CRITICAL THINKING

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Everyday examples illustrate that small changes in external conditions like

increasing pull to an elastic band usually result in smoothresponses to the state
of a system the elastic band expands (panel a). Such a response is gradual,
unsurprising, and reversible: once we relax the stretch, the elastic band regains its
previous shape.
In other cases, small changes in conditions may cause disproportionally strong
changes in the state of the system (panel b). Such marked responses around a
threshold in conditions can still be continuous and reversible, in the sense that
when conditions are restored to previous levels, the system returns to its former
state.
There are situations, however, where minute changes in conditions may trigger
extreme discontinuous responses that are not easily reversible (panel c). This
happens when at a threshold, the system abruptly shifts towards a contrasting
state (threshold1 in panel c).
Such abrupt shifts triggered by small forces we describe as critical transitions.
Mathematically, these critical transitions correspond to socalled catastrophic bifurcations. Catastrophic bifurcations are abrupt changes in
the qualitative behavior of a system that occur at specific thresholds in external
conditions (see Glossary). Catastrophic bifurcations arise in systems
with alternative stable states (or, in general, alternative attractors, see Glossary):
systems that may be in more than one different configurations under the same
external conditions. For instance, the two branches in panel c represent two
alternative stable states for the same range of conditions.

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Critical thinking is a rich concept that has been developing throughout the past 2500 years. The term "critical
thinking" has its roots in the mid-late 20th century. We offer here overlapping definitions, together which form a
substantive, transdisciplinary conception of critical thinking.

Critical thinking is that mode of thinking about any subject, content, or problem in which the thinker
improves the quality of his or her thinking by skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it. Critical
thinking is self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to
rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and
problem-solving abilities, as well as a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism and sociocentrism.

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"Thinking critically is the ability to understand a concept fully, taking in different

sides of an issue or idea while not being swayed by the propaganda or other
fraudulent methods used to promote it." --Denise Selleck
"A definition of critical thinking is the disposition to think clearly and accurately in
order to be fair." --Richard Paul
Critical thinkers question their own beliefs as well as those of others, formulate
well-reasoned arguments to support their beliefs, recognize the possibility of change
in their beliefs, and express their beliefs in clear, coherent language.
Logic is the branch of philosophy that studies the consistency of arguments.
Audience and Purpose
A major distinction between writing outside the classroom and writing for a class lies
in the audience to whom we write, what novelist and essayist Virginia Woolf refers
to as "the face beneath the page."
Job-related writing tasks include a designated audience and a real purpose, but in a
class, students are asked to write papers for the teacher to critique and grade,
usually with no specified purpose beyond successfully completing an assignment. (In
this class, you will create your own purposes/audiences for your essays).

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Critical Thinking Defined

Critical thinking means making reasoned judgments that are logical and well thought out. It is
a way of thinking in which you don't simply accept all arguments and conclusions you are
exposed to but rather have an attitude involving questioning such arguments and conclusions.

It requires wanting to see what evidence is involved to support a particular argument or

conclusion. People who use critical thinking are the ones who say things such as, 'How do you
know that? Is this conclusion based on evidence or gut feelings?' and 'Are there alternative
possibilities when given new pieces of information?'
Additionally, critical thinking can be divided into the following three core skills:
1. Curiosity is the desire to learn more information and seek evidence as well as being
open to new ideas.
2. Skepticism involves having a healthy questioning attitude about new information that
you are exposed to and not blindly believing everything everyone tells you.
3. Finally, humility is the ability to admit that your opinions and ideas are wrong when
faced with new convincing evidence that states otherwise.