Chapter 4: Critical thinking

 Meaning of Critical Thinking

 Critical means exercising skilled judgment or observation.
 Critical thinking means thinking clearly and intelligently.
 critical thinking is the general term given to a wide range of cognitive skills
and intellectual dispositions needed to effectively identify, analyze, and
evaluate arguments/ ideas
 Critical thinking is:
o thinking clearly:
o thinking fairly:
o thinking rationally:
o thinking objectively:
o thinking independently:
 John Dewey: critical thinking is
o An active ‘process: think things by yourself
o A persistent and careful consideration: don’t jump to a conclusion
without thinking about it
o deciding based on existing grounds: skillful reasoning is a key element
 Robert Ennis: critical thinking is a reasonable, reflective thinking that is
focused on deciding what to do which sees decision-making is an important
part of critical thinking
 Richard Paul: Critical thinking is a mode of thinking – about any subject,
content or problem – in which the thinker improves the quality of his or
her thinking by skillfully taking charge of the structures inherent in
thinking and imposing intellectual standards upon them

 So, to develop one‘s critical thinking ability is through ‗thinking about

one‘s thinking‘ (called meta-cognition) and consciously aiming to improve
it by reference to some model of good thinking in that domain
 Critical thinking helps us to:
o discovers & overcomes personal preconceptions or prejudice
o formulate & provide convincing reason and justifications
o make reasonable/rational decision about what we believe /do
o impartially investigate data and facts
o arrive at well-reasoned, sound and justifiable conclusion
 Standards of CT
 refers to condition that critical thinking should met
 So, CT is normal and acceptable if it fulfills the following standards
1. Clarity
2. Precision
3. Accuracy
4. Relevance
5. Consistency
6. Logical Correctness
7. Completeness
8. Fairness
1. Clarity
 refers to clear understanding and expressing of concepts free of ambiguity
and vagueness
 So, in critical thinking:
• While constructing argument, we should pay close attention to clarity of
expressions/ideas
• Before evaluating argument/claim of others, first understand clearly
what the person is saying
 Critical thinkers strive for both clarity of language and thought
 If a statement is unclear, its difficult to determine whether it is accurate or
relevant
 Sometimes lack of clarity may the result of laziness, carelessness, or lack of
skill
 To achieve personal goals in life, we need a clear conception of our:
• goals and priorities, problems and opportunities we face.
2. Precision
 matter of being exact, accurate and careful.
 To get precise understanding, pay close attention to details of
ideas/expressions
 To cut confusions and uncertainties of everyday problems and issues, it is
necessary to insist on precise answers to precise questions:
 What exactly is the problem we are facing? What exactly are the
alternatives?
 What exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of each alternatives
 i.e. Providing precise answer to precise questions of everyday problems we
face.
3. Accuracy
 Having correct and genuine information in decision making process
 Every decision should be made based on true information
 Related with the well-known saying about computers: Garbage in, garbage
out.
 If the input is false information, decision will not be sound
 Critical thinkers values: accurate and timely information
4. Relevance
 The question of relevance is a question of connections.
 Discussion/debate, should focus on relevant ideas and information
 Issues raised should have logical connection with the question at hand
 Avoid ‘irrelevant issue that tricks/distract audience ‘s attention
5. Consistency
 about the quality of always behaving in the same way
 following same standards in decisions making
 Critical thinkers prize truth and constantly lookout for inconsistencies
 There are two kinds of inconsistency that should be avoided:
o Logical inconsistency: involves saying or believing inconsistent things
o Practical inconsistency: involves saying one thing and doing
another( hypocrites)
6. Logical Correctness
 draw well-founded conclusions from belief/information
 To think logically is to reason correctly i.e., to draw well-founded
conclusions
 Unfortunately, illogical thinking is all too common in human affairs.
 When combinations of thoughts are mutually supporting and make sense
in combination, the thinking is logical.
 But if combination are contradictory in some sense thinking is not logical.
 So, Logical Correctness about drawing well-founded conclusions based on
existing information
7. Completeness
 Deep , complete, and thorough thinking is preferable than shallow and
superficial thinking.
8. Fairness
 basic fair-mindedness is clearly an essential attribute of a critical thinker
 Fairness implies the treating of all relevant viewpoints alike without
reference to one‘s own feelings or interests
 Critical thinking demands that our thinking to be
o Fair, open minded, impartial
o free of distortion, biasness, preconceptions, Inclinations or Personal
interests
 Principles of Good Argument
 discussion may involve two/more participants or it may be an internal
discussion with oneself.
 Any one who wishes to construct the strongest possible arguments should
consider the following principles
1. The Structural Principle
2. The Relevance Principle
3. The Acceptability Principle
4. The Sufficiency Principle
5. The Rebuttal Principle
1. The Structural Principle
 When arguing for or against a position, the Arguments should meets the
fundamental structural requirements
 Hence, an argument is a good one if
 It’s structurally good (sound): conclusion follows necessarily from the
premises
 The conclusion don’t contradict with the premise (law of non-
contradiction)
 premises are compatible to each other so can help us decide what to do
or believe
2. The Relevance Principle
 One who argues in favor or against a position should Set forth a premise in
which Truth provides evidence for the truth of the conclusion
 A premise is relevant if its provides acceptable reason in favor of
conclusion
 Premise is relevant if its provides logical relevant reason to the conclusion
 A premise is irrelevant if it provides no evidence for, or has no connection
to the truth or merit of the conclusion.
3. The Acceptability Principle
 Premise must provide evidence acceptable by a mature and rational
person
4. The Sufficiency Principle
 anyone who presents an argument for or against a position should
provide relevant and acceptable reasons that together are sufficient in
number and weight to justify the acceptance of the conclusion.
 Evidence is therefore, sufficient if
o All available evidences are enough to drive someone to conclusion
o The evidence presented are not flawed by some kind of faulty
causal analysis
 o The key or crucial evidence are not omitted from the argument
 Questions to test sufficiency of evidence
o Are the available reasons enough to drive someone to conclusion?
o are key or crucial evidence missing from the argument
5. The Rebuttal Principle
 Person should provide effective rebuttal (refutation) to all anticipated
serious criticisms of an argument raised against it.
 good argument effectively refute criticisms raised against it or
 A good argument includes an effective rebuttal to all anticipated serious
criticisms of the argument.
 Arguers who construct an arguments that misrepresent the criticism,
bring up trivial objections, resort to humor or ridicule as devices clearly
fail to make effective responses.
 Principles of Critical Thinking

