SESSION TWO: UNDERSTANDING CRITICAL THINKING
Critical thinkers look at things quite differently from non-critical thinkers. When you look at how you approach life, ask questions, or express your curiosity about things, can you identify what method you are using?
In this session, you’ll define critical thinking, explore the characteristics of critical thinkers, and consider how to increase your capacity for critical thought.
What is Critical Thinking?
Defining Critical Thinking
According to the 21st Century Lexicon, critical thinking is, “the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.”
In other words, it’s about using a specific set of systems and tools to look at a problem, find several alternatives, and choose the best one.
In order to understand critical thinking, let’s compare it to non-critical thinking:
| Non-Critical Thinking… | Critical Thinking… |
| o Sees the world as black and white | o Accounts for shades of gray |
| o Is uninformed and indifferent | o Is informed and curious |
| o Is passive or aggressive | o Is assertive |
| o Is lazy | o Is active |
| o Looks at only the superficial aspects of a problem | o Looks deeply at a problem and its surrounding issues |
| o Is reactive | o Is proactive |
| o Is stubborn and rigid | o Is flexible |
| o Is closed-minded | o Is open-minded |
A Closer Look
Let’s look at a simple example. You’re working on a project with a team of co-workers. You are at lunch one day when one of them comes up to you in a complete panic and says, “I’ve heard that the CEO isn’t happy about our approach! If we don’t change course, we’ll all be fired soon!”
A non-critical thinker might accept this statement at face value and react. A critical thinker would look at the different parts of their co-worker’s statement and evaluate it objectively, considering both the statement’s correctness and relevance.
One of the key ideas behind critical thinking is logic. If your argument is logical, a reasonable person should be able to follow your line of thinking and reach the same conclusion – or at least see how you got there.
Let’s take an example. Suppose that I give you these two statements:
- All fruit is good for you.
- Apples are fruit.
What conclusion would you come to? Apples are good for you. Even if you disagree, you should be able to see where I got my conclusion. (A good critical thinker, however, would want to see some proof for those two statements!)
Glossary
When talking about critical thinking, we’re going to use some special terms. Let’s go over them right now.
| Term | Definition |
| Argument | The framework that a critical thinker uses to convince someone of a particular conclusion with evidence. |
| Conclusion | The position that a thinker takes on an issue. |
| Evidence | Facts or reasons that support a particular conclusion. |
| Issue | The statement or situation under evaluation. |
Common Critical Thinking Styles
There are some commonly accepted styles of critical thinkers. Unlike other style assessments, you may have one or more predominant styles. To become a better critical thinker, focus on strengthening your weak areas.
The Investigator
- Questions everything
- Very self-aware and honest
- Concerned about facts and figures
The Pilot
- Looks at the big picture and the future
- Good at guiding others through the issues
- Spends majority of time on planning
The Pioneer
- Good at looking at all sides of a problem and identifying the key issues
- Is very curious and adventurous
- Looks for new ideas and approaches to problems
The Learner
- Looks at things very carefully and meticulously
- Spends majority of time on research
- Concerned about doing things correctly and fixing problems
The Soldier
- Good at solving difficult problems
- Perseveres to get to the truth
- Willing to take on challenges