CRITICAL THINKING T O O L S F O R T A K I N G C H A R G .docx

CRITICAL
THINKING
T O O L S F O R T A K I N G C H A R G E O F
y 0 l l R L E A R N I N G A N D Y O U R L I F E
T H I R D e d i t i o n
Richard Paul
Foundation for Critical Thinking
Linda Elder
Foundat ion for Critical Thinking
PEARSON
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper
Saddle River
Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich
Paris Montreal Toronto
Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney H o n g Kong Seoul
Singapore Taipei T o k y o
C H A P T E H 2
EXHIBIT 2.1 Most people have lived their entire lives as
unreflective thinkers.
To develop as thinkers requires commitment to daily practice.

S T A G E S OF C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G D E V E L O
P M E N T
/
Accomplished Thinker
(Intellectual skills
and virtues have
become second
nature in our lives)
/
Advanced Thinker
( W e are committed to lifelong
practice and are beginning to
internalize intellectual virtues)
/
Practicing Thinker
( W e regularly practice a n d
advance accordingly)
/
Beginning Thinker
(We try to improve but
without regular practice)
/
Challenged Thinker
(We are faced with significant

problems in our thinking)
Unreflective Thinker
( W e are unaware of significant
If we aspire to develop as thinkers, the stages all of us go
through are:
Stage 1 T h e Unreflective Thinker (we are unaware of
significant problems in
o u r thinking)
Stage 2 T h e Challenged Thinker (we become aware of
problems in our
thinking)
Stage 3 T h e Beginning Thinker (we try t o improve but w i t h
o u t regular
practice)
Stage 4 T h e Practicing Thinker (we recognize the necessity of
regular practice)
Stage 5 T h e Advanced Thinker (we advance in accordance
with o u r practice)
Stage 6 T h e Accomplished Thinker (skilled and insightful
thinking become
second nature to us)
STAGE 1: THE UNREFLECTIVE THINKER
Are you an unreflective thinker? We all are born—and most of
us die—as largely

unreflective thinkers, fundamentally unaware of the role that
thinking is playing in
o u r lives. At this Unreflective Thinker stage, we have n o
useful conception of what
t h i n k i n g entails. For example, as unreflective thinkers, we
don't notice that we
are continually m a k i n g assumptions, f o r m i n g concepts,
drawing inferences, and
t h i n k i n g within points of view. At this stage, we don't
know how to analyze and
assess o u r thinking. We don't know how to determine whether
o u r p u r p o s e s are
clearly formulated, o u r assumptions justified, our conclusions
logically drawn. We
are unaware of intellectual traits and so are not striving to e m b
o d y them.
At this stage, many problems in our lives are caused by p o o r
thinking, but
we are unaware of this. We don't question o u r beliefs or our
decisions. We lack
intellectual standards a n d have no idea what such standards m
i g h t be. We lack the
intellectual traits but are not aware that we lack them. We
unconsciously deceive
ourselves in many ways. We create and maintain pleasant
illusions. Because our
beliefs seem reasonable t o us, we believe them with
confidence. We walk a b o u t the
world with confidence that things really are the way they appear
to us. We judge
s o m e people to be " g o o d " and some to be " b a d . " We
approve of some actions and
disapprove of others. We make decisions, react to people, go o
u r way in life, and
d o not seriously question our thinking or its implications.

Although we don't realize it, our egocentric tendencies at this
stage play a
dominant role in o u r thinking. We lack t h e skills a n d the
motivation to notice
h o w self-centered and prejudiced we are, h o w often we
stereotype others, how fre-
quently we dismiss ideas irrationally simply because we don't w
a n t to c h a n g e o u r
behavior or our comfortable way of looking at things.
2.1 Think for Yours ̂
REFLECTING O N YOUR K N O W L E D G E OF T H I N K I
N G
M ight you be at the Unreflective Thinker stage of
development? Test yourself by writing your answers to the
following:
I. Describe the role that thinking is playing in your life. ( B e as
clear and as detailed as
you can.)
2 What was a recent assumption you made that you should not
have made?
3 What is a concept you recently formed that y o u previously
lacked?
4 List five inferences you made in the past hour.
5 Name and explain a point of view you sometimes use to guide
your thinking.
6, Briefly describe how you analyze and assess thinking.
Name some intellectual standards you use. Explain how y o u
apply them.
8. Explain the role of egocentric thinking in your life.
9. Explain what you are doing to try to embody one or two of

the intellectual traits.
If you h a d t r o u b l e with your responses in the T h i n k for
Yourself exercise
y o u may well be at t h e Unreflective T h i n k e r stage. If so,
you d o not need to
'apologize o r feel badly about it; most people are at this stage
and don't know
it. T r a d i t i o n a l s c h o o l i n g and t h e way children
typically are reared do not help
p e o p l e to b e c o m e skilled thinkers. O f t e n , parents a n
d teachers themselves are
unreflective thinkers. T h i s is the product of a vicious circle.
Unreflective per-
s o n s raise unreflective persons. O n c e you explicitly
recognize that you are at
this stage, however, you are ready to move to the next stage.
And when you
m o v e to the next stage, you may be close to breaking o u t of
the vicious cycle of
unreflectiveness. To d o so requires that we become honestly
reflective—that we
begin to notice some problems in o u r thinking, that we begin
to recognize that
o u r t h i n k i n g is o f t e n egocentric a n d irrational, that c
h a n g e s in o u r own t h i n k i n g
are essential.
Honest reflectiveness leads t o healthy motivation to change. It
is f u n c t i o n a l
a n d productive. You m u s t not only see problems in y o u r
thinking but also have
s o m e sense of how you might a d d r e s s those problems.
You must become rea-

sonably articulate a b o u t what you have to d o to improve.
Motivation is c r u c i a l .
W i t h o u t a drive to change, nothing much of significance
will h a p p e n .
STAGE 2: T H E C H A L L E N G E D THINKER
Are you ready to accept the challenge? We c a n n o t solve a
problem we d o not own
or deal with a condition we deny. W i t h o u t knowledge of o u
r ignorance, we c a n n o t
seek the knowledge we lack. Without knowledge of the skills
we need t o develop,
we will not develop them.
As we become aware that " n o r m a l " thinkers often think
poorly, we move i n t o
the second stage of critical thinking development, the
Challenged Thinker. We
begin to notice that we often
• make questionable assumptions;
m use false, incomplete, or misleading information;
• make inferences that d o not follow from the evidence we
have;
• fail to recognize important implications in our thought;
• fail to recognize problems we have;
• form faulty concepts;
• reason within prejudiced points of view; a n d
• think egocentrically and irrationally.
We move to the Challenged T h i n k e r stage when we become
a w a r e of t h e
way our thinking is shaping our lives, including the recognition
t h a t p r o b l e m s in
our thinking are causing problems in o u r lives. We begin to
recognize t h a t p o o r

thinking can be life-threatening, that it can lead literally to
death or p e r m a n e n t
T H E F I R S T F O U R S T A K E S o r D E V E L O P M E N
T
injury, t h a t it can h u r t others as well as ourselves. For
example, we might reflect
upon the t h i n k i n g of
• the teenager w h o thinks that smoking is sexy;
• the w o m a n w h o thinks that P a p smears are not important;
• the motorcyclist who r e a s o n s t h a t helmets o b s t r u c t
vision and, therefore,
riding w i t h o u t o n e is s a f e r ;
• the person w h o thinks he can drive safely while d r u n k ;
• the person w h o decides t o marry a self-centered person with
the t h o u g h t that
he or she will "change" a f t e r marriage.
We also recognize the difficulty involved in "improving" o u r
thinking. If you
are at this stage in your own thinking, you recognize that the
problem of changing
your habits of t h o u g h t is an i m p o r t a n t challenge
requiring extensive a n d difficult
changes in your n o r m a l routines.
Some signs of emerging reflectiveness are that
• you f i n d yourself striving t o analyze and assess
your.thinking;

• you find yourself working with the structures of mind that
create, or m a k e
possible, thinking (for example: concepts, assumptions,
inferences, implications,
points of view);
• you f i n d yourself thinking about the qualities t h a t make
thinking s o u n d —
clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, logicalness—even
though you may
have only an initial grasp of how to achieve these qualities;
• you find yourself becoming interested in the role of self-
deception in thinking,
even though your understanding is relatively "abstract," a n d
you may not be
able t o offer many examples from your own life.
At this point in your development self-deception is a distinct
danger. M a n y resist
accepting the true nature of the challenge: that their own
thinking is a real and sig-
nificant problem in their life. If you do as many do, you will
revert to the Unreflective
Thinker stage. Your experience of thinking about your thinking
will fade, and your
usual habits of thought will remain as they are. For example,
you may find yourself
rationalizing in the following way: " My thinking is n o t that
bad. Actually, I've been
thinking well for quite a while. I question a lot of things. I'm
not prejudiced. Besides
that, I'm very critical. And I'm not nearly as self-deceived as
lots of people I know."

