Slide 1

Critical thinking is the ability to think reflectively and independently in order to make thoughtful
decisions. By focusing on root-cause issues critical thinking helps you avoid future problems that can
result from your actions.

Slide 2

Critical equals “negative & fault-finding” or “involving or exercising skilled judgment or observation”.-
In this sense, “Critical Thinking means thinking clearly and intelligently(logically).”-Critical Thinking
means a careful application of reasons used to determine whether a claim or statement as assertion
or opinion or belief is true or fault.-Critical thinking is how we evaluate certain claims.-It is of how we
consider whether or not our ideas make good sense or our ideas rational or are they reasonable.-
More precisely, “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.

Slide 3

Misunderstanding the basic nature of thinking and learning can have detrimental trickle-down effects
on everyday cognition. Some of these misconceptions pertain to critical thinking itself. For example,
some people dislike critical thinking because they mistakenly believe it just means criticizing others
all the time, which they regard as too destructive and confrontational; or they believe creativity is
incompatible with critical thinking, because they think critical scrutiny will destroy new ideas before
they are fully developed. A person with these views is probably less motivated to improve his or her
critical thinking.

Slide 4

Being critical is not always the same thing as criticizing someone. If you criticize something, you are
identifying its faults or negative aspects. So if you say that a restaurant has bad food and slow
service, you are criticizing it, you’re stating the bad things about it.

Criticize is a verb referring to the action of identifying faults. The noun form is criticism, referring to
the statement or expression of faults. So you might say, “She criticized the restaurant. Her main
criticism was about the poor quality of the food.” Note the pronunciation difference between
criticize – it ends with the ize sound like in size – and criticism – it has the is sound like in his.

When you criticize someone, you’re telling them that they’re wrong about something they’re saying
or doing.

When you are being critical about what someone is saying or doing, you are evaluating what they are
doing and making your own informed judgment about it.

The result of your critical evaluation might be that you agree with the person!

Slide 5

Critical thinking doesn’t mean we should always criticize others.

There is no need to criticize if someone is right, but it’s still important to be critical. Even if someone
is wrong, criticism might not be the best response. Knowing that someone is wrong does not mean
we have to say so. Critical thinking applies just as much to our own arguments and decisions.
It’s so easy to criticize other people, and so hard to give a single honest compliment. It’s so easy to
see yourself in a good light and at the same time focus on imperfections of other people. But
criticizing people is a complete lose-lose situation that only creates distance, spreads negative
energies and causes tensions. Criticism is one of the worst kinds of negative thinking, talking and
acting. If positive thoughts are creative thoughts of connecting, including, sharing and loving, then
negative thinking is composed of thoughts and words (and consequently actions) that disconnect,
exclude and spread hate. Since it’s impossible to live a positive life with a negative mind, it’s obvious
why criticizing others is so unproductive and irrational.

Slide 6

Destructive criticism aims to destroy the target of criticism, by making the destructive criticism (e.g.,
"You should shut up and follow the program." The aim is to show that the point of view of someone
else has no validity at all, or lacks any merit.

In some contexts, destructive criticism is regarded as an undesirable nuisance, a threat, or as

completely unjustifiable, especially if it involves personal attacks. Destructive criticism is often
criticized because it has a destructive effect, instead of a positive effect.

However, in political and military contexts, destructive criticisms may be essential to save resources,
or to save lives among one's own group. An idea in itself is not dangerous, but an idea proposed in a
particular context can be very dangerous, so that people feel that it should be disarmed by
mercilessly criticizing it. The ultimate destructive criticism occurs when people and property are
physically destroyed.

The term "destructive criticism" is also used to mean that the level, scope or intensity of criticism is
such, that it becomes mainly destructive. In this context, people believe that the criticism is so great,
or there is so much criticism, that it only destroys things. For example, a debate or controversy can
get out of control, so that everybody is at war with everybody else, and everybody is opposed to
everybody else. In that case, it may well be that the criticism is being overdone. What started out as
a structured dialogue to identify conflicting aspects of a situation, ends up as a chaos in which
nobody can agree with anyone else anymore.

Destructive criticism from parents and other authority figures causes psychological harm to children
that results in lower levels of self-esteem, social acceptance, scholastic competence, behavioral
conduct, global self-worth and generally poorer self-perceptions.

Slide 7

It is right to acknowledge that critical thinking is the opposite of creative thinking as they are two
expressions that indicate a big difference between them in terms of their fundamental definitions
and meaning.

