be things remaining unclear. If this is because you have not done the work or because the topic is new to you, then this is nothing to worry about. What you will need to do is to go back over the material and reassess the ideas before trying the exercise again. If the reason for finding the conclusion difficult is because you feel there is too much information to consider, then it would be a good idea to repeat the exercise later when the ideas have been absorbed.