>> Critical thinking is a collection of cognitive skills that allow us to think rationally in a goal-orientated fashion, and a disposition to use those skills when appropriate. Critical thinkers are amiable skeptics. They are flexible thinkers who require evidence to support their beliefs and recognize fallacious attempts to persuade them. Critical thinking means overcoming all sorts of cognitive biases (e.g., hindsight bias, confirmation bias, etc.).
This is someone's definition of a "critical thinker." And it may be an okay definition, but it is not THE definition. In fact, the above paragraph would be a total re-definition of the term. I would lean toward the more generic definition (this one found at Wikipedia) which, which focuses on the essence:
Critical thinking is the objective analysis of facts to form a judgment. [1] The subject is complex, and there are several different definitionswhich generally include the rational, skeptical, unbiased analysis or evaluation of factual evidence.
It lacks the requirement of "amiability" or "goal-oriented" and substitutes "objectivity" for "recognition of fallacious attempts". That is, a less cynical view of what is critical thinking.
It is important try and remove political implications from the definition or we get into dicey territory. Soon, a person who lives south of Tunica Count in Mississippi is defined by geography to be a less-than-critical thinker. And when one requires "unbiased analysis", one gets to the heart of the matter.
I don't know if this sort of thing interests you, but I spend a lot of time at night watching youtubes of the great minds. One we are lucky to still have around is Freeman Dyson, a great mathematician, now 93 years old, still as sharp as a tack, worked with many of the great physicists of the last century. Anyway, there are many great examples of critical thinking to be found in those answers.
Anyway, this is one my favorite examples of Dyson's critical thinking:
youtube.com
Not sure it would strike you the same, but I was blown away Dyson's ability to come to term with this rejection and accept the explanation of Fermi's brief engagement. (BTW, the entire series of videos is good if this kind of material interests you). |