Creative thinking is stretching far beyond the disadvantages and being original and fresh in an
individual’s ideas. On the other perspective, critical thinking is more of an evaluation and typically
focuses on analyzing a given scenario; hence, one can summarize that while creative judgment is
generative in purpose, critical opinion is analytical in a mission. Creative thinking is still considered as
a procedure that is used to generate a list of new, unique and carried possibilities and ideas. It
initiates a fresh viewpoint and at times alternative solution to tackle a given challenge as creative
thinking engages the act of exploring suggestions, generating options and developing various
theories. Creative thinking has skills such as flexibility, originality, adaptability, imagination, and
brainstorming.
On the other perspective, critical thinking is viewed as the procedure of effectively analyzing,
understanding, synthesizing and examining the data obtained from experience, observation or
communication. It is the act of thinking in a clear, rational and thoughtful way with the objective of
making informed decisions and judgments. It engages the ability to remain objective, questions a
particular act, use logic and reason effectively towards a problem.

In other words, critical thinking is mostly utilized in institutions including businesses in making
detailed information regarding business operations while creative thinking can be applied in areas
including poetry. Other differences between the two include the act that creative thinking tries to
generate something innovative while creative thinking tends to evaluate the worth or legality of
something that before now exists. Creative thinking concentrates on the possibilities while critical
thoughts are focused on the likelihood of something happening. Lastly, creative thinking is met by
disregarding allowed ethics while creative thinking is fulfilled through using established principles.

Slide 8

However, it is possible for creative thought to be complementary to critical thinking, considering the
amount of creativity involved in the synthesis of information necessary to infer a conclusion or solve
a problem in a reflective manner. In this scenario, the gathering of credible, relevant and logically
sound information, while at the same time acknowledging the limits, certainty and nature of
knowledge, is key. That is, we ‘create’ by synthesizing information we have previously analyzed and
evaluated, so that a logical and feasible conclusion/solution may be inferred. However, not all
creative thinking complements critical thinking in this way. So, it is reasonable to advise that if in
doubt, one should not resort to proposing a creative solution before all other avenues involving
critical thinking have been considered. This is not to say that creative thinking is a bad thing, but
rather, it should be used alongside critical thinking and with caution. Just because a solution is
creative does not mean it is feasible.

if we conceptualize creative thinking as synthesizing information for the purpose of inferring a logical
and feasible conclusion or solution, then it becomes complementary to critical thinking. Steve Jobs
once explained creativity as just ‘connecting things... When you ask creative people how they did
something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed
obvious to them after a while.’ However, it remains that this creative process may just be heightened
inference ability (i.e. through the synthesis of credible, relevant and logically sound information –
connecting things). Thus, creativity (i.e. inference in this context) is already a component of critical
thinking. So then, what’s all the fuss? First, it would be a disservice to the concept of critical thinking
to not explain its difference to other ‘popular’ forms of thought, such as creative thinking and lateral
thinking. Again, this is not to say that creative thinking is a bad thing – it can be used to complement
critical thinking; but it depends on how you conceptualize it. Second, even if we treat it like
‘heightened inference ability’, we are not resorting to creativity alone - all other avenues involving
critical thinking must be considered. That is, we can think creatively by synthesizing information we
have previously thought about critically (i.e. through analysis and evaluation) for the purpose of
inferring a logical and feasible conclusion or solution. Thus, given this caveat, we can infuse our
critical thinking with creative thinking, but we must do so with caution.

Slide 9

he more you do of what you’re doing, the more you’ll get of what you’ve got. Creative thinking
requires that you continually dig deep into yourself and generate more, newer, better, faster,
cheaper, different ideas that you can use to improve the important parts of your life.
There are lot’s of qualities of creative thinkers. When you practice one or more of these qualities,
you begin to prove to yourself that you are truly a genius, and you simultaneously disprove the
negative hypothesis.

• They actively pursue experiences that are aesthetically pleasing.

• They enjoy taking a unique approach to things.
• They love the process of creating.
• They are flexible and like to play with problems.
• They take risks and learn from their mistakes.
• They strive to evaluate their work fairly.
• They thrive when they think of assignment guidelines as a launching point for their
imagination.

Slide 10

Nurturing your creativity and boosting your intuitive awareness are essential to living a creative life.
When you give yourself the right internal tools and external environment in which to flourish
creatively, you will see the difference in your creative practice and the full on effect in every area of
your life. Here are simple ways to nurture creativity and boost your intuitive awareness.

• Don’t accept other people’s blueprints.