If you reason in this way, you are not alone; you're in the
majority. T h i s
view—"If everyone were t o think like me, this would be a fine
world"—is the
dominant one. Those who s h a r e this view range f r o m the
poorly schooled to the
highly schooled. There is no evidence to suggest that schooling
correlates with self-
reflectiveness. Indeed, many college graduates are intellectually
arrogant because of
their schooling. Unreflective people are found in all
socioeconomic classes and in-
clude psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, mathematicians,
doctors, senators,
judges, governors, district attorneys, lawyers, and. indeed,
people of all professions.
C H A P T E R 2
In short, absence of intellectual humility is c o m m o n a m o n
g all classes of peo-
ple in all w a l k s of life at all ages. It follows t h a t active o r
passive resistance t o the
challenge of critical t h i n k i n g is t h e c o m m o n rather t h
a n the rare case. W h e t h e r in
t h e form of a careless s h r u g or o u t r i g h t hostility, most
people reject the challenge
of critical t h i n k i n g . T h a t is why s o m e soul-searching
is i m p o r t a n t at this p o i n t in
t h e process.
.3 Think for Yourself
THE CHALLENGED THINKER STAGE

Work in groups of three. The person whose first name is earliest
in the alphabet will explain the second stage, that of the
Challenged Thinker, to the other two. answering
any questions they might have. Then the other two in the group
will add any features the first
student missed and elaborate on the points they think are most
important.
T O IDENTIFY PROBLEMS IN Y O U R T H I N K 1 N G
See whether you can identify any problems in your thinking.
The best way to do this is to analyze a behavior of yours that
somehow is creating problems, either for you or for
others. Look at your personal relationships, your study habits,
your interaction patterns.
How do you behave when you are upset? How do you act when
you don't get your way? Do
you expect more of others than you expect of yourself?
Consider these questions as start-
ing points for challenging yourself as a thinker. If you cannot
identify any problems in your
thinking, think again.
STAGE 3: THE BEGINNING THINKER
Are you willing to begin? When a p e r s o n actively decides t o
take u p the c h a l l e n g e
to grow and d e v e l o p as a thinker, h e o r she enters the
stage we call the B e g i n n i n g
Thinker. In t h i s stage of thinking, we begin to take t h i n k i
n g seriously. T h i s s t a g e
prepares us f o r t h e next stages, w i t h the u l t i m a t e goal
of explicit c o m m a n d of
thinking. It is a stage of dawning realizations and of d e v e l o
p i n g will p o w e r . It
is n o t a stage of self-condemnation b u t , rather, of e m e r g i
n g consciousness. It is

a n a l o g o u s t o t h e stage in which p e o p l e who are
alcoholics recognize and fully a c -
cept the fact t h a t they are alcoholics. I m a g i n e a n
alcoholic saying, "I am a n a l c o -
holic, a n d onlv I c a n d o s o m e t h i n g a b o u t it." N o w
imagine yourself saying, " I a m
a w e a k , undisciplined thinker, and o n l y I c a n d o s o m e t
h i n g a b o u t it."
Once p e o p l e recognize that t h e y a r e " a d d i c t e d " t o
p o o r t h i n k i n g , they m u s t
begin t o recognize the d e p t h and n a t u r e of t h e problem.
If w e are at the B e g i n n i n g
T h i n k e r stage' we should recognize t h a t our t h i n k i n g
is s o m e t i m e s egocentric. F o r
example, we m a y notice how little w e c o n s i d e r the needs
of o t h e r s a n d h o w m u c h
we focus on g e t t i n g what we personally w a n t . We may n
o t i c e h o w little we e n t e r
the point of view of o t h e r s and h o w m u c h we assume t h
e " c o r r e c t n e s s " of o u r
. thers to S
o w n . W e m a y e v e n s o m e t i m e s catch ourselves trying
t o dominate ( ,- o r tr.c
w h a t w e w a n t or. a l t e r n a t i v e l y , acting out t h e
role of submitting t o o t t i e 0 w"ttich
g a m s t h a t s u b m i s s i v e b e h a v i o r brings). We may
begin to notice t h e extern i
we c o n l o r m u n c r i t i c a l l y t o the thinking of others.
A s t h i n k e r s t h i n k i n g a b o u t thinking, we a r e
merely beginning to

• a n a l y z e the l o g i c of s i t u a t i o n s and problems;
• e x p r e s s clear a n d precise questions;
• c h e c k i n f o r m a t i o n f o r accuracy and relevance; ^
• d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n raw information a n d s o m e o
n e ' s interpretation o 1 <
• r e c o g n i z e a s s u m p t i o n s guiding inferences: ^
• i d e n t i f y p r e j u d i c i a l a n d biased beliefs,
unjustifiable conclusions, misuse
w o r d s , a n d m i s s e d implications;
• n o t i c e when o u r viewpoint is biased by o u r selfish
interests. _
T h u s , as B e g i n n i n g T h i n k e r s , we are b e c o m i n
g a w a r e of h o w t o d e a l A V J ^
s t r u c t u r e s at work in t h o u g h t (purposes, q u e s t i o n
s , i n f o r m a t i o n , i n t e r p - ^ ^
etc.). We are b e g i n n i n g t o appreciate the value of
examining o u r t h i n king
of its clarity, accuracy, relevance, precision, logicalness.,
justifiability, ^
d e p t h , a n d fairness, but w e are still at a low level of
proficiency in these: ^
T h e y f e e l a w k w a r d t o us. We have t o force ourselves t
o think in discipnn ^
We a r e like beginners in ballet. We feel foolish a d o p t i n g
the b a s i c posi e V t o
d o n ' t lee! graceful; we s t u m b l e a n d make mistakes. N o
o n e would pay
watch us perform. We ourselves d o n ' t like w h a t we see in
the m i r r o r ot o ^ m U S t
T o reach this B e g i n n i n g T h i n k e r stage, o u r values m
u s t begin t o shitt. h i l l |
expl< the f o u n d a t i o n of o u r t h i n k i n g and discover h

o w we have c o m e ^
a n d believe as we do. Let us consider this goal in a little more
d e t a i l . K e ' .
o n s o m e of the m a j o r infiuences t h a t have s h a p e d
your t h i n k i n g ( a n d OU )•
1. You were born into a culture (e.g., European, American,
African, Asian).
2. You were born at s o m e point in time (in s o m e c e n t u r
y in s o m e year).
3. You were born in s o m e place (in t h e c o u n t r y , in the
city, in t h e North or
South. East or West). , , t
4. You were raised by p a r e n t s with p a r t i c u l a r beliefs (
a b o u t t h e f a m i l y - * ^
personal relationships, a b o u t marriage, a b o u t c h i l d h o
o d , a b o u t obe<
about religion, about politics, a b o u t s c h o o l i n g ) .
5. "You tormed various a s s o c i a t i o n s (largely b a s e d o
n w h o was a r o u n d y o u
associations with people with a viewpoint, values, a n d taboos).
old
1 you were to change a n y one of these i n f i u e n c e s , y o u
r belief s y s t e ™ fieids
b e different. Suppose vou h a d been b o r n in t h e M i d d l e
A g e s as a ser 1 in r e i '
of France. Can you see that if you were, virtually all y o u r
beliefs w o u l d be ^ &
See whether you can p e r f o r m similar reflective e x p e r i m
e n t s of y o u r
ample, imagine other changes in these influences a n d t h e n
imaginative

some of t h e beliefs you likely w o u l d have with the b e l i e f
s you actually d o have. You
will begin t o a p p r e c i a t e how m u c h you, a n d every o t
h e r h u m a n , are a p r o d u c t o f
influences over which you. a n d they, had little or n o c o n t r
o l . Neither y o u n o r they
directed t h e s e influences. Their effects, clearly, were b o t h
g o o d and b a d .
For e x a m p l e , a s s u m e that m a n y of these influences e
n g e n d e r e d false beliefs in
us. It follows that o u r minds r i g h t now h a r b o r false
beliefs, a n d we a r e acting o n
t h e m . Yet, notice t h a t the mind h a s no mechanism f o r
screening out false beliefs.
We all c a r r y a r o u n d in our m i n d s prejudices from o u r
culture, f r o m where we were
b o r n and raised, f r o m o u r p a r e n t s , and f r o m our f r i
e n d s a n d associates. F i n d i n g
ways to l o c a t e those flawed beliefs and replace t h e m with
m o r e reasonable beliefs
is part of t h e a g e n d a of critical thinking. Another way to l
o o k at the forces, ratio-
nal and i r r a t i o n a l , t h a t have s h a p e d our m i n d s is
in t e r m s ot m o d e s of influence."
2 . 4 Think for Yourself
PUT T I N G YOURSELF I N A N O T H E R PLACE IN TIME
Imagine yourself in another place in time. Choose a different
century, perhaps a different
country, a different gender, a different socioeconomic group—
in any case, an altogether dif-

ferent set of circumstances in which you might have lived.
Complete the following:
1. The time within which I am imagining that! live is...
2. The details of the situation are (be specific).. •
3 If I had lived in this place in time. I most likely would hold
the following beliefs (about
religion, my country, sexual conventions and taboos, gender
issues, relationships, people
of different races, etc. Again, be specific)...
For e x a m p l e , we think within a variety of domains:
sociological, philosophi-
cal, ethical, intellectual, a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l , ideological,
political, economic, histori-
cal, biological, theological, and psychological. We ended up
with our p a r t i c u l a r
beliefs b e c a u s e we were influenced t o do s o in the
following ways:
• Sociological: O u r minds are i n f l u e n c e d by the social
groups to which we
belong.
• Philosophical: Our minds a r e influenced by o u r personal
philosophy.
• Ethical: O u r m i n d s are influenced by the extent to which
we behave in accor-
dance w i t h our obligations a n d the way we define our
obligations.
• Intellectual: Our minds are i n f l u e n c e d by the ideas we
hold, by the m a n n e r in
which we reason a n d deal w i t h a b s t r a c t i o n s and

abstract systems.
• Anthropological: O u r minds a r e influenced by cultural
practices, mores, a n d
taboos.
• Ideological and political: O u r m i n d s a r e influenced by
the structure of power
and its use by interest groups a r o u n d us.
• E c o n o m i c : O u r m i n d s are i n f l u e n c e d by the e c
o n o m i c conditions u n d e r which
w e live.
• H i s t o r i c a l : O u r m i n d s are i n f l u e n c e d by o u r
history and by the way we te
o u r history.
• Biological; Our minds are influenced by o u r biology and
neurology.
• T h e o l o g i c a l : O u r m i n d s are influenced by our
religious beliefs and attitudes.
• P s y c h o l o g i c a l : O u r m i n d s a r e influenced by our
personality a n d personal
psychology.
R e f l e c t i o n s such a s these s h o u l d awaken in us a s e n
s e of how little we really
k n o w a b o u t o u r own minds. W i t h i n each of o u r m i n
d s is a largely u n e x p t
w o r l d , an i n n e r world that has b e e n taking shape f o r t
h e whole ol our lives,
inner world is the most i m p o r t a n t f a c t about us because

it is where we h o -
m i n e s o u r joy a n d f r u s t r a t i o n . It l i m i t s what we
can see a n d imagine It tug S
w h a t we d o see. It c a n drive us crazy. It c a n provide u s
with solace, p e a c ,
tranquility. If we can appreciate t h e s e facts a b o u t us, we
will find the m o t i v
t o take c h a r g e of o u r thinking, t o b e s o m e t h i n g m o
r e t h a n clay m the h a
others, to b e c o m e , in fact, the r u l i n g force in o u r own
lives.
2 . 5 Think for
1 i-UNG T H I N K E R S T A G E .
Work in groups of three. The person whose first name is last in
the alphabet will explain the third stage, that of the Beginning
Thinker, to the other two. answering ai y q u e ^
tions they might have. Then the other two in the group will add
any features the hrs
missed and elaborate on the points they think are most
important.
L e t s n o w consider t w o lurking traps t h a t c a n derail the
b e g i n n i n g t h i n k e r .
Trap # 1: T h e t e m p t a t i o n of dogmatic absolutism^-
believing that ^ u t h i s
acquired n o t through reasoning and i n q u i r y but, rather, t h
r o u g h s o m e p •
t e r m i n e d , nonintellectual f a i t h .
Trap # 2 : The t e m p t a t i o n of subjective relativism—
believing t h a t t h e r e a r e n o
intellectual standards by which t o judge a n y t h i n g a s true o
r false.

