critical thinking what it is and why it counts summary

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Working with sources
• What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples

What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples

Published on May 30, 2022 by Eoghan Ryan . Revised on May 31, 2023.

Critical thinking is the ability to effectively analyze information and form a judgment .

To think critically, you must be aware of your own biases and assumptions when encountering information, and apply consistent standards when evaluating sources .

Critical thinking skills help you to:

• Identify credible sources
• Evaluate and respond to arguments
• Assess alternative viewpoints
• Test hypotheses against relevant criteria

Table of contents

Why is critical thinking important, critical thinking examples, how to think critically, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about critical thinking.

Critical thinking is important for making judgments about sources of information and forming your own arguments. It emphasizes a rational, objective, and self-aware approach that can help you to identify credible sources and strengthen your conclusions.

Critical thinking is important in all disciplines and throughout all stages of the research process . The types of evidence used in the sciences and in the humanities may differ, but critical thinking skills are relevant to both.

In academic writing , critical thinking can help you to determine whether a source:

• Is free from research bias
• Provides evidence to support its research findings
• Considers alternative viewpoints

Outside of academia, critical thinking goes hand in hand with information literacy to help you form opinions rationally and engage independently and critically with popular media.

Scribbr Citation Checker New

The AI-powered Citation Checker helps you avoid common mistakes such as:

• Missing commas and periods
• Incorrect usage of “et al.”
• Ampersands (&) in narrative citations
• Missing reference entries

Critical thinking can help you to identify reliable sources of information that you can cite in your research paper . It can also guide your own research methods and inform your own arguments.

Outside of academia, critical thinking can help you to be aware of both your own and others’ biases and assumptions.

Academic examples

However, when you compare the findings of the study with other current research, you determine that the results seem improbable. You analyze the paper again, consulting the sources it cites.

You notice that the research was funded by the pharmaceutical company that created the treatment. Because of this, you view its results skeptically and determine that more independent research is necessary to confirm or refute them. Example: Poor critical thinking in an academic context You’re researching a paper on the impact wireless technology has had on developing countries that previously did not have large-scale communications infrastructure. You read an article that seems to confirm your hypothesis: the impact is mainly positive. Rather than evaluating the research methodology, you accept the findings uncritically.

Nonacademic examples

However, you decide to compare this review article with consumer reviews on a different site. You find that these reviews are not as positive. Some customers have had problems installing the alarm, and some have noted that it activates for no apparent reason.

You revisit the original review article. You notice that the words “sponsored content” appear in small print under the article title. Based on this, you conclude that the review is advertising and is therefore not an unbiased source. Example: Poor critical thinking in a nonacademic context You support a candidate in an upcoming election. You visit an online news site affiliated with their political party and read an article that criticizes their opponent. The article claims that the opponent is inexperienced in politics. You accept this without evidence, because it fits your preconceptions about the opponent.

There is no single way to think critically. How you engage with information will depend on the type of source you’re using and the information you need.

However, you can engage with sources in a systematic and critical way by asking certain questions when you encounter information. Like the CRAAP test , these questions focus on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

When encountering information, ask:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert in their field?
• What do they say? Is their argument clear? Can you summarize it?
• When did they say this? Is the source current?
• Where is the information published? Is it an academic article? Is it peer-reviewed ?
• Why did the author publish it? What is their motivation?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence? Does it rely on opinion, speculation, or appeals to emotion ? Do they address alternative arguments?

Critical thinking also involves being aware of your own biases, not only those of others. When you make an argument or draw your own conclusions, you can ask similar questions about your own writing:

• Am I only considering evidence that supports my preconceptions?
• Is my argument expressed clearly and backed up with credible sources?
• Would I be convinced by this argument coming from someone else?

If you want to know more about ChatGPT, AI tools , citation , and plagiarism , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• ChatGPT vs human editor
• ChatGPT citations
• Is ChatGPT trustworthy?
• Using ChatGPT for your studies
• What is ChatGPT?
• Chicago style
• Paraphrasing

 Plagiarism

• Types of plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Avoiding plagiarism
• Academic integrity
• Consequences of plagiarism
• Common knowledge

Don't submit your assignments before you do this

The academic proofreading tool has been trained on 1000s of academic texts. Making it the most accurate and reliable proofreading tool for students. Free citation check included.

Try for free

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

Critical thinking skills include the ability to:

You can assess information and arguments critically by asking certain questions about the source. You can use the CRAAP test , focusing on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

Ask questions such as:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence?