• Be vigilant about what others can’t see.
• Differentiate the good from the bad.
• Take the plunge before you’re an expert.
• Concentrate on the big picture.
• Take sensible risks.
• Motivate yourself from inside.
• Shape environments that will support your creativity.
• Actively pursue your creative life.

Slide 11

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally about what to do or what to believe. It
includes the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Someone with critical thinking
skills is able to do the following :

• understand the logical connections between ideas

• identify, construct and evaluate arguments
• detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning
• solve problems systematically
• identify the relevance and importance of ideas
• reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values

Critical thinking is not a matter of accumulating information. A person with a good memory and who
knows a lot of facts is not necessarily good at critical thinking. A critical thinker is able to deduce
consequences from what he knows, and he knows how to make use of information to solve
problems, and to seek relevant sources of information to inform himself.

Critical thinking should not be confused with being argumentative or being critical of other people.
Although critical thinking skills can be used in exposing fallacies and bad reasoning, critical thinking
can also play an important role in cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks. Critical thinking can
help us acquire knowledge, improve our theories, and strengthen arguments. We can use critical
thinking to enhance work processes and improve social institutions.

Some people believe that critical thinking hinders creativity because it requires following the rules of
logic and rationality, but creativity might require breaking rules. This is a misconception. Critical
thinking is quite compatible with thinking "out-of-the-box", challenging consensus and pursuing less
popular approaches. If anything, critical thinking is an essential part of creativity because we need
critical thinking to evaluate and improve our creative ideas.

Slide 12

One definition of critical thinking says that it 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. (Bassham et all, 2011)

Slide 13

Other one says that critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully
conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or
generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief
and action. In its exemplary form, it is based on universal intellectual values that transcend subject
matter divisions: clarity, accuracy, precision, consistency, relevance, sound evidence, good reasons,
depth, breadth, and fairness... (Paul & Scriven 1987)

Slide 14

Critical Thinking is the judgment that we made by analyzing and evaluating the issue. We face many
issues in our daily life and we take many decisions irrationally without considering any consequences.
In critical thinking we take some steps that helps us to take a rational decision.

• Reasoning - We have to think sensibly about our problem to understand.

• Analysis - Proper analysis of the problem should be done. In analysis we have to view every
aspect of the problem.
• Decision making - After analyzing the actual situation of the problem we made decisions to
solve it.
• Problem Solving - After making decisions we move to solve our problems
• Evaluation - At the end we evaluate the results and compare them with our desires. This is
done to understand the future consequences.

Slide 15

This man is not thinking critically.

Slide 16

Universal intellectual (Critical) standards are standards which must be applied to thinking whenever
one is interested in checking the quality of reasoning about a problem, issue, or situation. To help
students learn them, teachers should pose questions which probe student thinking, questions which
hold students accountable for their thinking, questions which, through consistent use by the teacher
in the classroom, become internalized by students as questions they need to ask themselves. The
ultimate goal, then, is for these questions to become infused in the thinking of students, forming part
of their inner voice, which then guides them to better and better reasoning. While there are a
number of universal standards, the following are the most significant:

• Clarity
• Accuracy
• Precision
• Relevance
• Depth
• Breadth
• Logic
• Fairness
• Clarity

Slide 17

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. Sometimes this lack of clarity is due to laziness, carelessness, or a lack of skill. At
other times it results from a misguided effort to appear clever, learned, or profound.

Critical thinker not only strives for clarity of language but also seek maximum clarity of thought. As
self-help books constantly remind us, 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.

Clarity is the gateway standard. If a statement is unclear, we cannot determine whether it is accurate
or relevant. In fact, we cannot tell anything about it because we don't yet know what it is saying.

Slide 18

Accuracy

There is a well-known saying about computers. “Garbage in, garbage out.” Simply put, this means
that if you put bad information into a computer, bad information is exactly what you will get out of it.
Much the same is true of human thinking and reasoning. No matter how brilliant you may be, you’re
almost guaranteed to make bad decisions if your decisions are based on false information.

A statement can be clear but not accurate, as in “This chicken weighs over 300 pounds."

Slide 19

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 alternatives? What exactly are the
advantages and disadvantages of each alternative? Only when we habitually seek such precision are
we truly critical thinkers.
A statement can be both clear and accurate, but not precise, as in “Yao Ming is tall!" (We don't know
how Tall Yao Ming is. E.g. Precise = Yao Ming is 2.29 (7-6) meters tall. )

Slide 20

Relevance

Anyone who has every sat through a boring school assembly or watched a mudslinging political
debate can appreciate the importance of staying focused on relevant ideas and information. A
favorite debater’s trick is to try to distract an audience’s attention by raising an irrelevant issue.