B o t h traps promise us easy answers. To a d v a n c e as a b e g
i n n i n g thinker a n d not
fall into o n e o r the other of these t r a p s requires d e v e l o
p i n g confidence in t eas
a way of a c q u i r i n g sound knowledge and i n s i g h t . T h
e t w o traps a r e m i r r o r m g _
of each o t h e r . If we become either a dogmatic absolutist or a
subjective reiau ,
we lose o u r motivation t o develop as a critical thinker. A s a d
o g m a t i c a r s o i ,
we end u p following wherever o u r "faith " l e a d s us. A s a
subjective relati
will come t o believe that everyone automatically a c q u i r e s
"his o r her ov l
3 6 CHAPTER 2
in s o m e inexplicable subjective way. In b o t h cases, t h e r e
is n o real p l a c e for the
intellectual work a n d discipline of critical thinking. Both
render critical thinking
s u p e r f l u o u s and free us from any intellectual
responsibility. "
If w e avoid these traps, if we recognize how we have been
shaped bv forces
beyond o u r control, if we discover that skills are available to
help us t a k e charge
of o u r m i n d s , if we develop s o m e initial confidence in
reason, if we d e v e l o p some
intellectual humility and perseverance, we are ready t o begin
creating a genuine
f o u n d a t i o n on which we can rebuild o u r identity a n d
character as t h i n k e r s and

p e r s o n s of integrity.
T h e key question is how? H o w exactly c a n we d o this? We
shall f o c u s on this
q u e s t i o n f o r the rest of this c h a p t e r . In a sense, it is
the m o s t vital g o a l of the
entire b o o k .
2.6,2.7 Think for Yourself
D I S C U S S A B S O L U T I S M A N D SUBJECTIVE
RELATIVISM
Work in groups of three. The person whose first name is second
in the alphabet will explain the distinction between absolutism
and subjective relativism to the other two,
answering any questions they might have. Then the other two in
the group will add any features
the first student missed and elaborate on the points they think
are most important
B E G I N N I N G T O D E V E L O P A S A T H I N K E R
Make a list of some things you can do to begin your
development as a disciplined thinker. Review Chapter I for
ideas. Then answer this question: What do you think the
benefits
would be if you were to take this list seriously?
STAGE 4: THE PRACTICING THINKER
G o o d t h i n k i n g c a n b e p r a c t i c e d l i k e b a s k e t b
a l l , t e n n i s , o r b a l l e t . T h e o n l y w a y t o
m o v e f r o m Beginning T h i n k e r t o P r a c t i c i n g T h i
n k e r is t o c o m m i t yourself t o daily
practice in thinking well and design your o w n plan for
practice. When you d o so,

you become what we call a P r a c t i c i n g Thinker.
There are many ways t o design practice regimens, s o m e b e t
t e r than o t h e r s for
you. For example, you might g l a n c e t h r o u g h some of t h
e o t h e r c h a p t e r s of this
b o o k . E a c h provides suggestions f o r improving your t h i
n k i n g . You can use any of
these suggestions as a starting p o i n t .
You m i g h t review the T h i n k f o r Yourself activities. You
m i g h t study the ele-
m e n t s of t h o u g h t , t h e s t a n d a r d s f o r t h o u g h t ,
and t h e t r a i t s of mind. You might
analyze C h a p t e r 10, o n problem-solving, a n d C h a p t e r
17, o n strategic thinking.
T h i n k of it this way: Everything y o u read in this b o o k r e
p r e s e n t s a resource for
you t o use in devising a systematic p l a n for i m p r o v i n g y
o u r t h i n k i n g . As you move
T U B F I R S T F i n R S T A C E S OF D I V K U H ' M E N T
through the b o o k , routinely ask yourself: What am I learning
in this section or
chapter that I can actively incorporate into daily practice?
If you are like m o s t people, you can discover some practical
starting pomts.
T h e challenge will be in following t h r o u g h on any that you
find. This is the chal-
lenge in most areas of skill development: People do n o t
usually follow through.
They do n o t establish habits of regular practice. They are

discouraged by the
strain and a w k w a r d n e s s of early a t t e m p t s t o
perform well.
To develop as a thinker, you m u s t work o u t a plan that will
work for you, one
you can live with, o n e that won't b u r n you o u t or
overwhelm you. Ultimately, suc-
cess comes t o those w h o are persistent and w h o figure o u t
strategies for themselves.
Still, at this stage, you probably don't know for sure what will
work for you,
only what seems like it might. You have to field-test your ideas.
To be realistic, you
should expect to experiment with a variety of plans before you
find one that moves
you forward as a thinker.
G u a r d against discouragement. You can best avoid
discouragement by rec-
ognizing f r o m the outset that you are engaged in a process of
trial and error.
Prepare yourself for temporary failure. Understand success as
the willingness to
work through a variety of relative failures. The logic is
analogous to trying on
clothes. M a n y that you try might n o t fit o r look good on
you, but you plod on
anyway with the confidence that eventually you will find
something that iits and
l o o k s good o n you.
Consider another analogy: If you want t o become skilled at
tennis, you im-
prove not by expecting yourself t o begin as a n expert player, t

o win every game
you play, or by mastering new strokes with little practice.
Rather, you improve
when you develop a plan you can modify as you see what
improves your game.
Today, you might decide to work on keeping your eye on the
ball. Tomorrow-, you
might coordinate watching the ball with following t h r o u g h
as you swing. Every
day, you rethink your strategies for improvement. Development
of the h u m a n
m i n d is parallel to the development of the h u m a n body. G o
o d theory, good prac-
tice, and good feedback are essential.
A "GAME PLAN" FOR IMPROVEMENT
AS you begin to take your thinking seriously, think a b o u t
what you can do consistently t o improve your thinking.
Because excellence in t h i n k i n g requires a variety of
independent skills and t r a i t s that w o r k together, you
can choose t o work on a range of critical t h i n k i n g skills at
any given point m time.
T h e key is t o focus on fundamentals and m a k e sure you
don't try t o do t o o m u c h .
Choose your point of attack, but limit it. If you overdo it, you
probably will give
u p entirely, b u t if you d o n ' t focus on fundamentals, you
will never have t h e m as a
foundation in your thought.
Start slowly and emphasize f u n d a m e n t a l s . The race is w
o n by the t o r t o i s e ,
n o t by the hare. Be a wise turtle. The solid, steady steps you t
a k e every day will
determine where you ultimately end up.

C H A P T E R 2
A GAME PLAN FOR )EVISING E PL N
We have put together a few ideas to stimulate your thought
about a gan plan. There is nothing magical a b o u t o u r ideas;
no one of them is essei tial. Nevertheless, each represents a
plausible point of attack, o n e wa
to begin to d o something plausible to improve thinking in a
regular way. A l t h o u g
you probably can't do all of these at the same time, we
recommend an a p p r o a c
in which you experiment with all of them. You can add any
others you find in th
b o o k or come u p with yourself. A f t e r you familiarize
yourself with some of th
options, we explain how this game plan works.
1. Use "wasted" time. All h u m a n s waste s o m e time. N o o
n e uses all of his or he
time productively or even pleasurably. Sometimes we j u m p
from one diversion t
a n o t h e r without enjoying any of them or b e c o m e
irritated about matters beyon
o u r control. Sometimes we fail t o plan well, causing negative
consequences thr
we easily could have avoided such as spending time
unnecessarily trapped in trafifi
a l t h o u g h we could have left a half hour earlier and avoided
the rush. Sometime
we worry unproductively, spend time regretting what is past, or
j u s t stare b l a n k l
into space.

T h e key is that the time is "spent," and if we had thought
about it and considere
our options, we would n o t have deliberately spent our time in
that way. So o u r ide
is this: Take advantage of the time you normally waste by
practicing good t h i n k i n
during that interval. For example, instead of sitting in front of
the TV at the end o
the day, flicking from channel to channel in a vain search for a
program worth watch
ing, spend that time, or at least part of it, thinking back over
your day and eval uatin
your strengths and weaknesses. You might ask yourself
questions like these:
• When did I d o my w o r s t thinking today?
• When did I do my best thinking?
• W h a t did I actually t h i n k about today?
• Did I figure out anything?
• Did I allow any negative thinking to f r u s t r a t e me
unnecessarily?
• If I had to repeat today, what would I do differently? Why?
• Did I do anything t o d a y to further my long-term goals?
• Did I act in accordance with my own expressed values?
• If I were to spend every day this way for 10 years, would I, at
the e n d , h a v e
accomplished something worthy of that time?
Taking a little time with each question is i m p o r t a n t . It
would be useful to r e v i e
these questions periodically, perhaps weekly, t o write your
answers in a j o u r n a
and, in so doing, keep a record of how your t h i n k i n g is
developing.