1. The Fallibility Principle

2. The Truth-Seeking Principle
3. The Clarity Principle
4. The Burden of Proof Principle
5. The Principle of Charity
6. The Resolution Principle
7. The Suspension of Judgment Principle
1. The Fallibility Principle
 In discussion, participants should be willing to accept his/her fallibility
which means
• one must acknowledge that one‘s own initial view may not be the most
defensible position on the question
• accepting the fact that you(participant) are fallible
• Showing willingness to change mind if a new better argument comes
 If you refuse to accept your own fallibility, you are saying that you are not
willing to change your mind, even if you hear a better argument
 So, admission of fallibility is a positive sign for further discussion, inquiry
and fair resolution of the issue
2. The Truth-Seeking Principle
 Each participant should be committed to earnestly search for truth
 The search for truth is lifelong endeavor and can be attained if:
o We discuss and entertain the ideas and arguments of fellow
o We have the willingness to listen , Examine and look at available
alternative positions/options
o We Allow others to present arguments for or against issue
o We encourage criticisms of our own views
3. The Clarity Principle
 Formulations of all positions, defenses, and attacks should be free of
any kind of linguistic confusion
 discussion is successful if it carried on in a language that all the parties
involved can understand
 expressing in confusing, vague, ambiguous, or contradictory language
will not help reach the desired goal
4. The Burden of Proof Principle
 Burden of proof for any position rests on the participant who sets forth
the position or argument
 When an opponent asks, the proponent should provide an argument
for that position
 Participant is obligated to provide reasons in favor of his claim
 The arguer is Obliged to give logical answer to the why/how do you
know questions
 An exception to this rule is a situation in which the claim in question is
well established or uncontroversial
 Asking others to accept your claim without any support, or to shift the
burden of proof to them by suggesting that your position is true with
no knowledge of it commit the fallacy ignorance
5. The Principle of Charity
 If the participant‘s argument is reformulated by an opponent, it should be
carefully expressed in its strongest possible version (intension of the
original argument)
 The Opponent has an obligation to interpret the speaker's statements in
the most rational way
 but If the opponent deliberately create weak version of the original
argument, and attack it, he/she will fail to achieve the desirable goal of
the discussion
 If we are really interested in the truth or the best answer to a problem,
then we have to evaluate the best version the argument set forth in
support of one of the options.
6. The Suspension of Judgment Principle
 suspend judgment about the issue if
o no position is defended by good argument, or
o two or more positions seem to be defended with equal strength
o one has no good basis (evidence) for making a decision

