synonym for critical thinking

synonym for critical thinking

The Importance of Analytical Reasoning

1. Introduction

Analytical reasoning involves both the process of learning and the learned result. It is cheap at one end, but expensive at the other. Its business is the act of judging, and that again is a single act: but it is an act of comparative judgement. In that, and in that alone, does it employ the universal standard, the critical concept, the idea. A given material is not judged to be a hat or a dog or good or bad; for decisions of that sort it uses the principle of association of ideas and infers from some previous judgement. A material is judged to be more or less satisfactory for a given purpose, but the reasons of its satisfaction or failure are general qualities and relations, and therefore judgment about it employs the highest grade of universals. So far as they are sound, its conclusions are applicable to all similar materials; and it is of the nature of universal propositions that their validity is discovered by an inference from them. A man may judge rightly and yet not be able to explain why he is right; for although sound judgement possesses an intrinsic mark, the individual judgement is an event in time and it may have never generated its character in an explicit universal proposition. But the man who can give reasons is the man who can teach, the man who can propagate principles and do business in ideas.

2. Developing Analytical Skills

Translation of information to a problem-solving process: – Establishing exactly what a method is and storing this knowledge of how to apply it are two different things; it is likely that at times we have not fully understood a method and have still tried to apply it, leading to confusion with other methods. For something like a memoryless algorithm, it is useful to keep a simplified version of the problem in mind and have moments where we check its relevance to what we are doing. When trying to understand whether an equation has a solution, have a look at what failing to find a solution would imply. These are instances of the general pattern recognition skill that is problem dependence. After finishing an undergrad degree in a scientific subject, an improved understanding of a problem will be in no small part due to increased background knowledge. This must not be confused with the problem-specific knowledge that would be an instance of the method of attack. At this stage, it would be useful to write out problem-specific knowledge and a method using tree structures. A simple algorithm involving the maintenance of a solution at a given level and the backtracking when that solution is shown to be faulty can be represented by a tree where the nodes are instances of the problem and the solution is a connected sequence of moves to an end node. The fidelity of the model to the actual problem can be tested by seeing whether the backtracked solutions are actually what was intended. To clarify, any specific instance of a solution is only a sequence of methods; what is important is that we have modified the instance of the problem in reaching that solution.

Development of analytical skills: – At the beginning of our studies, when we have not yet developed good analytical skills, a lot of time is spent “reading” and understanding problems. Usually, we then find that in attempting to solve them, we have to start at the beginning and reread them in order to fully understand what is required. The root of the difficulty here lies in the fact that the problem-solving methods employed are not based on a clear understanding of the problem. One way round this sort of problem is to read the problem once and then attempt to reword it in our own language. Attempt to explain the problem as if teaching it to someone else. If it is a quantitative problem, the next step is to identify the type of answer that is required. The PhD psychologist (author’s spouse) suggests that for a problem-solving task, it might be useful to say out loud what is being attempted; pretending to explain the problem to an audience of attentive pets has not yet been evaluated as an effective strategy. The point is that often we know what a method is, yet fail to see how to apply it to a given problem – this is because the decision procedure to select the method is a skill in its own right. Now, we have a clear understanding of what is required in the way of an answer and are unlikely to have to reread the problem.

3. Applying Critical Thinking in Problem Solving

Problem solving involves following a series of steps from the problem to the solution. There are always a few ways to get to a solution, but to get there the right way demands critical thinking. It’s a great idea to have students stop and evaluate the process after each of the following steps: Define the problem, generate possible solutions, evaluate and select possible solutions, implement solutions, and finally assess the solutions. In getting students to think critically to solve problems, you must be very aware of the “comfort zone”. This would involve doing the same thing because it’s easy or it’s how it’s always been done. If there are new and better ways to do something, it involves change and the majority of people resist change. You can encourage students to consider other possibilities by using Socratic questioning. This is a mode of questioning that deeply probes the meaning, justification, or logical strength of a claim, an assumption, or a belief. The key to encouraging students to become critical thinkers (and fall in love with the subject) is helping them realize that they are about to put effort into something they love; finding the solution to a problem that they know will result in that awesome feeling of accomplishment.

4. Evaluating Arguments and Making Informed Decisions

Arguments can be very complex with long chains of interconnected reasoning. It might not always be clear whether one is being given reasons to believe something, is being persuaded to do something or accept something. Often people disguise the application of force or the desire to own up into the form of an argument. For example, a parent might want to discourage their child from getting a tattoo. But it could be awkward for them to directly instruct the child to not get one, so they might consistently remind the child how tattoos have permanent negative effects on job prospects and general social stigma.

This could be reconstructed into the form: You should get a haircut – it’s too long and untidy (premise) You don’t want to go around looking like a hippy (premise) Therefore, you should get a haircut (conclusion)

“You should get a haircut, it’s too long and untidy. You don’t want to go around looking like a hippy.”

An argument is a set of two or more claims, one of which is being claimed to be true (the conclusion) on the basis of the others (the premises). Consider the following example.

When people are pressed to make a decision, it is often because there is an important problem to be solved or a crucial decision to be made. Information and arguments will frequently be used to convince us to make one decision over another. How can a good decision be made if one is being rushed to a conclusion? How can one decide whether to accept or reject the advice one has been given? Critical thinking can help in evaluating arguments and in understanding and assessing the often complex and indirect reasoning which tries to persuade us.

5. Conclusion

Analytical reasoning is an important skill that has many applications. It marks a higher skill in critical thinking than simply ‘understanding’. It shows that you are capable of breaking down the complex and the abstract into something concrete. With the Information Revolution giving light to masses and masses of information, it has become an imperative that all individuals are capable of conducting analysis of this data. The use of the internet to gather and disseminate information has nearly outmoded the skill of reading, particularly reading comprehension. Now information is presented in multi-media formats, and is often heavily sensationalized. It is increasingly difficult to peel back the layers to see what lies beneath. This can usually lead to misunderstanding and bias. This is where analytical reasoning has a huge advantage. By going below the surface of a certain piece of information, it’s possible to avoid being manipulated by it. This is often called ‘seeing the big picture’. This meticulous analysis often must be conducted into many factors which are not clear at first glance. These can be anything from behavior of people, to understanding complex systems and theories. Many of the world’s most difficult problems like poverty or global warming require an acute understanding on many levels, only achievable through analytical reasoning.