2. Handle a problem a day. At the beginning of each day
(perhaps driving t o worl
or going to school), choose a problem to work on when you
have free m o m e n t s
Figure out the logic of the problem by identifying its elements.
Systematically thinl
T H E FI K S T FO U R ST A G E S OF DFAP.OI-.MENT
through the questions: What exactly is the problem? How can I
put it into the form
of a question? (See C h a p t e r 10 for a template you might
use.)
3. Internalize intellectual standards. Each week, study and
actively bring into
your thinking one of the universal intellectual standards
presented in Chapter 5.
Focus o n e week on clarity, the next o n accuracy, and so on.
For example, if you are
focusing on clarity for the week, try t o notice when you are
being unclear in com-
municating with others. Notice when others are unclear in what
they are saying.
When you read, notice whether you are clear a b o u t what you
are reading. When
you write a paragraph for class, ask yourself whether you are
clear about what you
are trying to say and in conveying your t h o u g h t s in writing.
In d o i n g this, you will practice f o u r techniques of
clarification: (1) stating
what you are saying with some c o n s i d e r a t i o n given to y
o u r choice of words,

(2) elaborating on your meaning in o t h e r words, (3) giving
examples of w h a t
you m e a n from experiences you have h a d , and (4) using
analogies, metaphors,
pictures, or d i a g r a m s t o illustrate what you m e a n . In
clarifying thinking, you
should state, elaborate, illustrate, a n d exemplify your points,
and you will regu-
larly ask others t o d o the same.
4. Keep an intellectual journal. Each week, write o u t a certain
number of journal
entries. U s e the following f o r m a t for each important event
you write about:
• Describe only situations that are emotionally significant t o
you (situations you
care deeply about).
• Describe only o n e situation at a time.
• Describe (and keep this separate) how you behaved in the
situation, being
specific and exact. (What did you say? What did you do? How
did you react?)
• Analyze, in the light of what you have written, what precisely
was going on in
the situation; dig beneath the surface.
• Assess the implications of your analysis. (What did you learn
about yourself?
What would you do differently if you could relive the
situation?)
5. Practice intellectual strategies. C h o o s e a strategy f r o m

Chapter 16 on s t r a -
tegic thinking. While using that strategy, record your
observations in a j o u r n a l ,
including what you are learning about yourself a n d how you
can use the strategy
to improve your thinking.
6. Reshape your character. Each m o n t h , choose one
intellectual trait to strive
for. tocusing on how you can develop that trait in yourself. For
example, if c o n -
centrating on intellectual humility, begin t o notice when you
admit you are w r o n g .
Notice when you refuse to admit you are wrong, even in the
face of glaring evi-
dence that you are truly wrong. Notice when you become
defensive when a n o t h e r
person tries to point out a deficiency in your work or your
thinking. Notice w h e n
your arrogance keeps you f r o m learning, when you say to
yourself, tor example,
"1 already know everything 1 need t o know a b o u t this
subject " or, "1 know a s
much as h e does. W h o does he think he is. forcing his
opinions onto m e ? "
o CHAPTER 2
7. Deal with your ego. Daily, begin t o observe your egocentric
thinking in action
by c o n t e m p l a t i n g questions like these: As I reflect u p o
n my behavior today, did
I ever become irritable over small things? Did 1 d o or say
anything irrational t o get

my way? Did I try to impose my will upon others? Did I ever
fail to speak my mind
when I felt strongly about something and then later feel
resentment?
O n c e you identify egocentric thinking in o p e r a t i o n , you
can work to replace it
with m o r e rational thought through systematic reflection.
What would a rational
person feel in this or that situation? What would a rational
person do? How does
that c o m p a r e with what you did? (Hint: If you find that you
continually conclude
that a rational person w o u l d behave just as you behaved, you
probably are en-
gaging in self-deception.) (See C h a p t e r II for more ways to
identify egocentric
thinking.)
8. Redefine the way you see things. We live in a world, both
personal and social,
in which every situation is defined; it is given a f u n d a m e n t
a l meaning. How a situ-
ation is defined determines how we feel about it, how we act in
it, and what im-
plications it has for us. Virtually every situation, however, can
be defined in m o r e
than o n e way. T h i s fact carries with it tremendous
opportunities for all of us to
make o u r life m o r e of what we want it to be. In principle, it
lies within your power
to m a k e your life much h a p p i e r and more fulfilling than it
is.
M a n y of the negative definitions we apply to situations in our
lives could, in

principle, be transformed into positive definitions. As a result,
we can gain when
otherwise we would have lost. We can be happy when otherwise
we would have
been sad. We can be fulfilled when otherwise we would have
been f r u s t r a t e d . In
this g a m e plan, we practice redefining the way we see things,
turning negatives into
positives, dead-ends into new beginnings, mistakes into
opportunities to learn. Fo
make this game plan practical, we should create some specific
guidelines for o u r -
selves. For example, we might make ourselves a list of five to
ten recurring negative
situations in which we feel frustrated, angry, unhappy, or
worried. We then c o u l d
identify the definition in each case that is at the root of the
negative e m o t i o n .
Next, we would choose a plausible alternative definition for
each and plan for o u r
new responses as well as o u r new emotions.
Suppose you have a roommate w h o gets on your nerves by
continually telling
you a b o u t all the insignificant events in his or her life. Your
present definition of
the situation is, "What a bore! How am I going t o last a whole
semester listening to
that brainless soap opera?" Your response might be: "Since I
have to d o a required
research project for my introduction to psychology class, I will
focus my project on
the psychology of my roommate." Now, instead of passively
listening to the daily
blow-by-blow description of your roommate s day, you actively
question him o r her

to gather information you can use in your psychology paper.
Because you are now
directing the conversation, your roommate is not able to bore
you with the details
of his or her day, and you transform your interactions into a
learning experience.
A n o t h e r possibility is to redefine an "impossibly difficult
class" into a "chal-
lenge to figure out new fundamental concepts and a new way of
thinking." For
example: You redefine your initial approach to a member of the
other sex not in
terms of the definition, "His/her response will determine
whether I am an attractive
T u t : F I R S T F O U R S T A C K S O F D E V E L O P M E
N T
person," but, instead, in terms of the definition, "Let me test to
see if this person is
initially drawn t o me, given the way he or she perceives me."
With the first definition in m i n d , you feel personally p u t
down if the person
is not interested in you. With the second definition, you
explicitly recognize that
people initially respond not to the way a stranger is but, rather,
to the way the per-
son subjectively looks to the other. You therefore do not
perceive someone's failure
to show interest in you as a defect in you.
9. Get in touch with your emotions. Whenever you feel some

negative e m o t i o n ,
systematically ask yourself, " W h a t , exactly, is the t h i n k i
n g that leads t o this
emotion? H o w might this thinking be flawed? What a m I
assuming? Should I be
making these a s s u m p t i o n s ? What i n f o r m a t i o n is
my t h i n k i n g based on? Is t h a t
i n f o r m a t i o n reliable?" a n d so on. (See Chapters 3 and
16.)
10. Analyze group influences on your life. Closely analyze t h e
behavior that is e n -
couraged a n d discouraged in the g r o u p s to which you
belong. For a given g r o u p ,
what are you required or expected t o believe? What are you " f
o r b i d d e n " to d o ?
If you conclude that your group does not require you t o believe
anything or h a s
no taboos, you c a n conclude that you have not deeply analyzed
that group. T o
gain insight into the process of socialization a n d g r o u p
membership, review a n
introductory text in sociology. (See C h a p t e r 11.)
Integrating Strategies One by One
When designing strategies, the key point is to engage in an
experiment. You are t e s t -
ing strategies in your personal life, integrating them, and
building on them in light o f
your actual experience. All strategies have advantages and
disadvantages. One p l a u -
sible way to do this is to work with all the strategies on the
following list in any order.
1. Use "wasted" time.
2. Handle a problem a day.

3. Internalize intellectual standards.
4. Keep an intellectual j o u r n a l .
5. Practice intellectual strategies.
6. Reshape your character.
7. Deal with your ego.
8. Redefine the way you see things.
9. Get in touch with your emotions.
10. Analyze g r o u p infiuences on your life.
As you design strategies to improve the quality of your iife,
suppose you find
the strategy "Redefine the way you see things" to be intuitive t
o you. Therefore, it's
a good strategy to begin with. A s you focus intently on this
idea and apply it in y o u r
life, you begin to notice social definitions within groups. You
begin t o recognize
12 C H A P T E R 2
how your behavior is shaped and controlled by g r o u p
definitions. You begin to see
how you a n d others uncritically accept group d e f i n i t i o n
s rather than creating your
own definitions. Notice the definitions embedded in the
following statements.
1. " T m giving a party"
2. "We're going t o have a meeting."
3. "Why don't you run for electionf
4. " T h e funeral is Tuesday."
5. "Jack is an acquaintance, n o t really a friend."

When you internalize this idea, you begin to see how important
and pervasive
social definitions are. When you more insightful a b o u t social
definitions, you can
redefine situations in ways t h a t run contrary to c o m m o n l
y accepted social defi-
nitions. You then see how redefining situations a n d
relationships enables you to
"get in t o u c h with your emotions." You recognize t h a t the
way you define things
generates the emotions you feel. When you think y o u are
threatened (you define
a situation as "threatening"), you feel fear. On the o n e hand, if
you define a situ-
ation as a "failure," you might feel depressed. On t h e other
hand, if you define
that same situation as " a lesson o r an o p p o r t u n i t y t o
learn," you feel empowered
to learn. When you recognize the control you are capable of
exercising, the two
strategies begin to work together and reinforce e a c h other.
You then might begin to integrate Strategy 10 ("Analyze group
influences on
your life") with the two strategies you have already
internalized. One of the main
ways in which groups control us is by controlling t h e
definitions they allow us to
use. When a group defines some things as "cool" a n d some as
"dumb," members
of the g r o u p try to a p p e a r " c o o l " and n o t " d u m b . "
When the boss of a business
says, " T h a t makes a lot of sense," his subordinates know they
are not to say, "No,
it is ridiculous." They know this because defining s o m e o n e
as the " b o s s " gives him

or her special privileges to define situations and relationships.
As a developing
thinker, you begin to decide which groups you allow to
influence your thinking
and which group influences you reject.
You now have three interwoven strategies: You "redefine the
way you see
things," "get in touch with your emotions," and "analyze group
influences on your
life." The three strategies are integrated into one. A t this point,
you can experi-
ment with any of the o t h e r strategies (which follow), looking
for opportunities to
integrate them into your thinking and your life.
• Use wasted time.
• Handle a problem a day.
• Internalize intellectual standards.
• Keep an intellectual j o u r n a l .
• Practice intellectual strategies.
• Reshape your character.
• Deal with your ego.
CRITICAL
THINKING
T O O L S F O R T A K I N G C H A R G E O F
y 0 l l R L E A R N I N G A N D Y O U R L I F E
T H I R D e d i t i o n
Richard Paul

