Critical Thinking Lecture Notes PDF

Pharos University Faculty of Engineering Basic Science Department Critical Thinking UEB 02_E LECTURE 02 CRITICAL THINKING STANDARDS Presented by Dr....

Pharos University Faculty of Engineering Basic Science Department Critical Thinking UEB 02_E LECTURE 02 CRITICAL THINKING STANDARDS Presented by Dr. Ahmed Hamouda Abdeen PhD in Construction Engineering and Management  Critical Thinking  INTRODUCTION In college, the emphasis is on fostering “higher-order thinking”: the active, intelligent evaluation of ideas and information. This doesn’t mean that factual information and rote learning are ignored in college. But it is not the main goal of a college education to teach students what to think. The main goal is to teach students how to think — that is, how to become independent, self-directed thinkers and learners. 2  Critical Thinking Do You Agree With This Statement? “Some people study all their life and at their death they have learned everything except to THINK” – Francois Domergue WHY? 3  Critical Thinking Why does PUA have this course? To help you improve your Thinking Skills HOW TO THINK! 4  Critical Thinking What is Thinking? Thinking is a purposeful, organized cognitive process that we use to make sense of our world. 5  Critical Thinking  Types of Thinking Critical Creative Thinking Thinking Problem Solving & Decision Making 6  Critical Thinking What is Critical Thinking?  Critical thinking is the general term given to a wide range of cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions needed to effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth claims; to discover and overcome personal preconceptions and biases; to formulate and present convincing reasons in support of conclusions; and to make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and what to do. 7  Critical Thinking What is Critical Thinking? A wide range of cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions To effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth claims To discover and overcome personal preconceptions and biases To present convincing reasons in support of conclusions To make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and 8 what to do  Critical Thinking  CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS Reasoning Problem Analyzing Solving Critical Thinking Skills Decision Evaluating Making 9  Critical Thinking  Critical Thinking Standards The most significant critical (intellectual) thinking standards:  Clarity.  Accuracy.  Precision.  Relevance  Consistency.  Logical Correctness.  Completeness.  Fairness. 10  Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Standards  Clarity. Could you express that point in another way? Could you give me an illustration? Could you give me an example? Clarity is the gateway standard 11  Critical Thinking  Clarity: Before we can effectively evaluate a person’s argument or claim, we need to understand clearly what he or she is saying. Unfortunately, that can be difficult because people often fail to express themselves clearly. To achieve our personal goals in life, we need a clear conception of our goals and priorities, a realistic grasp of our abilities, and a clear understanding of the problems and opportunities we face. Such self- understanding can be achieved only if we value and pursue clarity of thought. 12  Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Standards  Accuracy Is that really true? How could we check that? How could we find out if that is true? This chicken weighs over 300 pounds A statement can be clear but not accurate 13  Critical Thinking  Accuracy No matter how intelligent you may be, you’re almost guaranteed to make bad decisions if your decisions are based on false information. Critical thinkers don’t merely value the truth; they have a passion for accurate, timely information. 14  Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Standards  Precision Could you give more details? Could you be more specific? Yao Ming is Tall A statement can be both clear and accurate, but not precise 15  Critical Thinking  Precision: Everyone recognizes the importance of precision in specialized fields such as medicine, mathematics, architecture, and engineering. Critical thinkers also understand the importance of precise thinking in daily life. They understand that to cut through the confusions and uncertainties that surround many everyday problems and issues, it is often necessary to insist on precise answers to precise questions:  What exactly is the problem we’re facing?  What exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative? Only when we habitually seek such precision are we truly critical 16 thinkers.  Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Standards  Relevance How is that connected to the question? How does that bear on the issue? I studied hard all semester, therefore I should get A+. A statement can be clear, accurate, and precise, but not relevant to the question at issue. 17  Critical Thinking  Relevance Anyone who has ever sat through assembly can appreciate the importance of staying focused on relevant ideas and information. 18  Critical Thinking  Consistency It is easy to see why consistency is essential to critical thinking. Logic tells us that if a person holds inconsistent beliefs, at least one of those beliefs must be false. There are two kinds of inconsistency that we should avoid. One is logical inconsistency, which involves saying or believing inconsistent things (i.e., things that cannot both or all be true) about a particular matter. The other is practical inconsistency, which involves saying one thing and doing another. 19  Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Standards  Logic Correctness Does this really make sense? Does that follow from what you said? How does that follow? When the combination of thoughts are mutually supporting and make sense in combination, the thinking is "logical.“ 20  Critical Thinking  Logical Correctness To think critically we need accurate and well supported beliefs. But, just as important, we need to be able to reason from those beliefs to conclusions that logically follow from them. 21  Critical Thinking  Completeness In most contexts, we rightly prefer deep and complete thinking to shallow and superficial thinking. 22  Critical Thinking Critical Thinking Standards  Fairness Critical thinking demands that our thinking be fair.  Open-minded  Impartial  Free of distorting biases and preconceptions Fair-mindedness is an essential attribute of a Critical Thinker. 23  Critical Thinking  Fairness People are often strongly disposed to resist unfamiliar ideas, to prejudge issues, and to identify truth with their own self-interest or the interests of their nation or group. But as difficult as it may be to achieve, basic fairness is clearly an essential attribute of a critical thinker. 24  Critical Thinking  Good Thinking is…  CLEAR……….....rather than........UNCLEAR  ACCURATE…....rather than…….INACCURATE  PRECISE……....rather than…….VAGUE  RELEVANT…….rather than…….IRELEVANT  CONSISTENT….rather than……INCONSISTENT  LOGICAL……….rather than……ILLOGICAL  COMPLETE……rather than……INCOMPLETE  FAIR…………….rather than…....BIASED 25 Critical Thinking 26  Critical Thinking  The Benefits of Critical Thinking  It can help students do better by improving their ability to understand, construct, and criticize arguments.  It can help people succeed in their careers by improving their ability to solve problems, think creatively, and communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.  It can also reduce the likelihood of making serious mistakes in important personal decisions.  promote democratic processes by improving the quality of public decision making. 27  Critical Thinking  The Benefits of Critical Thinking  Liberate individuals by freeing them from the unexamined assumptions, dogmas, and prejudices of their society. 28  Critical Thinking  EXERCISE 1. Break into groups of five. 2. Have you ever known a person who strongly modeled the critical thinking standards discussed in this section? 3. If so, how did he or she do that? 29 30