Critical thinking
Analyzing facts and arguments to form rational judgments.
Critical thinking is the process of analyzing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to reach sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, evaluating these justifications through comparisons with varying perspectives, and assessing their rationality and potential consequences. The goal of critical thinking is to form a judgment through the application of rational, skeptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluations.
- field
- Philosophy, Education, Logic
- known_for
- Process of analyzing facts and arguments to reach sound conclusions; traced to Socrates and John Dewey
- key_contributor_3
- John Dewey (coined phrase in modern times)
- key_contributor_4
- Richard W. Paul (argued it can be learned or trained)
Lore & Background
In the classical period of Ancient Greece, the philosopher Plato indicated that the teachings of Socrates are the earliest records of what today is called critical thinking. In an early dialogue by Plato, Socrates debates several speakers about the ethical matter of the rightness or wrongness of Socrates escaping from prison. Socrates established the unreliability of authority and authority figures as possessors of knowledge, and that for an individual to lead a good life, that person must ask critical questions and possess an interrogative soul, which seeks evidence and examines available facts. As a form of co-operative argumentation, Socratic questioning requires the comparative judgment of facts, which answers would reveal the person's irrational thinking and lack of verifiable knowledge.
Reader's Guide
The phrase critical thinking was coined by Pragmatist philosopher John Dewey in his book How We Think. National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking defined critical thinking as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, or evaluating information gathered from observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action. The application of critical thinking includes self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind. Critical thinking is not a natural process; it must be induced, and ownership of the process must be taken for successful questioning and reasoning. It presupposes a rigorous commitment to overcoming egocentrism and sociocentrism, leading to a mindful command of effective communication and problem solving.
Did You Know?
- The word 'critical' derives from the Greek word 'kritikos', meaning 'critic' and implying a critique or the capacity of judging.
- According to philosopher Richard W. Paul, critical thinking and analysis are competencies that can be learned or trained.
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