A credible source should pass the CRAAP test  and follow these guidelines:

• The information should be up to date and current.
• The author and publication should be a trusted authority on the subject you are researching.
• The sources the author cited should be easy to find, clear, and unbiased.
• For a web source, the URL and layout should signify that it is trustworthy.

Information literacy refers to a broad range of skills, including the ability to find, evaluate, and use sources of information effectively.

Being information literate means that you:

• Know how to find credible sources
• Use relevant sources to inform your research
• Understand what constitutes plagiarism
• Know how to cite your sources correctly

Confirmation bias is the tendency to search, interpret, and recall information in a way that aligns with our pre-existing values, opinions, or beliefs. It refers to the ability to recollect information best when it amplifies what we already believe. Relatedly, we tend to forget information that contradicts our opinions.

Although selective recall is a component of confirmation bias, it should not be confused with recall bias.

On the other hand, recall bias refers to the differences in the ability between study participants to recall past events when self-reporting is used. This difference in accuracy or completeness of recollection is not related to beliefs or opinions. Rather, recall bias relates to other factors, such as the length of the recall period, age, and the characteristics of the disease under investigation.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Ryan, E. (2023, May 31). What Is Critical Thinking? | Definition & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 12, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/working-with-sources/critical-thinking/

Is this article helpful?

Eoghan Ryan

Other students also liked, student guide: information literacy | meaning & examples, what are credible sources & how to spot them | examples, applying the craap test & evaluating sources, get unlimited documents corrected.

✔ Free APA citation check included ✔ Unlimited document corrections ✔ Specialized in correcting academic texts

• Corpus ID: 154805251

Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts

• Published 2011
• Education, Philosophy

1,729 Citations

Thinking critically: a look at students' critiques of a research article.

• Highly Influenced

Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts

Introduction.

By Peter A. Facione

Is it not a wiser social policy to invest in the education of the future workforce, rather than to suffer the financial loses and endure the fiscal and social burdens associated with economic weakness, public health problems, crime, and avoidable poverty? Teach people to make good decisions and you equip them to improve their own futures and become contributing members of society, rather than burdens on society. Becoming educated and practicing good judgment does not absolutely guarantee a life of happiness, virtue, or economic success, but it surely offers a better chance at those things. And it is clearly better than enduring the consequences of making bad decisions and better than burdening friends, family, and all the rest of us with the unwanted and avoidable consequences of those poor choices.

Defining "Critical Thinking"

"Very few really seek knowledge in this world. Mortal or immortal, few really ask. On the contrary, they try to wring from the unknown the answers they have already shaped in their own minds � justification, explanations, forms of consolation without which they can�t go on. To really ask is to open the door to the whirlwind. The answer may annihilate the question and the questioner." Spoken by the Vampire Marius in Ann Rice�s book The Vampire Lestat Ballantine Books. New York, NY. 1985.

Find a link that's no longer valid?   Please let us know . Please Note: The information presented online in the "In A Nutshell" series, is offered as a free, and hopefully, helpful service. Time constraints, however, make it impossible to provide specific answers to individual inquiries.

Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts

Chat with Paper

Content maybe subject to  copyright     Report

Emerald Article: Intellectual capital research: a critical examination of the third stage

Advanced analysis cognition: improving the cognition of intelligence analysis, think pair share: a teaching learning strategy to enhance students' critical thinking., a protocol for a randomised active-controlled trial to evaluate the effects of an online mindfulness intervention on executive control, critical thinking and key thinking dispositions in a university student sample, reflective blogs in clinical education to promote critical thinking in dental hygiene students., judgment under uncertainty: heuristics and biases, anomalies: the endowment effect, loss aversion, and status quo bias, education and learning to think, developing reflective judgment: understanding and promoting intellectual growth and critical thinking in adolescents and adults. jossey-bass higher and adult education series and jossey-bass social and behavioral science series., critical thinking: theory, research, practice, and possibilities. ashe-eric higher education report no. 2, 1988., related papers (5), critical thinking: a statement of expert consensus for purposes of educational assessment and instruction, a taxonomy of critical thinking dispositions and abilities., the disposition toward critical thinking., critical thinking assessment, the disposition toward critical thinking: its character, measurement, and relationship to critical thinking skill.

Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts

• Think! Evidence Home
• H. Military Resources
• Air University Resources Online - Creativity and Thinking Skills

Show full item record

Files in this item

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

• Critical Thinking [73]
• Air University Resources Online - Creativity and Thinking Skills [67] List of links and searches for online resources

Search Think! Evidence

All of think evidence.

