Why critical thinking?

According to the Oxford English dictionary, critical thinking is:

“the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement: professors often find it difficult to encourage critical thinking among their students.”

The above example is, unfortunately common, and has been analysed in many studies. 

It can be avoided by introducing critical thinking before entering university. 

According to Forbes, critical thinking is one the top 10 skills employers are looking for. 

Studies have argued that critical thinkers make better life decisions than those who rely on intelligence alone and it should be taught as early as possible.

‍

Definition from The Foundation for Critical Thinking

‍

A Definition: Critical thinking is the art of analysing and evaluating thinking with a view to improving it.

The Result: A well cultivated critical thinker:

• raises vital questions and problems, formulating them clearly and precisely;
• gathers and assesses relevant information, using abstract ideas to interpret it effectively;
• comes to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, testing them against relevant criteria and standards;
• thinks openmindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognizing and assessing, as need be, their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences; and communicates effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex problems.

‍

“Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It requires rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcoming our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.”

‍

‍

Why should I become a critical thinker?

‍

• Because critical thinking will teach you how to think creatively and will make you more employable in the 4th industrial revolution.
• You will not be taught what to think. Instead, you will learn to (i) evaluate texts critically, (ii) cultivate empathy by learning how to understand alternate perspectives and (iii) learn how to create novel solutions to existing problems by working in teams. 
• Critical thinking will also teach you academic research skills which are essential in our contemporary world. These will also help you with life skills.
• Your writing and verbal communication skills will improve. 
• You will discover how to unlearn concepts that are no longer useful in a world changing at a rapid pace. 

‍

What is the fourth industrial revolution?

‍

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution heralds a series of social, political, cultural, and economic upheavals that will unfold over the 21st century. Building on the widespread availability of digital technologies that were the result of the Third Industrial, or Digital, Revolution, the Fourth Industrial Revolution will be driven largely by the convergence of digital, biological, and physical innovations … the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s technologies, such as artificial intelligence, genome editing, augmented reality, robotics, and 3-D printing, are rapidly changing the way humans create, exchange, and distribute value. As occurred in the previous revolutions, this will profoundly transform institutions, industries, and individuals. More importantly, this revolution will be guided by the choices that people make today: the world in 50 to 100 years from now will owe a lot of its character to how we think about, invest in, and deploy these powerful new technologies.”

‍

“In the end, it all comes down to people and values. We need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. In its most pessimistic, dehumanized form, the Fourth Industrial Revolution may indeed have the potential to “robotize” humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul. But as a complement to the best parts of human nature—creativity, empathy, stewardship—it can also lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. It is incumbent on us all to make sure the latter prevails.”

‍

Some components you can choose from:

‍

• Argumentation and persuasion 
• Logic and logical fallacies
• An introduction to philosophy through thought experiments
• Cognitive biases
• The Socratic method
• Avoiding plagiarism and learning how to cite properly

‍

What are cognitive biases?

‍

According to Nobel prize winner, Daniel Kahneman, humans have two systems of thinking:

• System 1 is intuitive and “answers come to mind quickly and confidently...”
• “System 2 is not merely an apologist for System 1; it also prevents many foolish thoughts and inappropriate impulses from overt expression … However, System 2 is not a paragon of rationality. Its abilities are limited and so is the knowledge to which it has access. We do not always think straight when we reason, and the errors are not always due to intrusive and incorrect intuitions. Often we make mistakes because we (our System 2) do not know any better.”

‍

Source: Kahneman, Daniel. Thinking, Fast and Slow. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011.

‍

What is the Socratic Method?

‍

“Socrates (470-399 BC) was a Greek philosopher who sought to get to the foundations of his students' and colleagues' views by asking continual questions until a contradiction was exposed, thus proving the fallacy of the initial assumption. This became known as the Socratic Method, and may be Socrates' most enduring contribution to philosophy.”

‍

What is a Socratic Dialogue?

‍

Benefits

‍

• It will improve your reasoning skills which will help you with all standardised testing including STEM subjects and SATs.
• Critical thinking can be learnt by anyone unlike intelligence which is largely genetic according to a study lead by Heather A. Butler and many others.
• Employers are actively looking for critical and creative thinkers who can innovate and learn actively.
• You will be entering job markets where the nature of work, as we know it today, will change. 
• Having creative and critical thinking skills will be significantly helpful in every field and will help you make better life decisions in general.

‍

Source: Butler, Heather A., Christopher Pentoney and Mabelle P. Bong. “Predicting real-world outcomes: Critical thinking ability is a better predictor of life decisions than intelligence.” Thinking Skills and Creativity 25, (2017): 38-46. Accessed 15 June, 2023. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2017.06.005

‍