A statement can be clear, accurate, and precise, but not relevant to the question at issue. For
example, students often think that the amount of effort they put into a course should be used in
raising their grade in a course. Often, however, the "effort" does not measure the quality of student
learning, and when this is so, effort is irrelevant to their appropriate grade.

Slide 21

“A statement can be clear, accurate, precise, and relevant, but superficial – lack depth. WE think
deeply when we get below the surface of an issue or problem, identify the complexities inherent in
it, and deal with those complexities in an intellectually responsible way. Even when we think deeply,
even when we deal with the complexities in a question, we might find the question difficult to
address. Still, our thinking will work better for us when we recognize complicated questions and
address each area of complexity in the question (Paul and Elder, Critical Thinking: Tools, 3d ed., 97-
98).

Slide 22

Breadth

A line of reasoning may be clear, accurate, precise, relevant, and deep, but lack breadth – fail to
consider all relevant viewpoints. For example, loud music annoys you and you live in a dorm with
someone who like to play loud music. The question is should my roommate play loud music when I
am in the room? Both points of view – yours and your roommate – are relevant. You may realize that
imposing your preferences on your roommate is inconsiderate and unfair. If you don’t consider your
roommate’s point of view, your behavior becomes self-serving. One of the primary mechanisms the
mind uses to avoid giving up what it wants is to refuse to consider viewpoints that differ from its
own.

A line of reasoning may be clear accurate, precise, relevant, and deep, but lack breadth (as in an
argument from either teacher or student standpoint which gets deeply into an issue, but only
recognizes the insights of one side of the question.)

Slide 23

Logic

Thinking brings together a variety of thoughts in some order. When the combined thought are
mutually supporting and make sense in combination, thinking is logical. An educators knows that
looking at standardized tests of students in schools and the actual work they produce, that students
are often deficient in basic academic skills such as reading, writing, speaking, and the core disciplines
such as math, science, and history. Despite this evidence, teachers frequently conclude they don’t
need to change their instruction to improve student learning (and in fact nothing is wrong with the
way they fundamentally teach). Given the evidence is the conclusion logical? Does the conclusion
logically follow from the facts?

When we think, we bring a variety of thoughts together into some order. When the combination of
thoughts are mutually supporting and make sense in combination, the thinking is "logical." When the
combination is not mutually supporting, is contradictory in some sense, or does not "make sense,"
the combination is not logical.

Slide 24

Fairness

Finally, critical thinking demands that our thinking be fair that is, open-minded, impartial, and free of
distorting biases and preconceptions. That can be very difficult to achieve. Even the most superficial
acquaintance with history and the social sciences tells us tat people are often strongly disposed to
resist unfamiliar ideas, to prejudge issues, to stereotype outsiders, and to identity truth with their
own self-interest or the interest of their nation or group. It is probably unrealistic to suppose that our
thinking could ever be completely free of biases and preconceptions; to some extent we all perceive
reality in ways that are powerfully shaped by our individual’s life experiences and cultural
backgrounds. But as difficult as it my be to achieve basic fair-mindedness is clearly an essential
attribute of a critical thinker.

Critical thinking demands that our thinking be fair:

• Open-minded
• Impartial
• Free of distorting biases and preconceptions

Slide 25

If Critical Thinking is so important, why is it that uncritical thinking is so common? Why is that so
many people including many highly educated and intelligent people find critical thinking so difficult?

Slide 26

Thinking critically is hard work and effortful, so we often avoid it.

Try saying your phone number backwards – takes a lot of effort.

Slide 27

A baseball bat and a ball cost $1.10 together, and the bat costs $1.00 more than the ball, how much
does the ball cost?

Make a note of your answer

Slide 28

Did you arrive at 10 cents?

If so, you’d be wrong.

Although $1.00 + $0.10 does equal $1.10, if you take $1.00 – $0.10 you get $0.90, but the problem
requires that the bat costs $1 more than the ball.
So, the ball must cost $0.05, and the bat must cost $1.05 since $1.05 + $0.05 = $1.10

Why does the bat-and-a-ball problem have any significance?

If you answered 10 cents you are inclined to believe in religion. If you answered 5 cents you are
inclined to disbelieve. Why? Because, according to research reported in the journal Science, the 10
cent answer indicates that you are an intuitive thinker, and the 5 cent answer indicates that you
solve problems analytically, rather than following your instincts.

