Critical thinking

Critical thinking is viewed by educators as a type of reasoning, and it is seen as one of the ideal
outcomes of teaching to students. The term critical thinking is primarily used in the field of education,
and not in psychology (it does not refer to a theory of thinking.

Critical thinking has been defined as:

 "the process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and
evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion"[5]
 "disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence"[6]
 "reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do"[7]
 "purposeful, self-regulatory judgment which results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and
inference, as well as explanation of the evidential, conceptual, methodological, criteriological, or
contextual considerations upon which that judgment is based"[8]
 "includes a commitment to using reason in the formulation of our beliefs"[9]
 in critical social theory: commitment to the social and political practice of participatory democracy,
willingness to imagine or remain open to considering alternative perspectives, willingness to integrate
new or revised perspectives into our ways of thinking and acting, and willingness to foster criticality in
others.[10]
 the skill and propensity to engage in an activity with reflective scepticism (McPeck, 1981)
 disciplined, self-directed thinking which exemplifies the perfection of thinking appropriate to a
particular mode of domain of thinking (Paul, 1989, p. 214)
 thinking about one's thinking in a manner designed to organize and clarify, raise the efficiency of, and
recognize errors and biases in one's own thinking. Critical thinking is not 'hard' thinking nor is it
directed at solving problems (other than 'improving' one's own thinking). Critical thinking is inward-
directed with the intent of maximizing the rationality of the thinker. One does not use critical thinking
to solve problems - one uses critical thinking to improve one's process of thinking.[11]
Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally. It includes the
ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking. Someone with critical
thinking skills is able to do the following :

 understand the logical connections between ideas

 identify, construct and evaluate arguments
 detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning
 solve problems systematically
 identify the relevance and importance of ideas
 reflect on the justification of one's own beliefs and values

Critical thinking is not a matter of accumulating information. A person with a

good memory and who knows a lot of facts is not necessarily good at critical
thinking. A critical thinker is able to deduce consequences from what he
knows, and he knows how to make use of information to solve problems, and
to seek relevant sources of information to inform himself.

Critical thinking should not be confused with being argumentative or being

critical of other people. Although critical thinking skills can be used in exposing
fallacies and bad reasoning, critical thinking can also play an important role in
cooperative reasoning and constructive tasks. Critical thinking can help us
acquire knowledge, improve our theories, and strengthen arguments. We can
use critical thinking to enhance work processes and improve social
institutions.

Some people believe that critical thinking hinders creativity because it requires
following the rules of logic and rationality, but creativity might require breaking
rules. This is a misconception. Critical thinking is quite compatible with
thinking "out-of-the-box", challenging consensus and pursuing less popular
approaches. If anything, critical thinking is an essential part of creativity
because we need critical thinking to evaluate and improve our creative ideas.