Critical Thinking - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

1 / 15
About This Presentation
Title:

Critical Thinking

Description:

... problems while reading rather than merely compile a set of facts to be memorized ... from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government was momentarily useless. ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

Number of Views:72
Avg rating:3.0/5.0
Slides: 16
Provided by: jenn277
Category:

less

Transcript and Presenter's Notes

Title: Critical Thinking


1
Critical Thinking
Socrates 469-399 B.C.
2
What is Critical Thinking?
  • Critical thinking df. The careful, deliberate
    determination of whether we should accept,
    reject, or suspend judgment about a claim and
    of the degree of confidence with which we should
    accept or reject it.

3
Alternative Thinking Styles
  • One approach to thinking is similar to the way in
    which a sponge reacts to water by absorbing.
  • Advantages
  • The more information you absorb about the world,
    the more capable you are of understanding its
    complexities. For example, it would be difficult
    to judge a sociological theory before you had
    absorbed a core of knowledge about sociology.

4
Alternative Thinking Styles II
  • A second advantage of the sponge approach is that
    it is relatively passive. The primary mental
    effort involves concentration and memory.
  • Disadvantages
  • The sponge approach provides no method for
    deciding which information to believe and which
    to reject.

5
Alternative Thinking Styles III
  • The sponge approach emphasizes knowledge
    acquisition.
  • Critical thinking stresses active interaction
    with knowledge as it is being acquired.
  • An individual that takes the sponge approach to
    learning may underline or highlight key words and
    sentences. Her mission is to find and understand
    what the author has to say. She memorizes the
    reasoning, but does not evaluate it.

6
A Critical Thinking Approach
  • A critical thinking approach requires that the
    reader ask herself a number of questions to
    clarify logical steps in the material and to help
    identify important omissions.

7
GOALS OF CRITICAL THINKING
  • What is critiqued is the ideas of people, not the
    people themselves who hold the ideas.
  • The goal of philosophy is knowledge through a
    disinterested search for truth, not winning or
    simply appearing to defeat another in argument.
  • Critical thinking helps both ourselves and others
    when it helps us recognize that a position,
    theory, or idea is incomplete or unclear,
    insufficiently supported, or in some other way
    unconvincing, and thus helps us to arrive at the
    truth which is the goal of knowledge seekers.

8
SKILLS INVOLVED IN CRITICAL THINKING
  • Critical Readers Are
  • willing to spend time reflecting on the ideas
    presented in their reading assignments
  • able to evaluate and solve problems while reading
    rather than merely compile a set of facts to be
    memorized
  • logical thinkers
  • diligent in seeking out the truth
  • eager to express their thoughts on a topic
  • seekers of alternative views on a topic
  • open to new ideas that may not necessarily agree
    with their previous thought on a topic
  • able to base their judgments on ideas and
    evidence
  • able to recognize errors in thought and
    persuasion as well as to recognize good arguments

9
SKILLS INVOLVED IN CRITICAL THINKING
  • Critical Readers Are
  • willing to take a critical stance on issues
  • able to ask penetrating and thought-provoking
    questions to evaluate ideas
  • in touch with their personal thoughts and ideas
    about a topic
  • willing to reassess their views when new or
    discordant evidence is introduced and evaluated
  • able to identify arguments and issues
  • able to see connections between topics and use
    knowledge from other disciplines to enhance their
    reading and learning experiences
  • Schumm, J. S. and Post, S. A. Executive Learning.

10
Thinking and Feeling
  • When you first encounter a conclusion, you do so
    with a history. You have learned to care about
    certain things, to support particular interests,
    and to disregard some particular claims. You
    will be thinking critically in the midst of
    existing opinions. You have emotional
    commitments to these opinions. Sometimes it is
    good to put your feelings aside for a while.
    This will enable you to listen to others
    arguments openly. The danger of being
    emotionally involved in an issue is that you may
    fail to consider potential good reasons for other
    positions.
  • One doesn't discover new lands without consenting
    to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.
    --Andre Gide

11
Thinking and Feeling
  • M.Neil Browne and Stuart Keeley
  • As part of the human tendency to dichotomize or
    think in extremes, those who emphasize critical
    thinking as an educational necessity sometimes
    express contempt for emotions. All off us know
    that unrestrained feelings can get us into
    trouble. They seem to encourage us to act first
    and think later. But any tool can be misused.
    Emotions are an invaluable aspect of each of us.
    Many of the feelings that we have are the result
    of deep thought. We get angry at certain
    behavior for very good reasons. We may admire
    specific people for some powerful reasons. So
    how should you feel about your feelings as you
    try to think critically? Our advice is to
    recognize your feelings to the extent possible,
    respect those that are the result of careful
    reflection and try, as best you can, to prevent
    others from cluttering your reasoning.

12
Practical uses
  • Critical Thinking is about learning how to apply
    knowledge. For example, many people in the
    computer industry know a great deal about
    computers. They may have excellent customer
    service skills. However, it is imperative that
    they know how to apply their knowledge to an
    almost infinite array of problems. Bill Gates,
    owner of Microsoft Corporation, is considered the
    first person to really implement critical
    thinking techniques for job interviews. Since
    then, many companies recognize the importance of
    hiring critical thinkers and use puzzles to
    assess potential employees critical thinking
    abilities.

13
Practical Uses II
  • William Poundstone, a well-known logician, has
    written books on this subjects. He explains why
    logic problems are more important than questions
    such as what are your strengths and weaknesses.
    Questions to ask may be
  • What does all the ice in a hockey rink weigh?
  • How do they make MMs?
  • How many gas stations are there in the US?

14
Practical Uses III
  • From Thad Peterson Jeremy Solomon sat across
    the table from a well-known national consulting
    company's interviewing manager, grappling with
    the question just posed to him. At that moment,
    the 70,000 education he received from Harvard's
    Kennedy School of Government was momentarily
    useless. This topic hadn't popped up in public
    policy, economics or stats classes. In fact, the
    vexing issue was one few ever think about How
    many quarters -- placed one on top of the other
    -- would it take to reach the top of the Empire
    State Building? When Jeremy Solomon was asked
    this in an interview, he didn't have a clue as to
    what would be the correct answer. Nonetheless, he
    remained calm.
  • First, he asked the interviewer exactly what she
    meant by placed on top of the other. After she
    said on their sides, Solomon began to explain his
    logic step-by-step to the interviewer. He
    estimated that a quarter is about an inch in
    diameter and guessed that there are 120 floors in
    the Empire State Building, with each floor being
    10 feet tall. Then he did the appropriate math.
    Did Solomon give the right answer? Not quite --
    the building only has 102 floors, and they aren't
    10 feet tall. Did he nail the question?
    Absolutely.

15
Practical Uses IV
  • Critical thinking skills are valuable skills in
    the 21st century professional world.
  • For instance,
  • Tackling problems and opportunities head-on.
  • Finding answers.
  • Creating solutions.
  • Developing strategies.
  • We need to be able to do more than find
    information in a textbook. However, technology
    and research keeps changing at a very fast rate.
    The professional who thinks best will probably do
    best. People will need to be able to adapt to new
    situations, think on their feet, and be effective
    problem solvers. Critical Thinking will help you
    throughout your career.
Write a Comment
User Comments (0)
About PowerShow.com