• Communities & Collections
• By Issue Date

This Collection

Translate this page from English...

*Machine translated pages not guaranteed for accuracy. Click Here for our professional translations.

Our Concept and Definition of Critical Thinking

Why the Clock Counts with Critical Thinking

Timing matters when it comes to accepting extraordinary claims..

Posted September 24, 2023 | Reviewed by Devon Frye

• Embracing a strong belief in the right thing at the wrong time is a deceptive victory.
• Strange possibilities should not be ruled out.
• The core power and most exciting aspect of science is not what we know now, but what we might learn next.
• The best we can do is strive to be correct according to the best evidence available now.

It may seem counterintuitive, but being correct in the long run is not the only consideration when it comes to extraordinary claims. It’s a detail often missed, but when one decides to accept or believe something matters—even if it eventually proves true.

This is important to recognize because embracing a strong belief in the right thing at the wrong time is a deceptive victory. It can encourage overconfidence in unreliable hunches and obscure flawed and dangerous thinking processes, all of which are likely to create problems throughout life.

Consider the factor of timing regarding UFOs. Anyone who “knows” today that some of them are extraterrestrial visitors has had their mind probed and abducted by an irrational belief because there is nothing close to credible confirmation for it. But what if aliens were to land on the rooftop of the United Nations building tomorrow and confess that they have been buzzing us for decades?

UFO believers would say, “told you so,” and deservedly so. But their prior position still would have been the result of extraordinarily poor thinking skills. And those skills won’t improve without a personal reckoning that includes acknowledging the significance of timing and a new commitment to thinking before believing.

It would be no different if Bigfoot were captured or a quirk of quantum physics proved the claims of homeopathy. Feelings of vindication aside, the unjustified embrace of an extremely dubious position that later turns out to be correct is not much more impressive than that of a broken clock being precisely accurate twice per day. A supervolcano might choke out civilization next year, but it wouldn’t mean the guy on a street corner yelling, “The end is near,” knew what he was talking about.

Some will argue that being proven right over time is enough, regardless of how unjustified the conclusion or belief once was. But this ignores the dangers of habitual sloppy thinking. If skepticism and quality of evidence are unimportant for one claim, then what is the standard for others? If one believes the Apollo Moon landings were faked, why not trust a chiropractor to treat a serious health issue? If reflexology is valid, why not Assyrian haruspicy, too? Where does it end? Sadly, of course, there is no end for some who seem to live almost entirely in a state of cognitive chaos.

To help premature believers, advocates of critical thinking might add the role of timing to their list of essential talking points. I consistently emphasize to others that the safer and more efficient way to mentally navigate the world is to consistently side with the best knowledge currently available—and be prepared to change course the moment new evidence demands it. I also make a point to concede that a given extraordinary and unlikely claim could be true, but quickly add that it doesn’t matter if currently there are no good reasons to believe it.

I understand that this burden of waiting for sufficient evidence can be inconvenient or uncomfortable, but it is crucial when it comes to important and unusual claims. There are exceptions, of course. Sometimes the stakes are high, there is legitimate urgency, and a hunch is all you have. For example, if I’m walking in a dark alley and someone in the shadows appears to be waving a knife and seems to be whispering something about my wallet, I’m running and not hanging around for scientific confirmation. In most cases, however, we have the luxury of waiting to see if good evidence ever arrives.

Drawing attention to this timing component of critical thinking is not a blanket rejection of fringe ideas. It is important to consider unlikely things and maintain appropriate humility before strange possibilities. The core power and most exciting aspect of science is not what we know now, but what we might learn next. A nagging intuition , compelling flash of insight, or gut feeling can be a fruitful starting point toward spectacular discovery.

But the hunch itself is not enough, and certainly should not be the endpoint. For example, my love of science fiction and the compressed version of the Drake Equation that lives in my head biases me with a strong inclination to think that we are not alone in a universe with this much time, space, matter, and energy. But until SETI holds the greatest press conference in history, it would be an appalling breach of reason if I were to take any stance other than “I don’t know.” The critical-thinking clock is clear on this. It’s too early to be sure.

An important technical point is that waiting for sufficient evidence is not an absolute denial of the claim. Neither is it a sign of being closed-minded, the standard cheap shot lobbed at critical thinkers. I suppose it can feel like a contradiction, but good thinking demands that we c onsider anything and doubt everything .

