critical thinking meaning

critical thinking meaning

The Importance of Critical Thinking

1. Introduction

The importance of critical thinking has surged over the last decade and has been the focus point of many educational and business ventures. Divergent modes of thinking – that is creativity and decision making, as well as the ones mentioned previously – have been specified as those to be developed in the future in order to meet the demands of 21st century learning. Supporting and teaching a critical thought process can come at odds with tradition as well as the views of those who hold power in institutions, but regardless of its difficulty it’s a task that must be undertaken if we’re to produce a new generation of learners who are up to the challenge of living in a complex, ever-evolving global environment. In this essay, the main topics of discussion will be: the concept of critical thinking, the importance of critical thinking, and the benefits of critical thinking and how it can be applied in different fields. It will also delve into the necessity of imparting critical thinking skills to our students and how it can help in ensuring their future and the future of the global environment.

2. Benefits of Critical Thinking

Usually, a person who uses critical thinking to resolve certain issues uses an analytic mode of thinking. This person often seeks and evaluates information or evidence before coming to a conclusion. By thinking analytically, it will indirectly improve our brainstorming skills. The person who evaluates the probability of something based on certain conditions tends to think about probability from many perspectives. By brainstorming before making a decision, it will help us find alternative solutions for certain issues and choose the best decision based on the advantages and disadvantages of the decision itself. This brainstorming and decision-making skill will be easier if we make a habit of thinking analytically.

There are many benefits that we can gain by becoming a critical thinker. According to the article “Critical Thinking Development: A Stage Theory” by Linda Paul and Richard Elder, there are six stages of critical thinking development: unreflective thinker, challenged thinker, beginning thinker, practicing thinker, advanced thinker, and master thinker. Each stage has a more sophisticated level of thinking, and different levels of thinking have different implications in terms of answering certain issues.

Critical thinking is a term for thinking deeply and critically, where we gather information from experience, reflection, and evidence to reach an answer or conclusion. In doing so, our beliefs, which are conclusions upon certain issues, will be based on sound reason and logic, as critical thinking evaluates the issue from many perspectives.

3. Developing Critical Thinking Skills

Critical thinking is an ideal way of thinking, since it enables one to think independently. It brings forth the best way of understanding and uses it to solve problems and answer questions. Not only does it force a person to think, but it also can take the thinker out of his comfort zone. This is a way to improve a person personally, as well as an effective way to understand situations. But critical thinking cannot begin without an important element. This is the development of thought process, which is an exercise designed to train skills. This is repetition, and without it, critical thinking cannot exist. All thought is repeated exercising an idea comes easily, but any idea can be implanted into the brain through this process. This is the only way to train it, just like how an athlete trains a specific skill until it starts to become natural. This exercise involves someone recognizing the need for a change in their thinking and the will to begin. This is shown through an internal debate on a particular issue, weighing up the evidence and arguments from both sides with a thoughtful conclusion. This in itself can be difficult, and with no immediate solution can be frustrating. It will require patience and discipline, and an awareness of the extent of one’s own knowledge on the selected issue.

4. Applying Critical Thinking in Everyday Life

Critical thinking is being used in everyday life. It often is used in problem-solving situations and can be helpful with making organized decisions. An individual using critical thinking in their daily life will benefit in both their personal and professional lives. A good example of a professional in the healthcare industry using critical thinking is a doctor. A doctor that uses critical thinking will be more likely to make a correct diagnosis. A doctor who lacks critical thinking skills will find it more difficult to make their diagnosis because they will not think about what has actually caused the patient’s illness. In a worst-case scenario where a doctor makes an incorrect diagnosis, this could be fatal to the patient. This could be caused by the doctor failing to critically think about what exactly is wrong with the patient. Instead of accurately diagnosing the patient, the doctor will make an assumption. At this point, the doctor has now acquired the mindset that the patient has this particular illness. This will lead to the doctor using the trial and error method to treat the patient. This is not an effective way of solving the problem and will often result in making the patient even sicker. A doctor using critical thinking to solve this problem would identify exactly what the problem is. He would ask himself what caused this illness to occur and what is the best solution to solve it. With critical thinking being a valued skill, it is unlikely to be put towards the wrong diagnosis. Using critical thinking to solve these problems results in higher quality decisions and can lead to profitable outcomes. An individual is using critical thinking when he relies on evidence and solid facts to make decisions. He does so by evaluating an issue or a problem, considering alternatives and solutions, and by being aware of his own assumptions and biases. If an individual is thinking critically, he will be open-minded and proactive in finding all possible options before making a decision. He will be reflective in planning and evaluation processes, to make sure that it is effective. The first step that needs to be taken to apply critical thinking to a problem is to be open-minded about the problem at hand. An individual must be aware of what his or her personal bias is on the issue being thought upon. This is to avoid making decisions that are based on personal feelings rather than facts. The reason is that your goal in solving the issue is to make the best possible decision. If you have personal bias on the issue, try and separate your personal bias from the actual problem. Ask yourself whether your personal bias is interfering with your ability to think critically and whether or not it is aiding in a positive outcome. By doing this, you are ensuring the first stage of the critical thinking process is taking place. This can be achieved through asking open-ended questions on the issue. Open-ended questions encourage the making of assumptions as there will be many different opinions on the issue. This will result in the collection of information to inform the decision.

5. Conclusion

In the real world, critical thinking is considered to be essential for anyone. However, it is uncertain that everyone possesses that skill. In that sense, what MasterClass stated, “Critical thinking helps to streamline decision-making essentially through a process of elimination; by critically evaluating all options, you are more likely to come to the best conclusion in the given circumstance,” emphasizes on the importance of the mentioned skill in the daily basis. As no one can predict what will happen in the future, making a secure decision is what everyone aims for. By the decision is being supported by critical thinking process, it is most likely that one can avoid any possible uncertainties since the decision was based on a careful though and eliminative process. Not only in personal life, the decision-making process also applies in plenty of occupations which greatly benefits from such activity. In the world of research, critical thinking is capable of making a more solid evidence since the process help to eliminate flaws within the research itself. It also can create a safer product in engineering and other broad array of industries, as critically examined products tend to be safer and of higher quality compared to other products. The safety and the quality of the product is assured since the process of critical thinking asks for a continuous inspection on the product by considering every possibilities that might happens from the product itself. An excellent example might happen at the Apollo Space Project.rophe NASA, in which due to a given concern that the ball-point pens would not work in zero gravity, spent years and millions of dollars to develop a pen that would work in space. The Russians also used pencils and grease markers in space, as their unreliability posed a possible threat to the cosmonauts. In comparison to this event, a method using critical thinking process will eliminate the concern itself and thus would conclude that the use of pencil and grease markers is much simpler and cheaper with almost the same effectiveness than the pen itself.