Foundation for Critical Thinking
Linda Elder
Foundat ion for Critical Thinking
PEARSON
Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper
Saddle River
Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich
Paris Montreal Toronto
Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney H o n g Kong Seoul
Singapore Taipei T o k y o
C H A P T E H 2
EXHIBIT 2.1 Most people have lived their entire lives as
unreflective thinkers.
To develop as thinkers requires commitment to daily practice.
S T A G E S OF C R I T I C A L T H I N K I N G D E V E L O
P M E N T
/
Accomplished Thinker
(Intellectual skills
and virtues have
become second
nature in our lives)

/
Advanced Thinker
( W e are committed to lifelong
practice and are beginning to
internalize intellectual virtues)
/
Practicing Thinker
( W e regularly practice a n d
advance accordingly)
/
Beginning Thinker
(We try to improve but
without regular practice)
/
Challenged Thinker
(We are faced with significant
Unreflective Thinker
( W e are unaware of significant
If we aspire to develop as thinkers, the stages all of us go
through are:
Stage 1 T h e Unreflective Thinker (we are unaware of
significant problems in
o u r thinking)

Stage 2 T h e Challenged Thinker (we become aware of
problems in our
thinking)
Stage 3 T h e Beginning Thinker (we try t o improve but w i t h
o u t regular
practice)
Stage 4 T h e Practicing Thinker (we recognize the necessity of
regular practice)
Stage 5 T h e Advanced Thinker (we advance in accordance
with o u r practice)
Stage 6 T h e Accomplished Thinker (skilled and insightful
thinking become
second nature to us)
STAGE 1: THE UNREFLECTIVE THINKER
Are you an unreflective thinker? We all are born—and most of
us die—as largely
unreflective thinkers, fundamentally unaware of the role that
thinking is playing in
o u r lives. At this Unreflective Thinker stage, we have n o
useful conception of what
t h i n k i n g entails. For example, as unreflective thinkers, we
don't notice that we
are continually m a k i n g assumptions, f o r m i n g concepts,
drawing inferences, and
t h i n k i n g within points of view. At this stage, we don't
know how to analyze and
assess o u r thinking. We don't know how to determine whether
o u r p u r p o s e s are
clearly formulated, o u r assumptions justified, our conclusions

logically drawn. We
are unaware of intellectual traits and so are not striving to e m b
o d y them.
At this stage, many problems in our lives are caused by p o o r
thinking, but
we are unaware of this. We don't question o u r beliefs or our
decisions. We lack
intellectual standards a n d have no idea what such standards m
i g h t be. We lack the
intellectual traits but are not aware that we lack them. We
unconsciously deceive
ourselves in many ways. We create and maintain pleasant
illusions. Because our
beliefs seem reasonable t o us, we believe them with
confidence. We walk a b o u t the
world with confidence that things really are the way they appear
to us. We judge
s o m e people to be " g o o d " and some to be " b a d . " We
approve of some actions and
disapprove of others. We make decisions, react to people, go o
u r way in life, and
d o not seriously question our thinking or its implications.
Although we don't realize it, our egocentric tendencies at this
stage play a
dominant role in o u r thinking. We lack t h e skills a n d the
motivation to notice
h o w self-centered and prejudiced we are, h o w often we
stereotype others, how fre-
quently we dismiss ideas irrationally simply because we don't w
a n t to c h a n g e o u r
behavior or our comfortable way of looking at things.
2.1 Think for Yours ̂
REFLECTING O N YOUR K N O W L E D G E OF T H I N K I

N G
M ight you be at the Unreflective Thinker stage of
development? Test yourself by writing your answers to the
following:
I. Describe the role that thinking is playing in your life. ( B e as
clear and as detailed as
you can.)
2 What was a recent assumption you made that you should not
have made?
3 What is a concept you recently formed that y o u previously
lacked?
4 List five inferences you made in the past hour.
5 Name and explain a point of view you sometimes use to guide
your thinking.
6, Briefly describe how you analyze and assess thinking.
Name some intellectual standards you use. Explain how y o u
apply them.
8. Explain the role of egocentric thinking in your life.
9. Explain what you are doing to try to embody one or two of
the intellectual traits.
If you h a d t r o u b l e with your responses in the T h i n k for
Yourself exercise
y o u may well be at t h e Unreflective T h i n k e r stage. If so,
you d o not need to
'apologize o r feel badly about it; most people are at this stage
and don't know
it. T r a d i t i o n a l s c h o o l i n g and t h e way children
typically are reared do not help
p e o p l e to b e c o m e skilled thinkers. O f t e n , parents a n

d teachers themselves are
unreflective thinkers. T h i s is the product of a vicious circle.
Unreflective per-
s o n s raise unreflective persons. O n c e you explicitly
recognize that you are at
this stage, however, you are ready to move to the next stage.
And when you
m o v e to the next stage, you may be close to breaking o u t of
the vicious cycle of
unreflectiveness. To d o so requires that we become honestly
reflective—that we
begin to notice some problems in o u r thinking, that we begin
to recognize that
o u r t h i n k i n g is o f t e n egocentric a n d irrational, that c
h a n g e s in o u r own t h i n k i n g
are essential.
Honest reflectiveness leads t o healthy motivation to change. It
is f u n c t i o n a l
a n d productive. You m u s t not only see problems in y o u r
thinking but also have
s o m e sense of how you might a d d r e s s those problems.
You must become rea-
sonably articulate a b o u t what you have to d o to improve.
Motivation is c r u c i a l .
W i t h o u t a drive to change, nothing much of significance
will h a p p e n .
STAGE 2: T H E C H A L L E N G E D THINKER
Are you ready to accept the challenge? We c a n n o t solve a
problem we d o not own
or deal with a condition we deny. W i t h o u t knowledge of o u
r ignorance, we c a n n o t
seek the knowledge we lack. Without knowledge of the skills
we need t o develop,
we will not develop them.

As we become aware that " n o r m a l " thinkers often think
poorly, we move i n t o
the second stage of critical thinking development, the
Challenged Thinker. We
begin to notice that we often
• make questionable assumptions;
m use false, incomplete, or misleading information;
• make inferences that d o not follow from the evidence we
have;
• fail to recognize important implications in our thought;
• fail to recognize problems we have;
• form faulty concepts;
• reason within prejudiced points of view; a n d
• think egocentrically and irrationally.
We move to the Challenged T h i n k e r stage when we become
a w a r e of t h e
way our thinking is shaping our lives, including the recognition
t h a t p r o b l e m s in
our thinking are causing problems in o u r lives. We begin to
recognize t h a t p o o r
thinking can be life-threatening, that it can lead literally to
death or p e r m a n e n t
T H E F I R S T F O U R S T A K E S o r D E V E L O P M E N
T
injury, t h a t it can h u r t others as well as ourselves. For
example, we might reflect
upon the t h i n k i n g of
• the teenager w h o thinks that smoking is sexy;

• the w o m a n w h o thinks that P a p smears are not important;
• the motorcyclist who r e a s o n s t h a t helmets o b s t r u c t
vision and, therefore,
riding w i t h o u t o n e is s a f e r ;
• the person w h o thinks he can drive safely while d r u n k ;
• the person w h o decides t o marry a self-centered person with
the t h o u g h t that
he or she will "change" a f t e r marriage.
We also recognize the difficulty involved in "improving" o u r
thinking. If you
are at this stage in your own thinking, you recognize that the
problem of changing
your habits of t h o u g h t is an i m p o r t a n t challenge
requiring extensive a n d difficult
changes in your n o r m a l routines.
Some signs of emerging reflectiveness are that
• you f i n d yourself striving t o analyze and assess
your.thinking;
• you find yourself working with the structures of mind that
create, or m a k e
possible, thinking (for example: concepts, assumptions,
inferences, implications,
points of view);
• you f i n d yourself thinking about the qualities t h a t make
thinking s o u n d —
clarity, accuracy, precision, relevance, logicalness—even
though you may
have only an initial grasp of how to achieve these qualities;

• you find yourself becoming interested in the role of self-
deception in thinking,
even though your understanding is relatively "abstract," a n d
you may not be
able t o offer many examples from your own life.
At this point in your development self-deception is a distinct
danger. M a n y resist
accepting the true nature of the challenge: that their own
thinking is a real and sig-
nificant problem in their life. If you do as many do, you will
revert to the Unreflective
Thinker stage. Your experience of thinking about your thinking
will fade, and your
usual habits of thought will remain as they are. For example,
you may find yourself
rationalizing in the following way: " My thinking is n o t that
bad. Actually, I've been
thinking well for quite a while. I question a lot of things. I'm
not prejudiced. Besides
that, I'm very critical. And I'm not nearly as self-deceived as
lots of people I know."
If you reason in this way, you are not alone; you're in the
majority. T h i s
view—"If everyone were t o think like me, this would be a fine
world"—is the
dominant one. Those who s h a r e this view range f r o m the
poorly schooled to the
highly schooled. There is no evidence to suggest that schooling
correlates with self-
reflectiveness. Indeed, many college graduates are intellectually
arrogant because of
their schooling. Unreflective people are found in all
socioeconomic classes and in-
clude psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, mathematicians,

doctors, senators,
judges, governors, district attorneys, lawyers, and. indeed,
people of all professions.
C H A P T E R 2
In short, absence of intellectual humility is c o m m o n a m o n
g all classes of peo-
ple in all w a l k s of life at all ages. It follows t h a t active o r
passive resistance t o the
challenge of critical t h i n k i n g is t h e c o m m o n rather t h
a n the rare case. W h e t h e r in
t h e form of a careless s h r u g or o u t r i g h t hostility, most
people reject the challenge
of critical t h i n k i n g . T h a t is why s o m e soul-searching
is i m p o r t a n t at this p o i n t in
t h e process.
.3 Think for Yourself
THE CHALLENGED THINKER STAGE
Work in groups of three. The person whose first name is earliest
in the alphabet will explain the second stage, that of the
Challenged Thinker, to the other two. answering
any questions they might have. Then the other two in the group
will add any features the first
student missed and elaborate on the points they think are most
important.
T O IDENTIFY PROBLEMS IN Y O U R T H I N K 1 N G
See whether you can identify any problems in your thinking.
The best way to do this is to analyze a behavior of yours that
somehow is creating problems, either for you or for