 If an issue requires immediate decision, one should weigh the relative

benefits/harm & consequences of suspending judgment
7. The Resolution Principle
 Issue should be considered resolved if the
o Argument for one of the alternative positions is a structurally good
o Argument provides relevant and acceptable ,sufficient reasons to
justify the conclusion
o Argument provides effective rebuttal to all serious criticisms of
position it supports
 But If the argument is found by any participant to be flawed and doubtful
the position it supports, one is obligated to reopen the issue for further
consideration and resolution
 Traits of critical thinkers
 honest with themselves (recognizing their limitations, and watchful of
their own errors.
 Regard problems and controversial issues as exciting challenges.
 Base judgments on evidence than personal preferences
 Are interested in other people's ideas (open minded)
 Recognize that extreme views are seldom correct
 Practice restraint and controlling their feelings
 Traits of uncritical thinkers
• Pretend they know more than they do
• Regard problems and controversial issues as threats
• Are inpatient with complexity
• Base judgments on first impressions and gut reactions
• Ignore the need for balance and give preference to views that support
their established views.
• Tend to follow their feelings and act impulsively
 Barriers to Critical Thinking
 There are some problems that impede critical thinking which includes:
 egocentrism
 sociocentrism
 unwarranted assumptions and stereotype
 relativistic thinking
1. Egocentrism
Tendency to see reality as centered on oneself
Mostly people are prey to egocentrism
Ego-centrists are selfish, self-absorbed people who view their interests and
values as superior to everyone else.
The Two common forms of egocentrism are :
i. The self-interested thinking
 tendency to accept and defend beliefs that harmonize with one‘s self-
interest
 Almost no one is immune to self-interested thinking
  This is the major obstacle to critical thinking
 Everyone finds it tempting at times to reason that ―these benefits
me- is sham.
ii. The superiority bias
• the tendency to overrate oneself - to see oneself as better in some
respect than one actually is.
• If you are like most people, but you consider yourself as being an
unusually self-aware person you are suffering from superiority bias
2. Sociocentrism
 It is group-centered thinking.
 Hinder rational thinking by making people to focus excessively on the
group
 The two most common sociocentrism that hinder critical thinking are:
o Group bias:
 The tendency to see one ‘s own group as being inherently better
than others
 Such thinking is extremely common throughout human history and
across cultures.
 Mine-is-better thinking lies at the root of a great deal of human
conflict, intolerance, and oppression
o Conformism:
• tendency to follow the crowd - to conform to group standards of
conduct and belief.
• The desire to belong certain group, can be among the most powerful
of human motivations.
• This desire can seriously cripple our powers of critical reasoning and
decision-making.
3. Unwarranted Assumptions and Stereotypes
 assumption is something we take for granted without any proof
 Unwarranted assumptions are unreasonably taken for grant without
good reason.
 most common types of unwarranted assumptions is a stereotype
4. Relativistic Thinking
 view truth as a matter of opinion
 There are two popular forms of relativism:
• Ethical Subjectivism: view truth as a matter of individual
opinion.
• Cultural relativism: view truth as a matter of social or cultural
opinion i.e. true is whatever most people in a society or culture
believe to be true.
End of chapter 4