CRWT FINALS

• Critical Thinking


  Reasonable reflective thinking that is focused on deciding what to believe or do
• Characteristics of a Critical Thinker

  • Determines the relevance and importance of arguments
  • Understands the connection between ideas
  • Identifies inconsistencies in reasoning
  • Recognizes, appraises, and builds arguments
  • Reflects on the justification of his own assumptions
  • Approaches problem solving in a systematic way, favoring objectivity over subjectivity
• Paul-Elder Critical Thinking Framework


  About any subject, content, or problem in which thinker improves the quality of his thinking by skillfully inherent thinking and imposing intellectual standards
• 2 key ingredients to turn ordinary to critical thinking

  • Reflective thinking (one's thinking)
  • Must be done well (meets high standards of reasoning)
• 3 Components of Critical Thinking

  • Elements of Thoughts (reasoning)
  • Intellectual Standards (must be applied to reasoning)
  • Intellectual Traits (result of consistent and disciplined)
• Elements of Thought (reasoning)

  • Purpose
  • Questions
  • Point of view
  • Information
  • Inferences
  • Concepts
  • Implications
  • Assumptions
• Universal Intellectual Standards


  • Clarity - clear statement
  • Accuracy - statement is true
  • Precision - to understand exactly what is meant
  • Relevance - directly connected
  • Depth - identify complexities and deal with it
  • Breadth - relevant viewpoint, myopic or narrow-minded
  • Logic - mutually supporting and make sense in combination
  • Significance - which information are important to be take
  • Fairness - think fairly in context
• Valuable Intellectual Traits


  • Humility - being aware of our biases and limitation of our viewpoint
  • Courage - question beliefs you feel strongly about
  • Empathy - put oneself in the place of others
  • Integrity - holding yourself to same intellectual standards
  • Perseverance - work your way thru intellectual complexities
  • Autonomy - using one's own thinking rather than uncritically
  • Confidence in Reason - standards of reason as the fundamental criteria
  • Fair Mindedness - one's own advantage
• 5 Impediments Hindering Critical Thinking

  • Egocentrism
  • Sociocentrism
  • Relativistic Thinking
  • Wishful Thinking
  • Intellectual Laziness
• Egocentrism


  See reality as centered on oneself
• Sociocentrism


  Group-centered thinking, focusing excessively on the group
• 3 Forms of Relativism

  • Subjectivism - truth is a matter of individual opinion
  • Cultural Relativism - truth is a matter of social and cultural opinion
  • Moral Relativism - there are no absolute or universal moral values
• 2 Forms of Moral Relativism

  • Moral Subjectivism - what is morally right and good for an individual is what she believes as morally right and good
  • Moral Cultural Relativism - what is morally right and good for an individual is whatever her society or culture believes to be morally right and good
• Wishful Thinking


  Believes something because it makes one feel good, not because there is good reason for thinking it's true
• Argument


  In critical thinking, it is a claim defended with reasons that are supported by evidence
• Premises


  Evidence or reasons why we should accept the conclusions
• Conclusions


  Intended to prove or support
• Types of Statements


  • Clearly true
  • Clearly false
  • Controversial
• 5 Types of Non-Argumentative Discourse

  • Reports
  • Unsupported Assertions
  • Conditional Statements
  • Illustrations
  • Explanations