The document defines critical thinking as using cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions to analyze and evaluate arguments, identify biases, form reasonable conclusions, and make intelligent decisions. The goals of critical thinking are to teach students how to reason well and succeed in life by using facts intelligently. Some standards of critical thinking discussed are clarity, precision, accuracy, relevance, consistency, logical correctness, and completeness. The document also discusses benefits of critical thinking in education, careers, and everyday life, as well as common barriers like egocentrism, sociocentrism, assumptions, stereotypes, and wishful thinking.

1. INTRODUCTION

2. Critical Thinking? Critical? Is it “Negative”? Fault Finding? It can also mean involving @ exercising skilled judgment @ observation.

3. DEFINITION OF CRITICAL THINKING Cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions needed to effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth claims, to discover and overcome personal prejudices and biases, to formulate and present convincing reasons in support of conclusions, and to make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and what to do.

4. Goals To teach students “how to reason well” To cope with the demands of life such as in solving problems, in arguing, in being persuaded or not by someone else argument etc. “ Success in life requires more than the simple knowledge of facts – it requires evaluating and using facts intelligently.”

5. Critical Thinking Standards Clarity Critical thinkers strive for clarity of language as well as clarity of thought. 2. Precision Precise thinking can eliminate confusions and uncertainties. Be specific. Provide details.

6. Critical Thinking Standards 3. Accuracy Accurate information will ensure correct decision and conclusion. E.g: “He always smiles and has many friends” (Information, assumption) “ Therefore, he must be friendly.” (conclusion)

7. Critical Thinking Standards 4. Relevance The need to stay focus on relevant ideas and information and not to be deceived by irrelevant issues. Eg: A & B are trying to convince you on their different child products. A said “You should be more confident on my product here because I have 5 children already, but B has none!”

8. Critical Thinking Standards 5. Consistency Logic tells us that if a person holds inconsistent beliefs, at least one of those beliefs must be false. Eg: You cannot say that Mr. Alan is the murderer and he is not guilty for the murder at the same time.

9. Critical Thinking Standards 6. Logical correctness To draw well-founded conclusions that logically follow from the accurate and well supported beliefs we hold. Eg: “So you say that you like reading. Here in this campus, people like you have no friends. So, you should change your mind!” (The threat is irrelevant to the truth of the conclusion).

10. Critical Thinking Standards 7. Completeness Thinking is better when it is deep rather than shallow, thorough rather than superficial. 8. Fairness Critical thinking demands that our thinking be fair. We should be open minded, impartial, and free of biases and preconceptions.

11. The benefits of Critical Thinking Critical Thinking in the classroom University curriculum requires you to have active, intelligent evaluation of ideas and information.

12. The benefits of Critical Thinking 2. Critical Thinking in the workplace Employers are now looking for workers with good thinking and communication skills.

13. The benefits of Critical Thinking 3. Critical thinking in everyday life Help us to make life decision and avoid making mistakes in such decision. Help free us from the unexamined assumptions and biases of our upbringing and our society. Eg: “This is what I’ve been taught, but is it true?”

14. Barriers to Critical Thinking Why are many of us not critical? Egocentrism Tendency to see reality as centered on oneself. a) Self-interested thinking Tendency to accept and defend beliefs that harmonize with one’s own self-interest.

15. Barriers to Critical Thinking b) Self-serving bias Tendency to overrate one selves – to see oneself as being better than one actually is. To attribute success to oneself, but failure to others.

16. Barriers to Critical Thinking 2. Sociocentrism A group centered thinking. Focusing excessively on the group. Group bias Tendency to see one’s own group as being better than other group.

17. Barriers to Critical Thinking b) Herd Instinct (conformism) Tendency to follow the crowd, to conform to authority @ to group standards. “ Authority / group often moves us. We are impressed, influenced, & intimidated by them, so much so that, under certain conditions, we abandon our own values, beliefs, judgment, even doubt our own sensory experience!”

18. Barriers to Critical Thinking 3. Unwarranted assumptions and stereotypes Assumptions: something we believe to be true without any proof @ conclusive evidence. Unwarranted assumptions : Unreasonable assumptions. Stereotypes : Exaggerated generalizations to a group.

19. Barriers to Critical Thinking 4. Wishful thinking Believing something not because you had good evidence for it but simply because you wished it were true.

20. CONCLUSION Critical thinkers should be aware of all these barriers and should combat them.

21. CLASS ACTIVITY In group of 3 @ 4, discuss your experience of having these barriers to critical thinking. Then share with the class.