The late astronomer Carl Sagan mentioned this in his book The Demon Haunted World : “As I’ve tried to stress , at the heart of science is an essential balance between two seemingly contradictory attitudes—an openness to new ideas, no matter how bizarre or counterintuitive, and the most ruthlessly skeptical scrutiny of all ideas, old and new. This is how deep truths are winnowed from deep nonsense.”

I have learned from experience that openly noting the possibility of improbable things can aid communication between believer and skeptic. I readily admit that giant primates and interstellar visitors are not impossible, only that declaring them to be real phenomena right now is a problem. It demonstrates the same kind of muddled judgment that leads people into dangerous medical quackery, financial scams, predatory organizations, and destructive political loyalties.

The best we can do is strive to be correct according to the best evidence available now . Mind the clock and keep steering toward the best current version of reality. Take positions that are most reasonable today . We can always change our minds tomorrow if the aliens land and say hello.

Guy P. Harrison is the author of Think: Why You Should Question Everything.

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Psychiatrist
• Find a Support Group
• Find Online Therapy
• United States
• Brooklyn, NY
• Chicago, IL
• Houston, TX
• Los Angeles, CA
• New York, NY
• Portland, OR
• San Diego, CA
• San Francisco, CA
• Seattle, WA
• Washington, DC
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Self Tests NEW
• Therapy Center
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Sticking up for yourself is no easy task. But there are concrete skills you can use to hone your assertiveness and advocate for yourself.

• Emotional Intelligence
• Gaslighting
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

• Quick Upload
•   Contact Us
•   FAQ
•   Help Document
• Help Document

Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts ” 2011 update Page 3 scenes in movies that were offensively violent, and did you contrast ...

