The reality of Critical thinking – To reason your reasons

Critical thinking – it is an applied self improvement

Critical thinking is not just thinking, but thinking which entails self-improvement. This improvement comes from skill in using standards by which one appropriately assesses thinking. To put it briefly, it is self-improvement (in thinking) through standards (that assess thinking).

To think well is to impose discipline and restraint on our thinking-by means of intellectual standards — in order to raise our thinking to a level of  “perfection” or quality that is not natural or likely in undisciplined, spontaneous thought. The dimension of critical thinking least understood is that of  “intellectual standards.” Most of us, even teachers themselves, were not taught how to assess thinking through standards; indeed, often the thinking of teachers themselves is very “undisciplined” and reflects a lack of internalized intellectual standards.

If I, as a teacher, try to foster quality thinking, I don’t want my students to simply assert things; I want them to try to reason things out on the basis of evidence and good reasons.

Dont be confused by ‘colourful’ presentations as good reasoning

Often, people are unclear about this basic difference. Many of us are apt to take one’s writing or speech which is fluent and witty or glib and amusing as good thinking. They are often unclear about the constituents of good reasoning. Hence, even though a person may just be asserting things, not reasoning things out at all, if that person is doing so with vivacity and flamboyance, people apt to take this to be equivalent to good reasoning.