Their study of 179 Canadian undergraduate students showed that people who tend to solve
problems more analytically also tended to be religious disbelievers. This was demonstrated by giving
the students a series of questions like the one above and then scoring them on the basis of whether
they used intuition or analytic logic to reach the answers. Afterward, the researchers surveyed the
students on whether or not they held religious beliefs. The results showed that the intuitive thinkers
were much more likely to believe in religion.

… Professor and Chairman Terrence Reynolds of the Department of Theology at Georgetown

University finds it plausible that analytic thinking could make religious belief more difficult. “If one
assumes that all rationality is tied to what we know directly through the five senses, that limits our
understanding of meaning questions. Religion tends to focus on questions of meaning and value,
which may not be available through analytic verification processes… by definition God is a being that
transcends the senses.”

At Harvard, Princeton, and MIT, 50% of students gave the incorrect answer. At less prestigious places
more than 80% gave the wrong answer.

Lesson: the problem is EASY, but smart people accept the obvious answer and are too lazy to check it
properly. They are not engaged with the problem.

Slide 28

There are plenty of barriers to critical thinking.

Learning how to recognize and avoid critical thinking obstacles, deductive fallacies, inductive
fallacies, and group traps will make it easier to develop potential solutions to problems.

Slide 29

Let us mention five powerful barriers to critical thinking.

Egocentrism

Egocentric thinking is viewing everything in relation to oneself. These individuals are self-centered
and consider only their interests. This impedes critical thinking. It is difficult for many people to
identify this characteristic within themselves. The egocentric person is usually unaware of his or her
thinking patterns. There are many successful business people, lawyers, politicians, and others who
are egocentric thinkers. They are closed minded to the thoughts and ideas of others. This damages
their critical thinking abilities. Open minded thinking is one of the fundamental critical thinking skills.
The best defense to minimizing thinking egocentrically is to be aware of it and to be mindful of the
needs of others. In essence, to continually strive towards viewing ideas and concepts from multiple
vantage points.

Sociocentrism
Social conditioning can be a benefit or drawback to your ability to think critically. Each of us is
unique. Age, IQ, race, genes, gender, culture, family, friends, and a wide array of other factors have a
dramatic effect on how we view the world and the people we interact with.

Critical thinking is hindered when the world and people in it are viewed from biased conditioning
without learning the needs, desires and dreams of others. It may not be possible to completely
understand others, but open-minded critical thinking can enable you to listen, learn and empathize.
This helps you understand others better. For example, because someone is a Christian, that doesn’t
mean he or she can’t appreciate the beliefs of Judaism, Buddhism, or Confucianism. The same is true
for any religious, social or political belief system. Arguably one of the biggest problem in the world
today is lack of acceptance. In another word: intolerance. Race, religion, culture, and a wide array of
other factors can bring us together or tear us apart. Each of us chooses if we will accept others, or
not. Recognizing and accepting the influences of conditioning from social effects is normal. However,
strive to understand how and why they are biasing thoughts. That enlightenment will help clarify
your thinking about issues and help guide you towards conclusions that are rational, unbiased, logical
and fair.

Unwanted assumptions

Unwarranted assumptions are claims or beliefs that possess little to no supporting evidence, things
we might take for granted as true, or just completely false ideas we inherited without reflection.
When we reason using implicit assumptions or further propositions whose truth is uncertain or
implausible, we commit the fallacy of unwarranted assumption and the truth of our conclusions is
grossly affected. Prejudices and stereotypes are some common ways in which we make unwarranted
assumptions. The key to preventing this fallacy is evidence: warranted assumptions have evidence
and ways of demonstrating their truth with certainty. It is best to not hold something as true or
applicable without proof that it is true and applicable. This implies that we need to assess our ways
of thinking and belief formation critically.

Wishful thinking

When the desire for something to be true is used in place of/or as evidence for the truthfulness of
the claim. Wishful thinking, more as a cognitive bias than a logical fallacy, can also cause one to
evaluate evidence very differently based on the desired outcome.

Relativistic thinking

Relativistic thinking is defined as "knowledge in this stage of William Perry's model of intellectual
development is considered to be relative and situational. Learners critically reflect on multiple
perspectives and determine the most suitable answer in a particular situation. Related concepts: deep
level processing, critical thinking."

In a cognitive psychology, the relativistic thinking is the belief that the reality and its cognition is
relative, depending on the adopted perspective. The reality is naturally variable, dynamic. Points of
view are determined by culture, language, cognitive abilities of the entity, circumstances, situational
context. Psychological theories keep up with the dilemmas and crises of the modern world.
Psychologists explore, describe and explain the changes in the mechanisms of thinking, including the
specifics of the relativistic thinking.

Slide 30