• http://anyflip.com/ryzb/pbsp/

Related Publications

Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts

Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts Peter A. Facione The late George Carlin worked weakness, public health problems, crime, “critical thinking” into one of his comedic and avoidable poverty? Perhaps that monologue rants on the perils of trusting our realization, along with its obvious lives and fortunes to the decision-making of advantages for high level strategic decision people who were gullible, uninformed, and making, is what lead the Chairman of the unreflective. Had he lived to experience the Joint Chiefs of Staff to comment on critical economic collapse of 2008 and 2009, he thinking in his commencement address to a would have surely added more to his graduating class of military officers. caustic but accurate assessments regarding how failing to anticipate the consequences of one’s decisions often leads to disastrous results not only for the decision maker, but for many other people as well. After years of viewing higher Teach people to make good education as more of a private good which decisions and you equip them to improve benefits only the student, we are again beginning to appreciate higher education as being also a public good which benefits society. Is it not a wiser social policy to invest in the education of the future workforce, rather than to suffer the financial costs and endure the fiscal and social burdens associated with economic © 1992, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2011 Peter A. Facione, Measured Reasons and The California Academic Press, Millbrae, CA Permission to Reprint for Non-Commercial Uses This essay is published by Insight Assessment. The original appeared in 1992 and has been updated many times over the years. Although the author and the publisher hold all copyrights, in the interests of advancing education and improving critical thinking, permission is hereby granted for paper, electronic, or digital copies to be made in unlimited amounts, provided that their distribution is free of charge provided that whenever material from this essay is cited or extracted in whole or in part that appropriate citation is made by indicating this essay’s full title, author’s name, publisher’s name, year, and page or pages where it appears in this edition. For permission for reprints intended for sale contact Insight Assessment by phone at 650-697-5628 or by email to [email protected] . ISBN 13: 978-1-891557-07-1. To support the expenses of making this essay available free for non-commercial uses, the publisher has inserted information about its critical thinking testing instruments. These tools assess the critical thinking skills and habits of mind described in this essay. To build critical thinking skills and habits of mind use Dr. Facione’s newest book THINK_Critically, Pearson Education 2011. their own futures and become contributing commonly used concept contains? Take members of society, rather than burdens on care, though, we would not want to make society. Becoming educated and practicing the definition so broad that all movie good judgment does not absolutely violence would be automatically “offensive.” guarantee a life of happiness, virtue, or And check to be sure your way of defining economic success, but it surely offers a “offensive violence” fits with how the rest of better chance at those things. And it is the people who know and use English clearly better than enduring the would understand the term. Otherwise they consequences of making bad decisions and will not be able to understand what you better than burdening friends, family, and all mean when you use that expression. the rest of us with the unwanted and avoidable consequences of those poor Did you come up with a definition choices. that works? How do you know? Defining “Critical Thinking” What you just did with the expression “offensive violence” is very much Yes, surely we have all heard the same as what had to be done with the business executives, policy makers, civic expression “critical thinking.” At one level leaders, and educators talking about critical we all know what “critical thinking” means — thinking. At times we found ourselves it means good thinking, almost the opposite wondering exactly what critical thinking was of illogical, irrational, thinking. But when we and why is it considered so useful and test our understanding further, we run into important. This essay takes a deeper look at questions. For example, is critical thinking these questions. the same as creative thinking, are they different, or is one part of the other? How But, rather than beginning with an do critical thinking and native intelligence or abstract definition – as if critical thinking scholastic aptitude relate? Does critical were about memorization, which is not the thinking focus on the subject matter or case – give this thought experiment a try: content that you know or on the process you Imagine you have been invited to a movie use when you reason about that content? by a friend. But it’s not a movie you want to see. So, your friend asks you why. You It might not hurt at all if you formed give your honest reason. The movie some tentative preliminary ideas about the offends your sense of decency. Your friend questions we just raised. We humans learn asks you to clarify your reason by explaining better when we stop frequently to reflect, what bothers you about the film. You reply rather than just plowing from the top of the that it is not the language used or the page to the bottom without coming up for sexuality portrayed, but you find the air. violence in the film offensive. Fine. So how would you propose we Sure, that should be a good enough go about defining “critical thinking.” You do answer. But suppose your friend, perhaps not really want a definition plopped on the being a bit philosophically inclined or simply page for you to memorize, do you? That curious or argumentative, pursues the would be silly, almost counterproductive. matter further by asking you to define what The goal here is to help you sharpen your you mean by “offensive violence.” critical thinking skills and cultivate your critical thinking spirit. While memorization Take a minute and give it a try. definitely has many valuable uses, fostering How would you define “offensive violence” critical thinking is not among them. So, let’s as it applies to movies? Can you write a look back at what you might have done to characterization which captures what this define “offensive violence” and see if we can learn from you. Did you think of some Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 2 scenes in movies that were offensively when a person or a group of people decides violent, and did you contrast them with other important matters without pausing first to scenes that were either not violent or not think things through. offensively violent? If you did, good. That is one (but not the only) way to approach the problem. Technically it is called finding paradigm cases. Happily, like many things in life, you do not have to know its name to do it well. Back to critical thinking – let’s ask Expert Opinion ourselves to come up with possible examples