Critical Thinking

“Reasonable and reflective thinking focused on deciding

what to believe or do.”
Robert Ennis (10/18/00)

Judging the credibility of a source- Major criteria (but not necessary conditions):

a. Expertise
a. Do they know what they are talking about? Credentials
b. Lack of conflict of interest
a. Is there any reason they would have to mislead you?
c. Agreement among sources
a. Does anyone agree with them?
d. Reputation
a. Testimonial- has anybody else gotten good/bad advice or information
from this source?
e. Use of established procedures
a. Can they explain how they came to their conclusion and is their process
for thinking reasonable?
f. Known risk to reputation
a. Are they in trouble if they are wrong?
g. Ability to give reasons
a. Can they fully explain their reasons?