others. Look at your personal relationships, your study habits,
your interaction patterns.
How do you behave when you are upset? How do you act when
you don't get your way? Do
you expect more of others than you expect of yourself?
Consider these questions as start-
ing points for challenging yourself as a thinker. If you cannot
identify any problems in your
thinking, think again.
STAGE 3: THE BEGINNING THINKER
Are you willing to begin? When a p e r s o n actively decides t o
take u p the c h a l l e n g e
to grow and d e v e l o p as a thinker, h e o r she enters the
stage we call the B e g i n n i n g
Thinker. In t h i s stage of thinking, we begin to take t h i n k i
n g seriously. T h i s s t a g e
prepares us f o r t h e next stages, w i t h the u l t i m a t e goal
of explicit c o m m a n d of
thinking. It is a stage of dawning realizations and of d e v e l o
p i n g will p o w e r . It
is n o t a stage of self-condemnation b u t , rather, of e m e r g i
n g consciousness. It is
a n a l o g o u s t o t h e stage in which p e o p l e who are
alcoholics recognize and fully a c -
cept the fact t h a t they are alcoholics. I m a g i n e a n
alcoholic saying, "I am a n a l c o -
holic, a n d onlv I c a n d o s o m e t h i n g a b o u t it." N o w
imagine yourself saying, " I a m
a w e a k , undisciplined thinker, and o n l y I c a n d o s o m e t
h i n g a b o u t it."
Once p e o p l e recognize that t h e y a r e " a d d i c t e d " t o
p o o r t h i n k i n g , they m u s t
begin t o recognize the d e p t h and n a t u r e of t h e problem.
If w e are at the B e g i n n i n g

T h i n k e r stage' we should recognize t h a t our t h i n k i n g
is s o m e t i m e s egocentric. F o r
example, we m a y notice how little w e c o n s i d e r the needs
of o t h e r s a n d h o w m u c h
we focus on g e t t i n g what we personally w a n t . We may n
o t i c e h o w little we e n t e r
the point of view of o t h e r s and h o w m u c h we assume t h
e " c o r r e c t n e s s " of o u r
. thers to S
o w n . W e m a y e v e n s o m e t i m e s catch ourselves trying
t o dominate ( ,- o r tr.c
w h a t w e w a n t or. a l t e r n a t i v e l y , acting out t h e
role of submitting t o o t t i e 0 w"ttich
g a m s t h a t s u b m i s s i v e b e h a v i o r brings). We may
begin to notice t h e extern i
we c o n l o r m u n c r i t i c a l l y t o the thinking of others.
A s t h i n k e r s t h i n k i n g a b o u t thinking, we a r e
merely beginning to
• a n a l y z e the l o g i c of s i t u a t i o n s and problems;
• e x p r e s s clear a n d precise questions;
• c h e c k i n f o r m a t i o n f o r accuracy and relevance; ^
• d i s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n raw information a n d s o m e o
n e ' s interpretation o 1 <
• r e c o g n i z e a s s u m p t i o n s guiding inferences: ^
• i d e n t i f y p r e j u d i c i a l a n d biased beliefs,
unjustifiable conclusions, misuse
w o r d s , a n d m i s s e d implications;
• n o t i c e when o u r viewpoint is biased by o u r selfish
interests. _

T h u s , as B e g i n n i n g T h i n k e r s , we are b e c o m i n
g a w a r e of h o w t o d e a l A V J ^
s t r u c t u r e s at work in t h o u g h t (purposes, q u e s t i o n
s , i n f o r m a t i o n , i n t e r p - ^ ^
etc.). We are b e g i n n i n g t o appreciate the value of
examining o u r t h i n king
of its clarity, accuracy, relevance, precision, logicalness.,
justifiability, ^
d e p t h , a n d fairness, but w e are still at a low level of
proficiency in these: ^
T h e y f e e l a w k w a r d t o us. We have t o force ourselves t
o think in discipnn ^
We a r e like beginners in ballet. We feel foolish a d o p t i n g
the b a s i c posi e V t o
d o n ' t lee! graceful; we s t u m b l e a n d make mistakes. N o
o n e would pay
watch us perform. We ourselves d o n ' t like w h a t we see in
the m i r r o r ot o ^ m U S t
T o reach this B e g i n n i n g T h i n k e r stage, o u r values m
u s t begin t o shitt. h i l l |
expl< the f o u n d a t i o n of o u r t h i n k i n g and discover h
o w we have c o m e ^
a n d believe as we do. Let us consider this goal in a little more
d e t a i l . K e ' .
o n s o m e of the m a j o r infiuences t h a t have s h a p e d
your t h i n k i n g ( a n d OU )•
1. You were born into a culture (e.g., European, American,
African, Asian).
2. You were born at s o m e point in time (in s o m e c e n t u r
y in s o m e year).
3. You were born in s o m e place (in t h e c o u n t r y , in the
city, in t h e North or

South. East or West). , , t
4. You were raised by p a r e n t s with p a r t i c u l a r beliefs (
a b o u t t h e f a m i l y - * ^
personal relationships, a b o u t marriage, a b o u t c h i l d h o
o d , a b o u t obe<
about religion, about politics, a b o u t s c h o o l i n g ) .
5. "You tormed various a s s o c i a t i o n s (largely b a s e d o
n w h o was a r o u n d y o u
associations with people with a viewpoint, values, a n d taboos).
old
1 you were to change a n y one of these i n f i u e n c e s , y o u
r belief s y s t e ™ fieids
b e different. Suppose vou h a d been b o r n in t h e M i d d l e
A g e s as a ser 1 in r e i '
of France. Can you see that if you were, virtually all y o u r
beliefs w o u l d be ^ &
See whether you can p e r f o r m similar reflective e x p e r i m
e n t s of y o u r
ample, imagine other changes in these influences a n d t h e n
imaginative
some of t h e beliefs you likely w o u l d have with the b e l i e f
s you actually d o have. You
will begin t o a p p r e c i a t e how m u c h you, a n d every o t
h e r h u m a n , are a p r o d u c t o f
influences over which you. a n d they, had little or n o c o n t r
o l . Neither y o u n o r they
directed t h e s e influences. Their effects, clearly, were b o t h
g o o d and b a d .
For e x a m p l e , a s s u m e that m a n y of these influences e

n g e n d e r e d false beliefs in
us. It follows that o u r minds r i g h t now h a r b o r false
beliefs, a n d we a r e acting o n
t h e m . Yet, notice t h a t the mind h a s no mechanism f o r
screening out false beliefs.
We all c a r r y a r o u n d in our m i n d s prejudices from o u r
culture, f r o m where we were
b o r n and raised, f r o m o u r p a r e n t s , and f r o m our f r i
e n d s a n d associates. F i n d i n g
ways to l o c a t e those flawed beliefs and replace t h e m with
m o r e reasonable beliefs
is part of t h e a g e n d a of critical thinking. Another way to l
o o k at the forces, ratio-
nal and i r r a t i o n a l , t h a t have s h a p e d our m i n d s is
in t e r m s ot m o d e s of influence."
2 . 4 Think for Yourself
PUT T I N G YOURSELF I N A N O T H E R PLACE IN TIME
Imagine yourself in another place in time. Choose a different
century, perhaps a different
country, a different gender, a different socioeconomic group—
in any case, an altogether dif-
ferent set of circumstances in which you might have lived.
Complete the following:
1. The time within which I am imagining that! live is...
2. The details of the situation are (be specific).. •
3 If I had lived in this place in time. I most likely would hold
the following beliefs (about
religion, my country, sexual conventions and taboos, gender
issues, relationships, people
of different races, etc. Again, be specific)...
For e x a m p l e , we think within a variety of domains:

sociological, philosophi-
cal, ethical, intellectual, a n t h r o p o l o g i c a l , ideological,
political, economic, histori-
cal, biological, theological, and psychological. We ended up
with our p a r t i c u l a r
beliefs b e c a u s e we were influenced t o do s o in the
following ways:
• Sociological: O u r minds are i n f l u e n c e d by the social
groups to which we
belong.
• Philosophical: Our minds a r e influenced by o u r personal
philosophy.
• Ethical: O u r m i n d s are influenced by the extent to which
we behave in accor-
dance w i t h our obligations a n d the way we define our
obligations.
• Intellectual: Our minds are i n f l u e n c e d by the ideas we
hold, by the m a n n e r in
which we reason a n d deal w i t h a b s t r a c t i o n s and
abstract systems.
• Anthropological: O u r minds a r e influenced by cultural
practices, mores, a n d
taboos.
• Ideological and political: O u r m i n d s a r e influenced by
the structure of power
and its use by interest groups a r o u n d us.
• E c o n o m i c : O u r m i n d s are i n f l u e n c e d by the e c

o n o m i c conditions u n d e r which
w e live.
• H i s t o r i c a l : O u r m i n d s are i n f l u e n c e d by o u r
history and by the way we te
o u r history.
• Biological; Our minds are influenced by o u r biology and
neurology.
• T h e o l o g i c a l : O u r m i n d s are influenced by our
religious beliefs and attitudes.
• P s y c h o l o g i c a l : O u r m i n d s a r e influenced by our
personality a n d personal
psychology.
R e f l e c t i o n s such a s these s h o u l d awaken in us a s e n
s e of how little we really
k n o w a b o u t o u r own minds. W i t h i n each of o u r m i n
d s is a largely u n e x p t
w o r l d , an i n n e r world that has b e e n taking shape f o r t
h e whole ol our lives,
inner world is the most i m p o r t a n t f a c t about us because
it is where we h o -
m i n e s o u r joy a n d f r u s t r a t i o n . It l i m i t s what we
can see a n d imagine It tug S
w h a t we d o see. It c a n drive us crazy. It c a n provide u s
with solace, p e a c ,
tranquility. If we can appreciate t h e s e facts a b o u t us, we
will find the m o t i v
t o take c h a r g e of o u r thinking, t o b e s o m e t h i n g m o
r e t h a n clay m the h a
others, to b e c o m e , in fact, the r u l i n g force in o u r own
lives.
2 . 5 Think for

