1. What Is Critical Thinking?
Part 2

2. Subjects to Examine Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Distinctions between the brain and the mind
Critical thinking defined
Part 2
Characteristics of critical thinkers
The role of intuition
Part 3
Basic activities in critical thinking
Critical thinking and writing
Critical thinking and discussion

3. What are their characteristics?
Critical thinkers
What are their characteristics?

4. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers
As we have previously noted, one characteristic of a critical thinker is the ability to ask appropriate questions
Another is control of one’s mental activities
John Dewey once observed that more of our time than most of us care to admit is spent “trifling with mental pictures, random recollections, pleasant but unfounded hopes, flitting, half-developed impressions.”

5. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers (cont.)
Good critical thinkers have learned how to stop the casual, semiconscious drift of images when they wish and how to fix their minds on one specific matter, examine it carefully, and form a judgment about it
They have learned how to take charge of their thoughts, to use their minds actively (problem solving) as well as passively (daydreaming)

6. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers (cont.)
Uncritical Thinkers
Are honest with themselves, acknowledging what they don’t know, recognizing their limitations, and being watchful of their own errors
Pretend they know more than they do, ignore their limitations, and assume their views are error-free

7. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers (cont.)
Uncritical Thinkers
Regard problems and controversial issues as exciting challenges
Regard problems and controversial issues as nuisances or threats to their ego

8. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers (cont.)
Uncritical Thinkers
Strive for understanding, keep curiosity alive, remain patient with complexity, and are ready to invest time to overcome confusion
Are impatient with complexity and thus would rather remain confused than make the effort to understand

9. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers (cont.)
Uncritical Thinkers
Base judgments on evidence rather than personal preferences, deferring judgment whenever evidence is insufficient; they revise judgments when new evidence reveals error
Base judgments on first impressions and gut reactions; they are unconcerned about the amount or quality of evidence and cling to their views steadfastly

10. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers (cont.)
Uncritical Thinkers
Are interested in other people’s ideas and so are willing to read and listen attentively, even when they tend to disagree with the other person
Are preoccupied with themselves and their own opinions and are so unwilling to pay attention to others’ views. At the first sign of disagreement, they tend to think, “How can I refute this?”

11. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers (cont.)
Uncritical Thinkers
Recognize that extreme views (whether “conservative” or “liberal”) are seldom correct, so they avoid them, practice fairmindedness, and seek a balanced view
Ignore the need for balance and give preference to views that support their established views

12. Characteristics of Critical Thinkers (cont.)
Uncritical Thinkers
Practice restraint, controlling their feelings rather than being controlled by them, and thinking before acting
Tend to follow their feelings and act impulsively

13. So?
As the desirable qualities suggest, critical thinking depends on mental discipline
Effective thinkers
Exert control over their mental life
Consciously and intentionally direct their thoughts rather than being directed by them
Withhold their endorsement of any idea, even their own, until they have tested and confirmed it

14. So? (cont.) Dewey equated mental discipline with freedom:
“If a man’s actions are not guided by thoughtful conclusions, then they are guided by inconsiderate impulse, unbalanced appetite, caprice, or the circumstances of the moment. To cultivate unhindered, unreflective external activity is to foster enslavement, for it leaves the person at the mercy of appetite, sense, and circumstance.”

15. Questions to ponder Who is John Dewey, and why should you care?
What is the relationship between proper nutrition and the ability to concentrate?
How does what we see and hear affect our ability to be a critical thinker?
Why is being able to think critically important in real life? Give at least three examples of where it would be useful
What is the relationship between reading, writing, and thinking?

16. What about intuition?
Where does it fit in?

17. The Role of Intuition
Intuition is commonly defined as immediate perception or comprehension of something – that is, sensing or understanding something without the use of reasoning
Another way to say it: quick and ready insight

18. The Role of Intuition (cont.)
Some everyday experiences seem to support this definition
You meet a stranger and instantly “know” you will be partners for life
When a car salesman tells you the quoted price is the “rock bottom price,” your intuition may have told you she was lying
Of the first day of a new job, you have a strong sense something will not go right with it

19. The Role of Intuition (cont.)
Sometimes even important “discoveries” seem to have occurred instantaneously
The German chemist Kekule found the solution to a difficult chemical problem by slipping into a daydream and seeing the image of a snake swallowing its tail
This provided a clue to the structure of the benzene molecule, which is a ring of atoms rather than a chain of atoms

20. The Role of Intuition (cont.)
This may suggest that intuition is very different from reasoning and not influenced by it
Should we accept this conclusion at face value?
Let’s look more carefully at this subject

21. The Role of Intuition (cont.)
Breakthrough ideas favor trained, active minds
It is unusual for someone totally untrained in a subject to make a significant new discovery about that subject
If Kekule had been a plumber, it is unlikely that he would have received the intuition for which he is famous

22. The Role of Intuition (cont.)
Some intuitions eventually prove to be mistaken and in error
The person you were instantly attracted to turns out to be not your lifelong partner but someone for whom you develop a strong dislike
The car salesman’s final price may have proved to be exactly that – the final price
Instead of the job going poorly, it goes exceptionally well

23. The Role of Intuition (cont.)
It is difficult to make an overall assessment of the quality of our intuitions because we tend to forget those that prove mistaken in much the same way a gambler forgets his losses
Experiment: Keep track of your “intuitions” in a journal, and evaluate them to see which are actually accurate or come to pass

24. The Role of Intuition (cont.)
These facts have lead some scholars to conclude that intuition is simply a consequence of thinking
Sometimes you make a quick decision without being aware you’re thinking about something, causing you to experience “precognition”
Sometimes your “unconscious problem solver” is at work and it brings you ideas from “out of the blue” – a delayed result of thinking

25. So? Is intuition independent of and different from thinking? Or not?
The most prudent answer seems to be “sometimes yes, sometimes no”
Therefore, because intuition is unreliable, it is not prudent to rely on it in place of thinking
That is not to say it should be ignored! But rather it should be properly evaluated

26. For next time Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Distinctions between the brain and the mind
Critical thinking defined
Part 2
Characteristics of critical thinkers
The role of intuition
Part 3
Basic activities in critical thinking
Critical thinking and writing
Critical thinking and discussion