Truth-seeking - Do you try to understand how things really are?

Are you interested in finding out the

truth?

Open-mindedness - How receptive are you to new ideas, even though intuitively they do not agree with
you? Do you give them a fair hearing?

Analyticity - Do you try to understand the reasons behind things? Do you act impulsively or do you
evaluate the pros and cons of your decisions?

Systematicity - Are you systematic in your thinking? Do you break down a complex problem into parts?

Confidence in Reasoning - Do you always defer to other people? How confident are you in your own
judgment? Do you have reasons for your confidence? Do you have a way to evaluate your own thinking?

Inquisitiveness
Maturity of Judgment - Do you jump to conclusions? Do you try to see things from different
perspectives? Do you take other people's experiences into account?

Finally, as mentioned earlier, psychologists have discovered over the years that human reasoning can be
easily affected by all kinds of cognitive biases. For example, people tend to be over-confident of their
abilities, and focus too much on evidence that supports their pre-existing opinions. We should be alert
to these biases in our attitudes towards our own thinking.
LOGIC PUZZLES
1. Stephen was looking at a photo.
Someone asked him, "Whose
picture are you looking at?" He
replied: "I don't have any brother
or sister, but this man's father is
my father's son." So, whose
picture was Stephen looking at?
1-The man in the photo is
Stephen's son. Hint: This man's
father is Stephen.
 This puzzle is from the late
logician and mathematician
Raymond M. Smullyan: A
dealer bought an article for $7,
sold it for $8, bought it back for
$9, and sold it for $10. How
much profit did he make? 2
2. There was a robbery in which a lot
of goods were stolen. The robber(s)
left in a truck. It is known that : (1)
Nobody else could have been involved
other than A, B and C. (2) C never
commits a crime without A's
participation. (3) B does not know how
to drive. So, is A innocent or guilty?
Y
 CRITICAL THINKING
it has developed from 100 last years

https://youtu.be/ihaB8AFOhZo
https://youtu.be/6OLPL5p0fMg
1- someone defined critical thinking as "forming your
own opinion from a variety of different sources." 

2-"Actually, the essence of critical thinking lies in asking

questions and to keep asking them until you are satisfied
with the answer." Ho Lok-sang, Director of the Centre for
Public Policy Studies at Lingnan University. 

3- "Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or

strategies that increase the probability of a positive
outcome."
Critical Thinking is an Extension of Critical Reading

Thinking critically, in the academic sense, involves being open-minded -

using judgments and discipline to process what you are learning about
without letting your personal bias or opinion detract from the arguments. 

Critical thinking involves being rational and aware of your own feelings
on the subject – being able to reorganize your thoughts, prior knowledge
and understanding to accommodate new ideas or viewpoints. 

Critical reading and critical thinking are therefore the very foundations of
true learning and personal development.
The promotion of critical thinking is a central educational aim.

We need creative thinking to come up with solutions, and we need critical thinking to evaluate and
improve these solutions

Metacognition, or “thinking about thinking”. Metacognition is about knowing more about our own
thinking processes and being able to monitor and control them. Critical thinking must involve some
amount of metacognition, because we need to become aware of our own reasoning, and find ways to
improve them.

Becoming a good and effective thinker is not just a matter of learning logic or other principles of
reasoning. It also requires insight into our own minds, understanding our strengths and weaknesses
Finally, as mentioned earlier, psychologists have discovered over the years that human reasoning can be
easily affected by all kinds of cognitive biases. For example, people tend to be over-confident of their
abilities, and focus too much on evidence that supports their pre-existing opinions. We should be alert
to these biases in our attitudes towards our own thinking.

Finally, as mentioned earlier, psychologists have discovered over the years that human reasoning can be
easily affected by all kinds of cognitive biases. For example, people tend to be over-confident of their
abilities, and focus too much on evidence that supports their pre-existing opinions. We should be alert
to these biases in our attitudes towards our own thinking.
Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and thought since the time of early Greek
philosophers such as Plato and Socrates and has continued to be a subject of discussion into the
modern age, for example the ability to recognise fake news.
INDEPENDENT THINKING
IMPORTANT
In essence, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to
reason. It is about being an active learner rather than a passive
recipient of information.
Critical thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions
rather than accepting them at face value. They will always seek
to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings
represent the entire picture and are open to finding that they do
not.
Critical thinkers will identify, analyse and solve problems
systematically rather than by intuition or instinct.
Someone with critical thinking skills can:

Understand the links between ideas.

Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.

Recognize, build and appraise arguments.

Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.

Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.

Reflect on the justification of their own assumptions, beliefs and values.