1 i-UNG T H I N K E R S T A G E .
Work in groups of three. The person whose first name is last in
the alphabet will explain the third stage, that of the Beginning
Thinker, to the other two. answering ai y q u e ^
tions they might have. Then the other two in the group will add
any features the hrs
missed and elaborate on the points they think are most
important.
L e t s n o w consider t w o lurking traps t h a t c a n derail the
b e g i n n i n g t h i n k e r .
Trap # 1: T h e t e m p t a t i o n of dogmatic absolutism^-
believing that ^ u t h i s
acquired n o t through reasoning and i n q u i r y but, rather, t h
r o u g h s o m e p •
t e r m i n e d , nonintellectual f a i t h .
Trap # 2 : The t e m p t a t i o n of subjective relativism—
believing t h a t t h e r e a r e n o
intellectual standards by which t o judge a n y t h i n g a s true o
r false.
B o t h traps promise us easy answers. To a d v a n c e as a b e g
i n n i n g thinker a n d not
fall into o n e o r the other of these t r a p s requires d e v e l o
p i n g confidence in t eas
a way of a c q u i r i n g sound knowledge and i n s i g h t . T h
e t w o traps a r e m i r r o r m g _
of each o t h e r . If we become either a dogmatic absolutist or a
subjective reiau ,
we lose o u r motivation t o develop as a critical thinker. A s a d
o g m a t i c a r s o i ,
we end u p following wherever o u r "faith " l e a d s us. A s a
subjective relati
will come t o believe that everyone automatically a c q u i r e s

"his o r her ov l
3 6 CHAPTER 2
in s o m e inexplicable subjective way. In b o t h cases, t h e r e
is n o real p l a c e for the
intellectual work a n d discipline of critical thinking. Both
render critical thinking
s u p e r f l u o u s and free us from any intellectual
responsibility. "
If w e avoid these traps, if we recognize how we have been
shaped bv forces
beyond o u r control, if we discover that skills are available to
help us t a k e charge
of o u r m i n d s , if we develop s o m e initial confidence in
reason, if we d e v e l o p some
intellectual humility and perseverance, we are ready t o begin
creating a genuine
f o u n d a t i o n on which we can rebuild o u r identity a n d
character as t h i n k e r s and
p e r s o n s of integrity.
T h e key question is how? H o w exactly c a n we d o this? We
shall f o c u s on this
q u e s t i o n f o r the rest of this c h a p t e r . In a sense, it is
the m o s t vital g o a l of the
entire b o o k .
2.6,2.7 Think for Yourself
D I S C U S S A B S O L U T I S M A N D SUBJECTIVE
RELATIVISM

Work in groups of three. The person whose first name is second
in the alphabet will explain the distinction between absolutism
and subjective relativism to the other two,
answering any questions they might have. Then the other two in
the group will add any features
the first student missed and elaborate on the points they think
are most important
B E G I N N I N G T O D E V E L O P A S A T H I N K E R
Make a list of some things you can do to begin your
development as a disciplined thinker. Review Chapter I for
ideas. Then answer this question: What do you think the
benefits
would be if you were to take this list seriously?
STAGE 4: THE PRACTICING THINKER
G o o d t h i n k i n g c a n b e p r a c t i c e d l i k e b a s k e t b
a l l , t e n n i s , o r b a l l e t . T h e o n l y w a y t o
m o v e f r o m Beginning T h i n k e r t o P r a c t i c i n g T h i
n k e r is t o c o m m i t yourself t o daily
practice in thinking well and design your o w n plan for
practice. When you d o so,
you become what we call a P r a c t i c i n g Thinker.
There are many ways t o design practice regimens, s o m e b e t
t e r than o t h e r s for
you. For example, you might g l a n c e t h r o u g h some of t h
e o t h e r c h a p t e r s of this
b o o k . E a c h provides suggestions f o r improving your t h i
n k i n g . You can use any of
these suggestions as a starting p o i n t .
You m i g h t review the T h i n k f o r Yourself activities. You
m i g h t study the ele-
m e n t s of t h o u g h t , t h e s t a n d a r d s f o r t h o u g h t ,

and t h e t r a i t s of mind. You might
analyze C h a p t e r 10, o n problem-solving, a n d C h a p t e r
17, o n strategic thinking.
T h i n k of it this way: Everything y o u read in this b o o k r e
p r e s e n t s a resource for
you t o use in devising a systematic p l a n for i m p r o v i n g y
o u r t h i n k i n g . As you move
T U B F I R S T F i n R S T A C E S OF D I V K U H ' M E N T
through the b o o k , routinely ask yourself: What am I learning
in this section or
chapter that I can actively incorporate into daily practice?
If you are like m o s t people, you can discover some practical
starting pomts.
T h e challenge will be in following t h r o u g h on any that you
find. This is the chal-
lenge in most areas of skill development: People do n o t
usually follow through.
They do n o t establish habits of regular practice. They are
discouraged by the
strain and a w k w a r d n e s s of early a t t e m p t s t o
perform well.
To develop as a thinker, you m u s t work o u t a plan that will
work for you, one
you can live with, o n e that won't b u r n you o u t or
overwhelm you. Ultimately, suc-
cess comes t o those w h o are persistent and w h o figure o u t
strategies for themselves.
Still, at this stage, you probably don't know for sure what will
work for you,

only what seems like it might. You have to field-test your ideas.
To be realistic, you
should expect to experiment with a variety of plans before you
find one that moves
you forward as a thinker.
G u a r d against discouragement. You can best avoid
discouragement by rec-
ognizing f r o m the outset that you are engaged in a process of
trial and error.
Prepare yourself for temporary failure. Understand success as
the willingness to
work through a variety of relative failures. The logic is
analogous to trying on
clothes. M a n y that you try might n o t fit o r look good on
you, but you plod on
anyway with the confidence that eventually you will find
something that iits and
l o o k s good o n you.
Consider another analogy: If you want t o become skilled at
tennis, you im-
prove not by expecting yourself t o begin as a n expert player, t
o win every game
you play, or by mastering new strokes with little practice.
Rather, you improve
when you develop a plan you can modify as you see what
improves your game.
Today, you might decide to work on keeping your eye on the
ball. Tomorrow-, you
might coordinate watching the ball with following t h r o u g h
as you swing. Every
day, you rethink your strategies for improvement. Development
of the h u m a n
m i n d is parallel to the development of the h u m a n body. G o
o d theory, good prac-

tice, and good feedback are essential.
A "GAME PLAN" FOR IMPROVEMENT
AS you begin to take your thinking seriously, think a b o u t
what you can do consistently t o improve your thinking.
Because excellence in t h i n k i n g requires a variety of
independent skills and t r a i t s that w o r k together, you
can choose t o work on a range of critical t h i n k i n g skills at
any given point m time.
T h e key is t o focus on fundamentals and m a k e sure you
don't try t o do t o o m u c h .
Choose your point of attack, but limit it. If you overdo it, you
probably will give
u p entirely, b u t if you d o n ' t focus on fundamentals, you
will never have t h e m as a
foundation in your thought.
Start slowly and emphasize f u n d a m e n t a l s . The race is w
o n by the t o r t o i s e ,
n o t by the hare. Be a wise turtle. The solid, steady steps you t
a k e every day will
determine where you ultimately end up.
C H A P T E R 2
A GAME PLAN FOR )EVISING E PL N
We have put together a few ideas to stimulate your thought
about a gan plan. There is nothing magical a b o u t o u r ideas;
no one of them is essei tial. Nevertheless, each represents a
plausible point of attack, o n e wa
to begin to d o something plausible to improve thinking in a
regular way. A l t h o u g

you probably can't do all of these at the same time, we
recommend an a p p r o a c
in which you experiment with all of them. You can add any
others you find in th
b o o k or come u p with yourself. A f t e r you familiarize
yourself with some of th
options, we explain how this game plan works.
1. Use "wasted" time. All h u m a n s waste s o m e time. N o o
n e uses all of his or he
time productively or even pleasurably. Sometimes we j u m p
from one diversion t
a n o t h e r without enjoying any of them or b e c o m e
irritated about matters beyon
o u r control. Sometimes we fail t o plan well, causing negative
consequences thr
we easily could have avoided such as spending time
unnecessarily trapped in trafifi
a l t h o u g h we could have left a half hour earlier and avoided
the rush. Sometime
we worry unproductively, spend time regretting what is past, or
j u s t stare b l a n k l
into space.
T h e key is that the time is "spent," and if we had thought
about it and considere
our options, we would n o t have deliberately spent our time in
that way. So o u r ide
is this: Take advantage of the time you normally waste by
practicing good t h i n k i n
during that interval. For example, instead of sitting in front of
the TV at the end o
the day, flicking from channel to channel in a vain search for a
program worth watch
ing, spend that time, or at least part of it, thinking back over
your day and eval uatin

your strengths and weaknesses. You might ask yourself
questions like these:
• When did I d o my w o r s t thinking today?
• When did I do my best thinking?
• W h a t did I actually t h i n k about today?
• Did I figure out anything?
• Did I allow any negative thinking to f r u s t r a t e me
unnecessarily?
• If I had to repeat today, what would I do differently? Why?
• Did I do anything t o d a y to further my long-term goals?
• Did I act in accordance with my own expressed values?
• If I were to spend every day this way for 10 years, would I, at
the e n d , h a v e
accomplished something worthy of that time?
Taking a little time with each question is i m p o r t a n t . It
would be useful to r e v i e
these questions periodically, perhaps weekly, t o write your
answers in a j o u r n a
and, in so doing, keep a record of how your t h i n k i n g is
developing.
2. Handle a problem a day. At the beginning of each day
(perhaps driving t o worl
or going to school), choose a problem to work on when you
have free m o m e n t s
Figure out the logic of the problem by identifying its elements.
Systematically thinl
T H E FI K S T FO U R ST A G E S OF DFAP.OI-.MENT
through the questions: What exactly is the problem? How can I
put it into the form

