Critical Thinking Lesson One

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Critical Thinking

• HUM 115
• Ray Sheppard

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Critical Thinking

• Lesson One

The Benefit and Manner of Asking The Right
Questions Chapter One Pages 1-17
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What is Critical Thinking

• The awareness of a set of interrelated critical
  questions.
• The ability to ask and answer critical questions
  at the appropriate times.
• The desire to actively use the critical
  questions.
• Thinking about thinking.

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How Does Critical Thinking Benefit Us

• We are able to react critically to what we
  hear/read.
• We are no longer spectators depended upon
  others.
• We become involved in our own thinking and
  learning.

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What is the goal of Critical Thinking

• The goal is NOT to tear down.
• The goal of Critical Thinking is to move the
  conversation forward.

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Types of Thinking

• Sponge Thinking
• Panning for Gold Thinking

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Types of Thinking

• Sponge Thinking
• Absorbing information without critical
  examination.
• Advantages
• The more you absorb the more you know.
• It is easy (passive) and requires little effort.
• Disadvantages
• No method of determining which information should
  be accepted.
• At the mercy of others.
• Not critical thinking.

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Types of Thinking

• Panning for Gold Thinking
• Developing a question-asking attitude.
• Takes time and can be challenging.
• Rewards are priceless.
• How does it work
• Questions the claims of others.
• Interact with the material they are learning.
• Critically evaluates material they are learning.
• Evaluates what is being said.
• After careful consideration coming to an educated
  decision.

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Types of Thinking

• Panning for Gold
• Pages 4 and 5.
• Use panning for gold method.
• Reading Assignment
• Moodle course page
• The Critical Mind is a Questioning Mind
• Becoming a Critic of Your Thinking

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The Myth of the Right Answer

• Panning for gold methodology works for almost any
  subject.
• Even topics you know little/nothing about.
• Why
• Cant learn all possible information.
• Simply cant know all the possible facts.
• Example
• The Social Sciences (Psychology Sociology).
• Should not prevent us from asking questions.
• Critical Thinking gives you the tools to develop
  the best and most reasonable answer based on the
  information you have.

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The Myth of the Right Answer

• Avoid
• Intellectual Arrogance
• Thinking we know more than we actually can/do.
• Practice
• Intellectual Humility
• Acknowledge what we do not know.
• Reading Assignment (See Moodle)
• Valuable Intellectual Traits
• Universal Intellectual Standards

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Weak Sense Strong Sense Thinking

• Critical Thinking can be used for one of two
  purposes
• Self-Centeredness (sophistry).
• Fair-Mindedness.

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Weak Sense Strong Sense Thinking

• Weak Sense Thinking
• Fails to recognize mistakes in their own
  reasoning and does not consider viewpoints that
  contradict their own.
• Uncritically defends current beliefs (positions).
• Also called Sophistry
• The art of winning an argument regardless of
  the problems that may exist in the reasoning
  being used or what information is being ignored.
• Sophists simply want to WIN the argument.
• Lower level reasoning skills used to make
  unreasonable thinking appear reasonable.

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Weak Sense Strong Sense Thinking
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Weak Sense Strong Sense Thinking

• Strong Sense Thinking
• Consistent in their pursuit of the fair and just.
• Strive to be ethical.
• Strives to behave in ways that do not exploit or
  harm others.
• Strive to think in a reasonable manner.
• Applies the critical questions to all truth
  claims.
• Critically examines their own beliefs.

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The Most Important Question

• Who Cares
• Is this particular issue or problem worth our
  time Our energy If not move on
• Under what circumstances do you think that youll
  care enough to devote energy to critical
  thinking
• Under what circumstances do you think you will
  not care enough to devote energy to critical
  thinking

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Critical Thinking and Values

• Thinking is done in community.
• Goal of critical thinking is for us to be able to
  handle our interaction with out people in ways
  that stimulates out continued growth as thinkers.
• We need to increase our awareness of the dangers
  of social interaction in critical thinking.

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Critical Thinking and Values

• What is the basis for the opinions and
  conclusions you hold
• The people around you.

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Critical Thinking and Values
Our Worldviews
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Critical Thinking and Values
Religion
Family
Friends
Nation
Traditions
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Critical Thinking and Values
Security Peace of mind Comfort
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Critical Thinking and Values
We Must Learn To Think Outside The Box
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Critical Thinking and Values
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Critical Thinking and Values

• How you interact with others is determined by
• Your values.
• The values you perceive in them.
• What are values
• Values are the unstated ideas that people see as
  worthwhile. Values provide standards of conduct
  by which we measure the quality of human behavior.

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Critical Thinking and Values

• We tend to be attracted towards people who share
  our values/worldviews.
• We tend to be uncomfortable around those people
  who do not share our values/worldviews.
• The challenge
• Require ourselves to work hard at understanding
  those who hold different values/worldviews.
• Does not mean we will agree with them.
• Intellectual Curiosity and Intellectual Fairness.

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Primary values of a critical thinker

• Autonomy
• Think for ourselves.
• Curiosity
• Curiosity causes us to ask questions.
• Humility
• Understanding of how much we dont know.
• Respect for Good Reasoning
• Rely upon strong reasoning.

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Primary Values of a Critical Thinker

• These values will
• Keep us searching for new evidence.
• Strengthen our beliefs with well researched
  information.
• Provides us reasons we may need to change.
• We should be confident in our beliefs/views.
• We should not hold to our beliefs/views so
  tightly that we are unable to ask might I be
  wrong

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Group activity

• Why do these values make you a better Critical
  Thinker
• Do you believe that you possess these value
  priorities Why Why not

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Thinking and emotions

• We always think/reason with a purpose or goal in
  mind.
• We are never un-bias. We all have our biases.
• It can be difficult to let go of our biases.
• Emotional attachments to bias not always a bad
  thing.
• Our biases need to follow careful reasoning.

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Thinking and emotions

• We must avoid the temptation to be motivated by
  our desire to keep thinking the same way or
  holding the same views.
• We should avoid the temptation to allow our
  reasoning to be dictated by our emotions.
• We should search for better ways to think with
  more depth and more accurately.

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Thinking and emotions

• Learn to listen to the views of those that we
  disagree with.
• Even if we continue to disagree with them by
  listening to them we could learn new information.
• After listening to them we might discover that
  their reasoning is better than ours and therefore
  we must change our view(s).

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Keeping the conversation going

• How will people react when we ask them questions
  about their beliefs and conclusions

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Keeping the conversation going

• Usually positive if the person agrees with our
  value priorities.
• Could be negative if the person disagrees with
  our value priorities.
• People are not accustomed to having their values
  or opinions questioned.

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Keeping the conversation going

• How would you like others to ask you questions
  about your beliefs so that you would want to
  continue to discuss a topic about which you have
  very strong feelings

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Arguments

• A combination of two forms of statements.
• Conclusion.
• Reasons.
• Conclusion Reasons Argument.

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Arguments

• How do you relate to people in a way that will
  encourage a productive exchange of ideas
• Respect and listen to them (even if you
  disagree).
• Avoid personal attacks.

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End of Lesson One