Critical thinking: main techniques and the importance of it

There is this well-known quote: In the age of information, ignorance is a choice. It is

true: today, knowledge is accessible more than ever. We live in a world of
technology and are constantly exposed to new information, which has its
consequences. When it comes to evaluation of information, especially in the world
of media, how can you decide whether the information is valid and true? You can, if
you try mastering the skill of critical thinking.
What is critical thinking exactly?
Critical thinking is a skill that can always be perfected, just like any other skill. There
are several definition of it:
1. It is a way of reasonable, reflective thinking, which helps us making a decision
about what to do or what to believe in.
2. Critical thinking is skillful, responsible thinking that is conducive to good
judgment because it is sensitive to context, relies on criteria, and is self-correcting.
3. It implies an evaluation of information, but also an evaluation of our personal
opinion, in a disciplined manner, through a series of intellectual activities.
4. Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking, while youre thinking, in order to
make your thinking better.
But, why is critical thinking important?
Critical thinking helps you identify false ideas and ideologies. It empowers you to
process information in a more comprehensive manner. If you practice critical
thinking, you will become more open to exploring other positions and you will
nurture curiousity. Critical thinking implies positive scepticism and creativity, it
enables you to resolve problems on your own and it strips you from prejudices and
every other forms of preconceptions.
Critical thinking implies a very wide field of study. For the purpose of this article, I
have pointed out some basic things. There are three elements and three steps
(techniques) of critical thinking.
Main elements consists of asking questions, reasoning the questions and trying to
answer them through the process of disciplined thinking and, in the end - believing
in the results of our thinking (believing in our conclusions).
When it comes to the first element, here are some of the useful questions to ask
yourself: What is the problem about? How do I access it? Do I have all the necessary
information I need in order to evaluate the context? What are the facts? What
alternatives are there? Can the problem be solved and does it make sense?

The second element (reasoning) can be hindered by the society. People often give in
under the social pressure, so they don't really think it through, they just agree with
the majority, in fear that they would get rejected if they speak up and share their
true opinion. The problem with critical thinking is that it is rarely taught within the
institutions, and that is crucial in order to produce healthy minds and intellectuals.
Some examples of good practice include different forms of dialogue: learning how to
argument your own opinion in a discussion or a debate, for example.
The third element (believing in your own conclusions) is very important. It is kind of
a test for the wholeness of our thinking process. There are some indicators that can
show an absence of this element. For example, if we finish the process of thinking
and come to a certain conclusion, which is well balanced and sensible, but we
emotionally strive towards the opposite conclusion. Or if we, for example,
simultaneously believe in two completely different things.
The three steps to critical thinking are these: identification of the core of
information, analysis of the given materials, comparing and appying information.
The identification of the core of information basically means identifying the
argument (his main parts, premises, evidence and conclusions). But, what exactly is
an argument? Shortly put, argument can be defined as a reason, based on sound
logic, that transforms one's claim into a valid truth. It stands as a link between our
premises and our conclusion. Argument should be objective, logical and irrefutable.
When conducting your own arguments, you should avoid logical errors fallacies.
You can find some of the most common fallacies on this link:
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/fallacies/ or you can enjoy a free illustrated,
interesting book about bad arguments: https://bookofbadarguments.com/
The analysis of the materials means thinking about the wider picture: what is the
context, where is the connection to other relevant materials, how old is the material
(is it maybe outdated and therefore irrelevant?), is the author maybe ignoring
other facts that don't support his opinion, etc.
Comparing and appyling information implies exploring the text: are there any
information in it that can be linked to some other studies, does the offered theory
function only in certain conditions, does it make sense and does it stand in reality,
etc.
So, how can you actually decide whether the argument is good or not?
You should evaluate its coherence and evidence that support the argument. Here
are some questions to help you with that: In what way is the reasoning progressing,
do the conclusions really follow from the arguments, do the authors justify their
claims by referring to credible sources, are there indications that it is more about
the opinion of the author and not about the facts supported the evidence, do
evidence conflict, coexist or perhaps complement the other evidence, etc. The