of a question? (See C h a p t e r 10 for a template you might
use.)
3. Internalize intellectual standards. Each week, study and
actively bring into
your thinking one of the universal intellectual standards
presented in Chapter 5.
Focus o n e week on clarity, the next o n accuracy, and so on.
For example, if you are
focusing on clarity for the week, try t o notice when you are
being unclear in com-
municating with others. Notice when others are unclear in what
they are saying.
When you read, notice whether you are clear a b o u t what you
are reading. When
you write a paragraph for class, ask yourself whether you are
clear about what you
are trying to say and in conveying your t h o u g h t s in writing.
In d o i n g this, you will practice f o u r techniques of
clarification: (1) stating
what you are saying with some c o n s i d e r a t i o n given to y
o u r choice of words,
(2) elaborating on your meaning in o t h e r words, (3) giving
examples of w h a t
you m e a n from experiences you have h a d , and (4) using
analogies, metaphors,
pictures, or d i a g r a m s t o illustrate what you m e a n . In
clarifying thinking, you
should state, elaborate, illustrate, a n d exemplify your points,
and you will regu-
larly ask others t o d o the same.
4. Keep an intellectual journal. Each week, write o u t a certain
number of journal
entries. U s e the following f o r m a t for each important event

you write about:
• Describe only situations that are emotionally significant t o
you (situations you
care deeply about).
• Describe only o n e situation at a time.
• Describe (and keep this separate) how you behaved in the
situation, being
specific and exact. (What did you say? What did you do? How
did you react?)
• Analyze, in the light of what you have written, what precisely
was going on in
the situation; dig beneath the surface.
• Assess the implications of your analysis. (What did you learn
about yourself?
What would you do differently if you could relive the
situation?)
5. Practice intellectual strategies. C h o o s e a strategy f r o m
Chapter 16 on s t r a -
tegic thinking. While using that strategy, record your
observations in a j o u r n a l ,
including what you are learning about yourself a n d how you
can use the strategy
to improve your thinking.
6. Reshape your character. Each m o n t h , choose one
intellectual trait to strive
for. tocusing on how you can develop that trait in yourself. For
example, if c o n -
centrating on intellectual humility, begin t o notice when you
admit you are w r o n g .

Notice when you refuse to admit you are wrong, even in the
face of glaring evi-
dence that you are truly wrong. Notice when you become
defensive when a n o t h e r
person tries to point out a deficiency in your work or your
thinking. Notice w h e n
your arrogance keeps you f r o m learning, when you say to
yourself, tor example,
"1 already know everything 1 need t o know a b o u t this
subject " or, "1 know a s
much as h e does. W h o does he think he is. forcing his
opinions onto m e ? "
o CHAPTER 2
7. Deal with your ego. Daily, begin t o observe your egocentric
thinking in action
by c o n t e m p l a t i n g questions like these: As I reflect u p o
n my behavior today, did
I ever become irritable over small things? Did 1 d o or say
anything irrational t o get
my way? Did I try to impose my will upon others? Did I ever
fail to speak my mind
when I felt strongly about something and then later feel
resentment?
O n c e you identify egocentric thinking in o p e r a t i o n , you
can work to replace it
with m o r e rational thought through systematic reflection.
What would a rational
person feel in this or that situation? What would a rational
person do? How does
that c o m p a r e with what you did? (Hint: If you find that you
continually conclude

that a rational person w o u l d behave just as you behaved, you
probably are en-
gaging in self-deception.) (See C h a p t e r II for more ways to
identify egocentric
thinking.)
8. Redefine the way you see things. We live in a world, both
personal and social,
in which every situation is defined; it is given a f u n d a m e n t
a l meaning. How a situ-
ation is defined determines how we feel about it, how we act in
it, and what im-
plications it has for us. Virtually every situation, however, can
be defined in m o r e
than o n e way. T h i s fact carries with it tremendous
opportunities for all of us to
make o u r life m o r e of what we want it to be. In principle, it
lies within your power
to m a k e your life much h a p p i e r and more fulfilling than it
is.
M a n y of the negative definitions we apply to situations in our
lives could, in
principle, be transformed into positive definitions. As a result,
we can gain when
otherwise we would have lost. We can be happy when otherwise
we would have
been sad. We can be fulfilled when otherwise we would have
been f r u s t r a t e d . In
this g a m e plan, we practice redefining the way we see things,
turning negatives into
positives, dead-ends into new beginnings, mistakes into
opportunities to learn. Fo
make this game plan practical, we should create some specific
guidelines for o u r -
selves. For example, we might make ourselves a list of five to

ten recurring negative
situations in which we feel frustrated, angry, unhappy, or
worried. We then c o u l d
identify the definition in each case that is at the root of the
negative e m o t i o n .
Next, we would choose a plausible alternative definition for
each and plan for o u r
new responses as well as o u r new emotions.
Suppose you have a roommate w h o gets on your nerves by
continually telling
you a b o u t all the insignificant events in his or her life. Your
present definition of
the situation is, "What a bore! How am I going t o last a whole
semester listening to
that brainless soap opera?" Your response might be: "Since I
have to d o a required
research project for my introduction to psychology class, I will
focus my project on
the psychology of my roommate." Now, instead of passively
listening to the daily
blow-by-blow description of your roommate s day, you actively
question him o r her
to gather information you can use in your psychology paper.
Because you are now
directing the conversation, your roommate is not able to bore
you with the details
of his or her day, and you transform your interactions into a
learning experience.
A n o t h e r possibility is to redefine an "impossibly difficult
class" into a "chal-
lenge to figure out new fundamental concepts and a new way of
thinking." For
example: You redefine your initial approach to a member of the
other sex not in

terms of the definition, "His/her response will determine
whether I am an attractive
T u t : F I R S T F O U R S T A C K S O F D E V E L O P M E
N T
person," but, instead, in terms of the definition, "Let me test to
see if this person is
initially drawn t o me, given the way he or she perceives me."
With the first definition in m i n d , you feel personally p u t
down if the person
is not interested in you. With the second definition, you
explicitly recognize that
people initially respond not to the way a stranger is but, rather,
to the way the per-
son subjectively looks to the other. You therefore do not
perceive someone's failure
to show interest in you as a defect in you.
9. Get in touch with your emotions. Whenever you feel some
negative e m o t i o n ,
systematically ask yourself, " W h a t , exactly, is the t h i n k i
n g that leads t o this
emotion? H o w might this thinking be flawed? What a m I
assuming? Should I be
making these a s s u m p t i o n s ? What i n f o r m a t i o n is
my t h i n k i n g based on? Is t h a t
i n f o r m a t i o n reliable?" a n d so on. (See Chapters 3 and
16.)
10. Analyze group influences on your life. Closely analyze t h e
behavior that is e n -
couraged a n d discouraged in the g r o u p s to which you

belong. For a given g r o u p ,
what are you required or expected t o believe? What are you " f
o r b i d d e n " to d o ?
If you conclude that your group does not require you t o believe
anything or h a s
no taboos, you c a n conclude that you have not deeply analyzed
that group. T o
gain insight into the process of socialization a n d g r o u p
membership, review a n
introductory text in sociology. (See C h a p t e r 11.)
Integrating Strategies One by One
When designing strategies, the key point is to engage in an
experiment. You are t e s t -
ing strategies in your personal life, integrating them, and
building on them in light o f
your actual experience. All strategies have advantages and
disadvantages. One p l a u -
sible way to do this is to work with all the strategies on the
following list in any order.
1. Use "wasted" time.
2. Handle a problem a day.
3. Internalize intellectual standards.
4. Keep an intellectual j o u r n a l .
5. Practice intellectual strategies.
6. Reshape your character.
7. Deal with your ego.
8. Redefine the way you see things.
9. Get in touch with your emotions.
10. Analyze g r o u p infiuences on your life.
As you design strategies to improve the quality of your iife,
suppose you find
the strategy "Redefine the way you see things" to be intuitive t

o you. Therefore, it's
a good strategy to begin with. A s you focus intently on this
idea and apply it in y o u r
life, you begin to notice social definitions within groups. You
begin t o recognize
12 C H A P T E R 2
how your behavior is shaped and controlled by g r o u p
definitions. You begin to see
how you a n d others uncritically accept group d e f i n i t i o n
s rather than creating your
own definitions. Notice the definitions embedded in the
following statements.
1. " T m giving a party"
2. "We're going t o have a meeting."
3. "Why don't you run for electionf
4. " T h e funeral is Tuesday."
5. "Jack is an acquaintance, n o t really a friend."
When you internalize this idea, you begin to see how important
and pervasive
social definitions are. When you more insightful a b o u t social
definitions, you can
redefine situations in ways t h a t run contrary to c o m m o n l
y accepted social defi-
nitions. You then see how redefining situations a n d
relationships enables you to
"get in t o u c h with your emotions." You recognize t h a t the
way you define things
generates the emotions you feel. When you think y o u are
threatened (you define
a situation as "threatening"), you feel fear. On the o n e hand, if

you define a situ-
ation as a "failure," you might feel depressed. On t h e other
hand, if you define
that same situation as " a lesson o r an o p p o r t u n i t y t o
learn," you feel empowered
to learn. When you recognize the control you are capable of
exercising, the two
strategies begin to work together and reinforce e a c h other.
You then might begin to integrate Strategy 10 ("Analyze group
influences on
your life") with the two strategies you have already
internalized. One of the main
ways in which groups control us is by controlling t h e
definitions they allow us to
use. When a group defines some things as "cool" a n d some as
"dumb," members
of the g r o u p try to a p p e a r " c o o l " and n o t " d u m b . "
When the boss of a business
says, " T h a t makes a lot of sense," his subordinates know they
are not to say, "No,
it is ridiculous." They know this because defining s o m e o n e
as the " b o s s " gives him
or her special privileges to define situations and relationships.
As a developing
thinker, you begin to decide which groups you allow to
influence your thinking
and which group influences you reject.
You now have three interwoven strategies: You "redefine the
way you see
things," "get in touch with your emotions," and "analyze group
influences on your
life." The three strategies are integrated into one. A t this point,
you can experi-
ment with any of the o t h e r strategies (which follow), looking

for opportunities to
integrate them into your thinking and your life.
• Use wasted time.
• Handle a problem a day.
• Internalize intellectual standards.
• Keep an intellectual j o u r n a l .
• Practice intellectual strategies.
• Reshape your character.
• Deal with your ego.

CRITICAL THINKING T O O L S F O R T A K I N G C H A R G .docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to CRITICAL THINKING T O O L S F O R T A K I N G C H A R G .docx

Similar to CRITICAL THINKING T O O L S F O R T A K I N G C H A R G .docx (20)

More from faithxdunce63732

More from faithxdunce63732 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

CRITICAL THINKING T O O L S F O R T A K I N G C H A R G .docx