The Skills We Need for Critical Thinking

The skills that we need in order to be able to think critically are varied and include
observation, analysis, interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation,
problem solving, and decision making.

Specifically we need to be able to:

Think about a topic or issue in an objective and critical way.

Identify the different arguments there are in relation to a particular issue.

Evaluate a point of view to determine how strong or valid it is.

Recognise any weaknesses or negative points that there are in the evidence or
argument.

Notice what implications there might be behind a statement or argument.

Provide structured reasoning and support for an argument that we wish to make.
The Critical Thinking Process

You should be aware that none of us think critically all the time.

Sometimes we think in almost any way but critically, for example when our
self-control is affected by anger, grief or joy or when we are feeling just plain
‘bloody minded’.

On the other hand, the good news is that, since our critical thinking ability
varies according to our current mindset, most of the time we can learn to
improve our critical thinking ability by developing certain routine activities and
applying them to all problems that present themselves.

Once you understand the theory of critical thinking, improving your critical
thinking skills takes persistence and practice.
Try this simple exercise to help you to start thinking critically.
Think of something that someone has recently told you. Then ask yourself the
following questions:
Who said it?
Someone you know? Someone in a position of authority or power? Does it
matter who told you this?
What did they say?
Did they give facts or opinions? Did they provide all the facts? Did they leave
anything out?
Where did they say it?
Was it in public or in private? Did other people have a chance to respond an
provide an alternative account?
When did they say it?
Was it before, during or after an important event? Is timing important?
Why did they say it?
Did they explain the reasoning behind their opinion? Were they trying to make
someone look good or bad?
How did they say it?
Were they happy or sad, angry or indifferent? Did they write it or say it? Could
you understand what was said?
What are you Aiming to Achieve?
One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is to decide what you are
aiming to achieve and then make a decision based on a range of possibilities.
Once you have clarified that aim for yourself you should use it as the starting
point in all future situations requiring thought and, possibly, further decision
making. Where needed, make your workmates, family or those around you
aware of your intention to pursue this goal. You must then discipline yourself
to keep on track until changing circumstances mean you have to revisit the
start of the decision making process.
However, there are things that get in the way of simple decision making. 
We all carry with us a range of likes and dislikes, learnt behaviours and personal
preferences developed throughout our lives; they are the hallmarks of being
human. A major contribution to ensuring we think critically is to be aware of
these personal characteristics, preferences and biases and make allowance for
them when considering possible next steps, whether they are at the pre-action
consideration stage or as part of a rethink caused by unexpected or unforeseen
impediments to continued progress.
The more clearly we are aware of ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses,
the more likely our critical thinking will be productive.
The Benefit of Foresight

Perhaps the most important element of thinking critically is foresight.

Almost all decisions we make and implement don’t prove disastrous if we find
reasons to abandon them. However, our decision making will be infinitely
better and more likely to lead to success if, when we reach a tentative
conclusion, we pause and consider the impact on the people and activities
around us.
The elements needing consideration are generally numerous and varied. In
many cases, consideration of one element from a different perspective will
reveal potential dangers in pursuing our decision.
For instance, moving a business activity to a new location may improve
potential output considerably but it may also lead to the loss of skilled workers
if the distance moved is too great. Which of these is the more important
consideration? Is there some way of lessening the conflict?
These are the sort of problems that may arise from incomplete critical thinking,
a demonstration perhaps of the critical importance of good critical thinking.
In Summary:
Critical thinking is aimed at achieving the best possible outcomes in any situation. In
order to achieve this it must involve gathering and evaluating information from as many
different sources possible.
Critical thinking requires a clear, often uncomfortable, assessment of your personal
strengths, weaknesses and preferences and their possible impact on decisions you may
make.
Critical thinking requires the development and use of foresight as far as this is possible.
As Doris Day sang, “the future’s not ours to see”.
Implementing the decisions made arising from critical thinking must take into account
an assessment of possible outcomes and ways of avoiding potentially negative
outcomes, or at least lessening their impact.
Critical thinking involves reviewing the results of the application of decisions made and
implementing change where possible.
It might be thought that we are overextending our demands on critical thinking in
expecting that it can help to construct focused meaning rather than examining the
information given and the knowledge we have acquired to see if we can, if necessary,
construct a meaning that will be acceptable and useful.
After all, almost no information we have available to us, either externally or internally,
carries any guarantee of its life or appropriateness.  Neat step-by-step instructions may
provide some sort of trellis on which our basic understanding of critical thinking can
blossom but it doesn’t and cannot provide any assurance of certainty, utility or longevity.