of strong critical thinking? How An international group of experts about the adroit and clever questioning of was asked to try to form a consensus about Socrates or a good attorney or interviewer? the meaning of critical thinking.1 One of the Or, what about the clever investigative first things they did was to ask themselves approaches used by police detectives and the question: Who are the best critical crime scene analysts? Would we not want thinkers we know and what is it about them to also include people working together to that leads us to consider them the best? solve a problem as they consider and So, who are the best critical thinkers you discuss their options? How about someone know? Why do you think they are strong who is good at listening to all sides of a critical thinkers? Can you draw from those dispute, considering all the facts, and then examples a description that is more deciding what is relevant and what is not, abstract? For example, consider effective and then rendering a thoughtful judgment? trial lawyers, apart from how they conduct And maybe too, someone who is able to their personal lives or whether their client is summarize complex ideas clearly with really guilty or innocent, just look at how the fairness to all sides, or a person who can lawyers develop their cases in court. They come up with the most coherent and use reasons to try to convince the judge and justifiable explanation of what a passage of jury of their client’s claim to guilt or written material means? Or the person who innocence. They offer evidence and can readily devise sensible alternatives to evaluate the significance of the evidence explore, but who does not become presented by the opposition lawyers. They defensive about abandoning them if they do interpret testimony. They analyze and not work? And also the person who can evaluate the arguments advanced by the explain exactly how a particular conclusion other side. was reached, or why certain criteria apply? 1 Many useful characterizations of critical thinking by noted Or, considering the concept of theorists and teachers are captured in Conversations with critical thinking from the opposite direction, Critical Thinkers , John Esterle and Dan Clurman (Eds.). we might ask what the consequences of Whitman Institute. San Francisco, CA. 1993 failing to use our critical thinking might be. Imagine for a moment what could happen 2011 update Page 3 Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” Now, consider the example of the Good. What can we learn about team of people trying to solve a problem. critical thinking from such a case? Maybe The team members, unlike the courtroom’s more than we can learn from just looking at adversarial situation, try to collaborate. The the easy cases. For when a case is on the members of an effective team do not borderline, it forces us to make important compete against each other. They work in distinctions. It confronts us and demands a concert, like colleagues, for the common decision: In or Out! And not just that, but goal. Unless they solve the problem, none why? So, our friend who is fair-minded of them has won. When they find the way about some things, but close-minded about to solve the problem, they all have won. So, others, what to do? Let’s take the parts we from analyzing just two examples we can approve of because they seem to us to generalize something very important: critical contribute to acting rationally and logically thinking is thinking that has a purpose and include those in the concept of critical (proving a point, interpreting what thinking, and let’s take the parts that work something means, solving a problem), but against reason, that close the mind to the critical thinking can be a collaborative, possibility of new and relevant information, noncompetitive endeavor. And, by the way, that blindly deny even the possibility that the even lawyers collaborate. They can work other side might have merit, and call those together on a common defense or a joint poor, counterproductive, or uncritical prosecution, and they can also cooperate thinking. with each other to get at the truth so that justice is done. 2 We will come to a more precise Now, formulate a list of cases — definition of critical thinking soon enough. people that are clearly strong critical But first, there is something else we can thinkers and clearly weak critical thinkers learn from paradigm examples. When you and some who are on the borderline. were thinking about “offensive violence” did Considering all those cases, what is it about you come up with any examples that were them that led you to decide which were tough to classify? Borderline cases, as it which? Suggestion: What can the strong were — an example that one person might critical thinkers do (what mental abilities do consider offensive but another might they have), that the weak critical thinkers reasonably regard as non-offensive. Yes, have trouble doing? What skills or well, so did we. This is going to happen approaches do the strong critical thinkers with all abstract concepts. It happens with the concept of critical thinking as well. 2 Spoken by the Vampire Marius in Ann Rice’s book The There are people of whom we would say, on Vampire Lestat Ballantine Books. New York, NY. 1985. certain occasions this person is a good thinker, clear, logical, thoughtful, attentive to 2011 update Page 4 the facts, open to alternatives, but, wow, at other times, look out! When you get this person on such-and-such a topic, well it is all over then. You have pushed some kind of button and the person does not want to hear what anybody else has to say. The person’s mind is made up ahead of time. New facts are pushed aside. No other point of view is tolerated. Do you know any people that might fit that general description? Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” habitually seem to exhibit which the weak includes the sub-skills of categorization, critical thinkers seem not to possess? decoding significance, and clarifying meaning. Can you think of examples of Core Critical Thinking Skills interpretation? How about recognizing a problem and describing it without bias? Above we suggested you look for a How about reading a person’s intentions in list of mental skills and habits of mind, the the expression on her face; distinguishing a experts, when faced with the same problem main idea from subordinate ideas in a text; you are working on, refer to their lists as constructing a tentative categorization or including cognitive skills and dispositions. way of organizing something you are studying; paraphrasing someone’s ideas in As to the cognitive skills here is what your own words; or, clarifying what a sign, the experts include as being at the very core chart or graph means? What about of critical thinking: interpretation, analysis, identifying an author’s purpose, theme, or evaluation, inference, explanation, and self- point of view? How about what you did regulation. (We will get to the dispositions above when you clarified what “offensive in just a second.) Did any of these words or violence” meant? ideas come up when you tried to characterize the cognitive skills — mental Again from the experts: analysis is abilities — involved in critical thinking? “to identify the intended and actual inferential relationships among statements, Quoting from the consensus questions, concepts, descriptions, or other statement of the national panel of experts: forms of representation intended to express interpretation is “to comprehend and belief, judgment, experiences, reasons, express the meaning or significance of a information, or opinions.” The experts wide variety of experiences, situations, data, include examining ideas, detecting events, judgments, conventions, beliefs, arguments, and analyzing arguments as rules, procedures, or criteria.”3 Interpretation sub-skills of analysis. Again, can you come up with some examples of analysis? What 3 The findings of expert consensus cited or reported about identifying the similarities and in this essay are published in Critical Thinking: A differences between two approaches to the Statement of Expert Consensus for Purposes of solution of a given problem? What about Educational Assessment and Instruction. Peter A. picking out the main claim made in a Facione, principle investigator, The California newspaper editorial and tracing back the Academic Press, Millbrae, CA, 1990. (ERIC ED 315 various reasons the editor offers in support 423). In 1993/94 the Center for the Study of Higher of that claim? Or, what about identifying unstated assumptions; constructing a way Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” to represent a main conclusion and the various reasons given to support or criticize it; sketching the relationship of sentences or paragraphs to each other and to the main Education at The Pennsylvania State University undertook a study of 200 policy-makers, employers, and faculty members from two-year and four-year colleges to determine what this group took to be the core critical thinking skills and habits of mind. The Pennsylvania State University Study, under the direction of Dr. Elizabeth Jones, was funded by the US Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Instruction. The Penn State study findings, published in 1994, confirmed the expert consensus described in this paper. 2011 update Page 5 purpose of the passage? What about statements, principles, evidence, graphically organizing this essay, in your own way, knowing that its purpose is to give judgments, beliefs, opinions, concepts, a preliminary idea about what critical thinking means? descriptions, questions, or other forms of representation.” As sub-skills of inference the experts list querying evidence, conjecturing alternatives, and drawing The experts define evaluation as conclusions. Can you think of some meaning “to assess the credibility of examples of inference? You might suggest statements or other representations which things like seeing the implications of the are accounts or descriptions of a person’s position someone is advocating, or drawing perception, experience, situation, judgment, out or constructing meaning from the belief, or opinion; and to assess the logical elements in a reading. You may suggest strength of the actual or intended inferential that predicting what will happen next based relationships among statements, what is known about the forces at work in a descriptions, questions or other forms of given situation, or formulating a synthesis of representation.” Your examples? How related ideas into a coherent perspective. about judging an author’s or speaker’s How about this: after judging that it would credibility, comparing the strengths and be useful to you to resolve a given weaknesses of alternative interpretations, uncertainty, developing a workable plan to determining the credibility of a source of gather that information? Or, when faced information, judging if two statements with a problem, developing a set of options contradict each other, or judging if the for addressing it. What about, conducting a evidence at hand supports the conclusion controlled experiment scientifically and being drawn? Among the examples the applying the proper statistical methods to experts propose are these: “recognizing the attempt to confirm or disconfirm an factors which make a person a credible empirical hypothesis? witness regarding a given event or a credible authority with regard to a given Beyond being able to interpret, analyze, evaluate and infer, strong critical topic,” “judging if an argument’s conclusion thinkers can do two more things. They can explain what they think and how they follows either with certainty or with a high arrived at that judgment. And, they can apply their powers of critical thinking to level of confidence from its premises,” themselves and improve on their previous opinions. These two skills are called “judging the logical strength of arguments “explanation” and “self-regulation.” based on hypothetical situations,” “judging if a given argument is relevant or applicable or has implications for the situation at hand.” Do the people you regard as strong The experts define explanation as critical thinkers have the three cognitive being able to present in a cogent and skills described so far? Are they good at coherent way the results of one’s reasoning. interpretation, analysis, and evaluation? This means to be able to give someone a What about the next three? And your full look at the big picture: both “to state and examples of weak critical thinkers, are they to justify that reasoning in terms of the lacking in these cognitive skills? All, or just evidential, conceptual, methodological, some? criteriological, and contextual considerations upon which one’s results were based; and To the experts inference means “to to present one’s reasoning in the form of identify and secure elements needed to cogent arguments.” The sub-skills under draw reasonable conclusions; to form explanation are describing methods and conjectures and hypotheses; to consider results, justifying procedures, proposing and relevant information and to educe the defending with good reasons one’s causal consequences flowing from data, Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 6 and conceptual explanations of events or The experts define self-regulation points of view, and presenting full and well- to mean “self-consciously to monitor one’s reasoned, arguments in the context of cognitive activities, the elements used in seeking the best understandings possible. those activities, and the results educed, Your examples first, please... Here are particularly by applying skills in analysis, some more: to construct a chart which and evaluation to one’s own inferential organizes one’s findings, to write down for judgments with a view toward questioning, future reference your current thinking on confirming, validating, or correcting either some important and complex matter, to cite one’s reasoning or one’s results.” The two the standards and contextual factors used sub-skills here are self-examination and to judge the quality of an interpretation of a self-correction. Examples? Easy — to text, to state research results and describe examine your views on a controversial issue the methods and criteria used to achieve with sensitivity to the possible influences of those results, to appeal to established your personal biases or self-interest, to