quality of evidence depends on the quality of provided data, as well as on the

quality of our own interpretation.
Now, let's see how this works in reality. Critical thinking is best learned through
examples and through confrontation with actual problems. These are some of the
exercises given by the University of Hong Kong (see their project's web site here
http://philosophy.hku.hk/think/ ):
1. Explaining differences in meaning
For each set of statements below, determine whether they have the same truthconditions. In other words, determine whether there is any situation where one of
them is true and the others are false.
a) Everybody is innocent until proven guilty.
Nobody is guilty until proven to be not innocent.
b) There are many restaurants in Paris, and Maxim is the best.
No restaurant in Paris is better than Maxim.
c) You must not sign the document.
It is not the case that you must sign the document.
2. Identifying ambiguity
If any statement below is ambiguous, list all its possible interpretations.
a) Put the book on the table by the window in the bedroom.
b) The policemen were told to stop drinking at midnight.
c) Visiting relatives can be boring.
3. Discussing original meaning
Do these arguments seem solid to you?
a) Philosophy originally means love of wisdom in Greek. If you are a philosopher,
you must have a lot of wisdom.
b) Art originally means to make. So art is created whenever someone makes
something.
4. Evaluating definition

Discuss this definition of sexual abuse: To sexually abuse a person is to do

something to that person that is related to sex and which is unpleasant to that
person.
5. Explaining connections
Explain the connections between the items for each group of concepts below using
necessary
and sufficient conditions:
a) Murder, killing
b) Having made a promise to sing, having a duty to sing
c) Lying, saying something true
6. Linguistic pitfalls
Identify linguistic pitfalls in the following example:
A prostitute is simply someone who uses his or her body to try to satisfy customers
in exchange for money. But everyone who works for money uses his or her body in
one way or another to satisfy his or her bosses or clients. Therefore, we are all
prostitutes.
7. Fun logic puzzles
Try solving this puzzle:
A very special island is inhabited only by knights and knaves. Knights always tell the
truth, and knaves always lie. You meet two inhabitants: Carl and Bill. Carl says, I
and Bill are both knights or both knaves. Bill claims, Only a knave would say that
Carl is a knave. Can you determine who is a knight and who is a knave?
8. Evaluating validity
Use Venn diagrams to check the validity of these arguments:
a) All rich men are married. Therefore, all married men are rich.
b) No women are married and rich. Therefore, no rich women are married.
c) All my friends are your friends. Some of your friends are philosophers. Therefore,
some of my friends are philosophers.
d) If a person is good, then he or she is not bad. I am a bad person. Therefore, I am
not good.

e) Andrew is a tall person. No tall person is small. Therefore, some tall person is not
small.

Now that you've warmed up your brain, try reasoning these two problems. The first
one was provided by the University of Edinburgh in their online course Critical
thinking in global chalenges. The second one is something that is maybe closer to
us, given the fact we constantly use internet and are being bombarded with all
kinds of information.
I) Identify whether the following text contains a valid argument. If so, identify the
main argument, the supporting reasons, and the conclusion(s).
It has been claimed that replacing coal-fired power stations with gas-fired power
stations will result in benefits for the climate. When natural gas (methane) is
burned, it produces only about half as much carbon dioxide as coal does for the
same amount of energy produced. However, some gas always leaks from pipelines,
and methane is itself a potent greenhouse gas that can cause climate warming. On
the other hand, coal-burning emits tiny dust particles (aerosols), and these have a
cooling effect on the climate. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is a
leading US research centre funded by the National Science Foundation. Scientists
there have been working to predict what the net effect will be, given that
atmospheric carbon dioxide is very long-lasting. Their most recent study suggests
that it would take more than 100 years for a switch from coal to gas to produce any
significant slowing in the rate of global warming. So changing from coal to gas may
not result in immediate benefits for the climate.
(adapted from
17423877)

BBCnews

item

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-

These questions can help you with reasoning and evaluating information:
1. Does the passage contain an argument?
2. Which sentence contains the conclusion(s)?
3. Focus on sentences and the way they are connected: try indicating whether it is
an assumption (premise), part of the reasoning, evidence or conclusion, or
irrelevant to the main argument.

II) Read through an interesting blog entry by Dawn Pedersen about pseudo-science
facebook
pages:
http://dawnsbrain.com/ten-facebook-pages-you-need-to-stopsharing-from/

Try to evaluate her arguments and draw your own conclusion out of it. Practice the
techniques of critical thinking that we mentioned in this article in order to assess
the validity of her conclusions.
At the end, a friendly recommendation: there are always interesting open online
courses (coursera.org, edx.org, iversity.org are just some of them), so seize the
opportunity to learn something new and grab the free knowledge. For critical
thinking, there is a great course of University of Oxford that's currently open, so
check it out here: http://podcasts.ox.ac.uk/series/critical-reasoning-beginners
Don't be afraid to think!