An Introduction to Critical Thinking

An Introduction to Critical Thinking

An Introduction to Critical Thinking

Damian Gordon

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What is Critical Thinking?

First you...

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What are some of the dangers associated with DHMO?

Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities. Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage. Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects. DHMO is a major component of acid rain. Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns. Contributes to soil erosion. Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals. Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.

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John Dewey

Born Oct 20, 1859 Died June 1, 1952 Born in Burlington, VermontPhilosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer Very influential to education and social reform

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John Dewey

Reflective Thinking1909

...an active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge, of the grounds that support that knowledge, and the further conclusions to which that knowledge leads.

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John Dewey

Reflective Thinking1909

...an active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge, of the grounds that support that knowledge, and the further conclusions to which that knowledge leads.

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Edward Glaser

Critical Thinking1941

Involves three things: 1. An attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one's experiences,2. Knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning,3. Some skill in applying those methods.

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Robert Ennis

Critical Thinking1989

Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do.

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Richard Paul

Critical Thinking1993

Critical thinking is that mode of thinking about any subject, content, or problem in which the thinker improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them.

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Margaret Lloyd and Nan Bahr (2010)

Critical Thinking"a constellation of cognitive skills""willingness to consider interpretations of data or experience that may conflict with one's own preferred world view""an orientation to learning"

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But...

Regrettably Critical Thinking is another concept whose value is diminished by terminological disarray (Gabannesch, 2006,)AndBarnett (2004) noted that critical thinking is a defining concept of the Western university. Almost everyone is in favor of critical thinking, but we have no proper account of it

How do we mark fairly if we cant define?

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Critical Thinking: Abilities

to recognize problems, to find workable means for meeting those problems,to gather and marshal pertinent information, to recognize unstated assumptions and values, to comprehend and use language with accuracy, clarity, and discrimination, to interpret data, to appraise evidence and evaluate arguments, to recognize the existence (or non-existence) of logical relationships between propositions, to draw warranted conclusions and generalizations, to put to test the conclusions and generalizations at which one arrives, to reconstruct one's patterns of beliefs on the basis of wider experience, and to render accurate judgments about specific things and qualities in everyday life.

(Glaser, 1941)

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The Six Thinking Hats

White Hat

FOCUS

Information & DataNeutral and objectiveChecked and believed factsMissing information & Where to source it

Blue Hat

Managing the ThinkingSetting the focusMaking summariesOverviews & conclusionsAction Plans

Black Hat

Why it may not workCautions * DangersProblems * FaultsLogical reasons must be given

Yellow Hat

Why it may workValues * Benefits(both known and potential)Logical reasons must be given

Green Hat

Creative ThinkingPossibilities * AlternativesNew Ideas * New ThinkingOvercome black hat issuesReinforce yellow hat issues

Red Hat

Feelings and IntuitionEmotions and hunchesNo reasons or justificationsAt this pointKeep it short

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Reasoning

People sometimes try to persuade us of a particular pointThis could be considered arguing the caseIt is important we understand what their reasoning is.

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Categories of Research Reasoning Deductive Reasoning

Going from the general to the specificE.g.1. All men are mortal. (premise)2. Socrates was a man. (premise)3. Socrates was mortal. (conclusion)

Thus, the conclusion follows necessarily from the premises and inferences. In this way, it is supposed to be a definitive proof of the truth of the claim

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Categories of Research Reasoning Inductive Reasoning

Going from the specific to the generale.g.1. Socrates was Greek. (premise)2. Most Greeks eat fish. (premise)3. Socrates ate fish. (conclusion)

An inductive argument is one in which the premises are supposed to support the conclusion in such a way that if the premises are true, it is probable that the conclusion would be true.

BUT WE WILL RECALL...

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Categories of Research Reasoning Inductive Reasoning

General statements (theories) have to be based on empirical observations, which are subsequently generalized into statements which can either be regarded as true or probably true.The classical example goes from a series of observations:Swan no. 1 was white, Swan no. 2 was white, Swan no. 3 was white,

to the general statement: All swans are white.

Proof by Induction

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Reasoning

Lets look at an example...

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Reasoning

A student made the following complaint to me:

I spent two days working on your assignment, I read all of your notes and memorized everything we were told, and did a good job of reciting it back to you in the assignment, and I only got a C, come on. So after doing all that work I think I should have done better, therefore I think the test was unfair.

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Reasoning

A student made the following complaint to me:

I spent two days working on your assignment, I read all of your notes and memorized everything we were told, and did a good job of reciting it back to you in the assignment, and I only got a C, come on. So after doing all that work I think I should have done better, therefore I think the test was unfair.

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Reasoning

Since Mary would not lie to her best friend, and Mary told me that I am indeed her best friend, I must really be Mary's best friend.

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Arguments

AnalysisWhat are the main conclusion(s)?What are the reasons?What is assumed?Clarify the meaning.EvaluationAre the reasons acceptable and credible?Does the reasoning support its conclusion(s)?Are there other relevant considerations to be considered?What is your overall evaluation?

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Credibility

You are going to buy a second-hand car, you know very little about cars, so you employ an AA mechanic to check the vehicle over, he tells you the car is in good condition and that it would be a good buy.

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Credibility

How acceptable are the claims?How certain is it claimed to be?Does the context of the claim influence its acceptability?Does it require research to decide?Is it widely known?How well does it fit in with other beliefs?Is it from a credible source?

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Credibility

Judging the sourceIs the person an expert?Were they an eye-witness?Is the reputation good?Might they have a vested interest?

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Profile of a Critical Thinker

Critical Thinking

Non-Critical Thinking

Epistemological Standpoint:

shades of gray - strives for depthinterdisciplinaryknowledge is openknowledge is intertwined with thinking

black and white - superficial leveluni- or adisciplinaryknowledge is closedknowledge is independent of thinking

Modes of Inquiry:

rational and consistentstrives to learnhowto thinkholistic/webbedoriginal/insightfulmultiple frames of reference

irrational and inconsistentstrives to learnwhatto thinkuni-disciplinary/linearrelies on second-hand informationone or very limited frames of reference

Concrete Strategies for Thinking:

suspends closureexplores/probesquestionsfair-mindedactivecollaborative/communalprecise language

strives for closuredogmatic/avoidingdoubtingego-/ethnocentric/emotionalpassiveauthoritativevague language

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Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives

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The Problem of Bias

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Planarian worms

McConnell, J. V. (1962) Memory transfer through Cannibalism in Planarium, J. Neuropsychiat. 3 suppl 1 542-548.Reports that when planarians conditioned to respond to a stimulus were ground up and fed to other planarians, the recipients learned to respond to the stimulus faster than a control group did. McConnell believed that this was evidence of a chemical basis for memory, which he identified as memory RNA. Although well publicized, his findings were not reproducible by other scientists.

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Potential IssuesIn natural conditions, these worms will react to light by elongating and to shock by contracting, in this experiment they were trained to contract in response to light and elongate when exposed to shock, thus not only were they being trained to run a maze but to do so in complete opposition to their instin