‘Dubito ergo cogito, cogito ergo sum.’
Rene Descartes
‘I doubt, therefore I think; I think therefore I am’
This quote explains what critical thinking is and gives a tool how to be a critical thinker. The answer is ‘to doubt’, when you ask questions, analyze the information before except it or not, evaluate current situation and risks, identify and reject false ideas, figure out the solutions to problems on your own. Not to simplify things, not to think only black-and-white but see the variety. Thereby,we awake our mind and don’t let brainwash. It broadens curiosity, widen perspective and knowledge and it does lead to intellectual independence.
So what is exactly critical thinking?
First of all it should not be confused with being critical to other people. Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally, engage in reflective and independent thinking. People who think critically are able to understand the logical connections between ideas, identify, construct and evaluate arguments, detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning, solve problems systematically, identify the relevance and importance of ideas, and reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values. It also can be a key-point to make good decisions.Critical thinking incudes skepticism, that means not a rejection of ideas as some people may think, it refers to doubting, analyzing and suspending of our judgments.
Does critical thinking possess a thread for positive thinking and creativity?
Creativity forms a part of critical thinking, as an ability to think from another perspective. As for the positive thinking, it helps to balance it and make life brighter and more constructive. The answer as usually lies in the golden middle.
Why can’t we always think critically?
There could be several reasons for that. One of them is strong emotions (probably there is no man able to think clearly in such situation). Another case connected with positive thinking, whenexcessive optimism stops you from seeing the real situation. But the biggest enemies are arrogance and intolerance, when you can’t understand and except the existence of another point of view.
How to improve critical thinking?
The most important thing is to make your brain work. Different brain teasers and riddles will help you with it. You can combine pleasant and useful thing doing logic puzzles such as crossword puzzles, Sudoku etc.One thing you can practice any time while watching TV, reading news or talking with someone is open-ended questions (How, Why etc.). Last but not least is reasoning your values: if you have a favourite quote or belief, try to reflect whether it is always right and in which cases it could fail.
Imagine taking part in the debate and try to support all your statement with logical and convincing arguments.
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