Article on Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking Skills
What is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection
between ideas. Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and thought since the time of
early Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates and has continued to be a subject of discussion into
the modern age.
Critical thinking might be described as the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking.
In essence, critical thinking requires you to use your ability to reason. It is about being an active
learner rather than a passive recipient of information.
Critical thinkers rigorously question ideas and assumptions rather than accepting them at face
value. They will always seek to determine whether the ideas, arguments and findings represent
the entire picture and are open to finding that they do not.
Critical thinkers will identify, analyse and solve problems systematically rather than by intuition
or instinct.
Someone with critical thinking skills can:

 Understand the links between ideas.
 Determine the importance and relevance of arguments and ideas.
 Recognise, build and appraise arguments.
 Identify inconsistencies and errors in reasoning.
 Approach problems in a consistent and systematic way.
 Reflect on the justification of their own assumptions, beliefs and values.
Critical thinking is thinking about things in certain ways so as to arrive at the best possible solution in the
circumstances that the thinker is aware of. In more everyday language, it is a way of thinking about whatever
is presently occupying your mind so that you come to the best possible conclusion.
Critical Thinking is:
A way of thinking about particular things at a particular time; it is not the accumulation of facts and
knowledge or something that you can learn once and then use in that form forever, such as the nine
times table you learn and use in school.
The Skills We Need for Critical Thinking
The skills that we need in order to be able to think critically are varied and include observation, analysis,
interpretation, reflection, evaluation, inference, explanation, problem solving, and decision making.
Specifically we need to be able to:
 Think about a topic or issue in an objective and critical way.
 Identify the different arguments there are in relation to a particular issue.
 Evaluate a point of view to determine how strong or valid it is.
 Recognise any weaknesses or negative points that there are in the evidence or argument.
 Notice what implications there might be behind a statement or argument.
 Provide structured reasoning and support for an argument that we wish to make.
The Critical Thinking Process
You should be aware that none of us think critically all the time.
Sometimes we think in almost any way but critically, for example when our self-
control is affected by anger, grief or joy or when we are feeling just plain ‘bloody
minded’.
On the other hand, the good news is that, since our critical thinking ability varies according to our
current mindset, most of the time we can learn to improve our critical thinking ability by developing
certain routine activities and applying them to all problems that present themselves.
Once you understand the theory of critical thinking, improving your critical thinking skills takes
persistence and practice.
Try this simple exercise to help you to start thinking critically.
Think of something that someone has recently told you. Then ask yourself
the following questions:
Who said it?
Someone you know? Someone in a position of authority or power? Does it matter who told you this?
What did they say?
Did they give facts or opinions? Did they provide all the facts? Did they leave anything out?
Where did they say it?
Was it in public or in private? Did other people have a chance to respond an provide an alternative
account?
When did they say it?
Was it before, during or after an important event? Is timing important?
Why did they say it?
Did they explain the reasoning behind their opinion? Were they trying to make someone look good
or bad?
How did they say it?
Were they happy or sad, angry or indifferent? Did they write it or say it? Could you understand what
was said?
What are you Aiming to Achieve?

One of the most important aspects of critical thinking is to decide
what you are aiming to achieve and then make a decision based
on a range of possibilities.
Once you have clarified that aim for yourself you should use it as the starting point in all future
situations requiring thought and, possibly, further decision making. Where needed, make your
workmates, family or those around you aware of your intention to pursue this goal. You must
then discipline yourself to keep on track until changing circumstances mean you have to revisit
the start of the decision making process.
However, there are things that get in the way of simple decision making. We all carry with us a range of likes
and dislikes, learnt behaviours and personal preferences developed throughout our lives; they are the
hallmarks of being human. A major contribution to ensuring we think critically is to be aware of these
personal characteristics, preferences and biases and make allowance for them when considering possible
next steps, whether they are at the pre-action consideration stage or as part of a rethink caused by
unexpected or unforeseen impediments to continued progress.
The more clearly we are aware of ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses, the more likely our
critical thinking will be productive.
The Benefit of Foresight
Perhaps the most important element of thinking critically is foresight.
Almost all decisions we make and implement don’t prove disastrous if we find reasons to abandon
them. However, our decision making will be infinitely better and more likely to lead to success if,
when we reach a tentative conclusion, we pause and consider the impact on the people and
activities around us.
The elements needing consideration are generally numerous and varied. In many cases,
consideration of one element from a different perspective will reveal potential dangers in pursuing
our decision.
For instance, moving a business activity to a new location may improve potential output considerably
but it may also lead to the loss of skilled workers if the distance moved is too great. Which of these is
the more important consideration? Is there some way of lessening the conflict?
These are the sort of problems that may arise from incomplete critical thinking, a demonstration
perhaps of the critical importance of good critical thinking.
In Summary:
 Critical thinking is aimed at achieving the best possible outcomes in any situation. In
order to achieve this it must involve gathering and evaluating information from as
many different sources possible.
 Critical thinking requires a clear, often uncomfortable, assessment of your personal

strengths, weaknesses and preferences and their possible impact on decisions you
may make.
 Critical thinking requires the development and use of foresight as far as this is
possible. As Doris Day sang, “the future’s not ours to see”.
 Implementing the decisions made arising from critical thinking must take into account
an assessment of possible outcomes and ways of avoiding potentially negative
outcomes, or at least lessening their impact.
 Critical thinking involves reviewing the results of the application of decisions made
and implementing change where possible.
It might be thought that we are overextending our demands on critical thinking in expecting that it
can help to construct focused meaning rather than examining the information given and the
knowledge we have acquired to see if we can, if necessary, construct a meaning that will be
acceptable and useful.
After all, almost no information we have available to us, either externally or internally, carries
any guarantee of its life or appropriateness. Neat step-by-step instructions may provide
some sort of trellis on which our basic understanding of critical thinking can blossom but it
doesn’t and cannot provide any assurance of certainty, utility or longevity.

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Critical Thinking Skills

What is Critical Thinking?

Someone with critical thinking skills can:

Critical Thinking is:

 Think about a topic or issue in an objective and critical way.

 Identify the different arguments there are in relation to a particular issue.

 Evaluate a point of view to determine how strong or valid it is.

 Notice what implications there might be behind a statement or argument.

The Critical Thinking Process

Try this simple exercise to help you to start thinking critically.

Who said it?

What did they say?

When did they say it?

Was it before, during or after an important event? Is timing important?

Why did they say it?

How did they say it?

What are you Aiming to Achieve?

 Critical thinking requires a clear, often uncomfortable, assessment of your personal

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