Critical Thinking

Debate, Research, rhetorical style

Critical Thinking

Contributed by Barbara Fowler, Longview Community College.

The following are definitions of Critical Thinking according to the people who write textbooks and articles on the subject. While this does not make them automatically correct, it does indicate that they have spent some time thinking about the topic. The best definition for Critical Thinking may well be your own – to help with that task, the best approach to the topic I found was written by Peter A. Facione, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Santa Clara University. Attributes of a Critical Thinker. A Critical Thinker:

  • asks pertinent questions
  • assesses statements and arguments
  • is able to admit a lack of understanding or information
  • has a sense of curiosity
  • is interested in finding new solutions
  • is able to clearly define a set of criteria for analyzing ideas
  • is willing to examine beliefs, assumptions, and opinions and weigh them against facts
  • listens carefully to others and is able to give feedback
  • sees that critical thinking is a lifelong process of self-assessment
  • suspends judgment until all facts have been gathered and considered
  • looks for evidence to support assumption and beliefs
  • is able to adjust opinions when new facts are found
  • looks for proof
  • examines problems closely
  • is able to reject information that is incorrect or irrelevant

Ferrett, S. Peak Performance (1997)

Critical Readers are:

  • willing to spend time reflecting on the ideas presented in their reading assignments
  • able to evaluate and solve problems while reading rather than merely compile a set of facts to be memorized
  • logical thinkers
  • diligent in seeking out the truth
  • eager to express their thoughts on a topic
  • seekers of alternative views on a topic
  • open to new ideas that may not necessarily agree with their previous thought on a topic
  • able to base their judgments on ideas and evidence
  • able to recognize errors in thought and persuasion as well as to recognize good arguments
  • willing to take a critical stance on issues
  • able to ask penetrating and thought-provoking questions to evaluate ideas
  • in touch with their personal thoughts and ideas about a topic
  • willing to reassess their views when new or discordant evidence is introduced and evaluated
  • able to identify arguments and issues
  • able to see connections between topics and use knowledge from other disciplines to enhance their reading and learning experiences

Schumm, J. S. and Post, S. A. (1997). Executive Learning, 282.

Uses of Critical Thinking:

“Underlies reading, writing, speaking, and listening . . . the basic elements of communication”

“Plays an important part in social change . . . institutions in any society – courts, governments, schools, businesses – are the products of a certain way of thinking.”

“Helps us uncover bias and prejudice.”

“Is a path to freedom form half-truths and deceptions.”

“The willingness to change one point of view as we continue to examine and re-examine ideas that may seem obvious. Such thinking takes time and the willingness to say three subversive words: I don’t know.”

Critical thinkers: distinguish between fact and opinion; ask questions; make detailed observations; uncover assumptions and define their terms; and make assertions based on sound logic and solid evidence.

Ellis, D. Becoming a Master Student, 1997.

About Amber Lisa

Amber Maiden is the Chief Executive Officer and Co- Founder of Alchemy Enterprises (AE) and spearheads AE’s strategic planning, leadership development, and organizational goals and performance. With regard to her particular consulting areas of expertise, she specializes in Multiculturalism (Diversity), Equal Employment Opportunity compliance and training and Title IX compliance and training with regard to the new legislation and recommendations in the areas of domestic and intimate violence, sexual harassment and sexual assault. Amber has conducted top-to-bottom, organization wide, EEO and Diversity training for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, where she worked as the EEO/Affirmative Action Officer managing that organization’s EEO, Diversity and Affirmative Action programs. This work included policy and curriculum development and implementation at all organizational levels, as well as overseeing (sometimes highly sensitive) EEO investigations. Amber Maiden was also a writing and literature professor at Northern Virginia Community College, where she served in leadership positions on the Achieving the Dream Committee and the Adjunct Faculty Counsel. Amber’s passion for teaching, learning and consulting in the higher ed environment, occurred primarily through the penning of a memoir, The Way Through, Lessons Learned on Life Love and the Journey. Through her own writing process, she was able to transform her own psychological traumas and scars that resulted from childhood experiences with domestic violence. Now, she teaches others to do the same. It is through this work that she has been able to make thousands of meaningful connections with students encountering, enduring and surviving domestic violence, institutional violence and other types of personal violence and sexual assault. Based on this memoir, Amber has created a workshop: The Way Through, Lessons, Learned on Life Love and the Journey of Healing from Domestic and Intimate Violence, that is one of many products that is offered as a product under the Alchemy Enterprise brand. It is a workshop for students who are in the process of healing from intimate violence in their lives. Amber Maiden holds a Juris Doctor degree as well as a Masters in English from George Mason University. For her undergraduate work, she acquired a Bachelors in Political Science from Northwestern University

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