criteria as a way of showing the check yourself when listening to a speaker reasonableness of a given judgment, to in order to be sure you are understanding design a graphic display which accurately what the person is really saying without represents the subordinate and super- introducing your own ideas, to monitor how ordinate relationship among concepts or well you seem to be understanding or ideas, to cite the evidence that led you to comprehending what you are reading or accept or reject an author’s position on an experiencing, to remind yourself to separate issue, to list the factors that were your personal opinions and assumptions considered in assigning a final course from those of the author of a passage or grade. text, to double check yourself by recalculating the figures, to vary your Maybe the most remarkable reading speed and method mindful of the cognitive skill of all, however, is this next type of material and your purpose for one. This one is remarkable because it reading, to reconsider your interpretation or allows strong critical thinkers to improve judgment in view of further analysis of the their own thinking. In a sense this is critical facts of the case, to revise your answers in thinking applied to itself. Because of that view of the errors you discovered in your some people want to call this “meta- work, to change your conclusion in view of cognition,” meaning it raises thinking to the realization that you had misjudged the another level. But “another level” really importance of certain factors when coming does not fully capture it, because at that to your earlier decision. 4 next level up what self-regulation does is look back at all the dimensions of critical 4 The California Critical Thinking Skills Test, and the thinking and double check itself. Self- Test of Everyday Reasoning, the Health Science regulation is like a recursive function in Reasoning Test, the Military and Defense Reasoning mathematical terms, which means it can Profile, The Business Critical Thinking Skills Test, apply to everything, including itself. You and the Legal Studies Reasoning Profile along with can monitor and correct an interpretation other testing instruments authored by Dr. Facione and you offered. You can examine and correct his research team for people in K-12, college, and an inference you have drawn. You can graduate / professional work target the core critical review and reformulate one of your own thinking skills identified here. These instruments are explanations. You can even examine and published in English and several authorized correct your ability to examine and correct translations exclusively by Insight Assessment. yourself! How? It is as simple as stepping back and saying to yourself, “How am I 2011 update Page 7 doing? Have I missed anything important? Let me double check before I go further.” Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” The Delphi Research Method published under the title Critical Thinking: A Statement of Expert Consensus for The panel of experts we keep Purposes of Educational Assessment and referring to included forty-six men and Instruction. (The California Academic women from throughout the United States Press, Millbrae, CA, 1990). You may and Canada. They represented many download the executive summary of that different scholarly disciplines in the report free. Visit humanities, sciences, social sciences, and education. They participated in a research http://www.insightassessment.com project that lasted two years and was conducted on behalf of the American You might be wondering how such a Philosophical Association. Their work was large group of people could collaborate on Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 8 this project over that long a period of time Wait a minute! These are all well- and at those distances and still come to known experts, so what do you do if people consensus. Good question. Remember disagree? And what about the possible we’re talking the days before e-mail. influence of a big name person? Good points. First, the central investigator takes Not only did the group have to rely precautions to remove names so that the on snail mail during their two-year panelists are not told who said what. They collaboration; they also relied on a method know who is on the panel, of course. But of interaction, known as the Delphi Method, that is as far as it goes. After that each which was developed precisely to enable experts’ argument has to stand on its own experts to think effectively about something merits. Second, an expert is only as good over large spans of distance and time. In as the arguments she or he gives. So, the the Delphi Method a central investigator central investigator summarizes the organizes the group and feeds them an arguments and lets the panelists decide if initial question. [In this case it had to do they accept them or not. When consensus with how college level critical thinking appears to be at hand, the central should be defined so that people teaching at investigator proposes this and asks if that level would know which skills and people agree. If not, then points of dispositions to cultivate in their students.] disagreement among the experts are The central investigator receives all registered. We want to share with you one responses, summarizes them, and transmits important example of each of these. First them back to all the panelists for reactions, we will describe the expert consensus view replies, and additional questions. of the dispositions which are absolutely vital to strong critical thinking. Then we will note a point of separation among the experts. Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 9 The Disposition Toward Critical them grow weak with lack of practice. But Thinking dancers get tired. And they surrender to the stiffness of age or the fear of injury. In the What kind of a person would be apt case of critical thinking skills, we might to use their critical thinking skills? The argue that not using them once you have experts poetically describe such a person them is hard to imagine. It’s hard to as having “a critical spirit.” Having a critical imagine a person deciding not to think. spirit does not mean that the person is always negative and hypercritical of Considered as a form of thoughtful everyone and everything. judgment or reflective decision-making, in a very real sense critical thinking is The experts use the metaphorical pervasive. There is hardly a time or a phrase critical spirit in a positive sense. By place where it would not seem to be of it they mean “a probing inquisitiveness, a potential value. As long as people have keenness of mind, a zealous dedication purposes in mind and wish to judge how to to reason, and a hunger or eagerness for accomplish them, as long as people wonder reliable information.” what is true and what is not, what to believe and what to reject, strong critical thinking is Almost sounds like Supreme Court going to be necessary. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor or Sherlock Holmes The kind of person being described And yet weird things happen, so it is here is the kind that always wants to ask probably true that some people might let “Why?” or “How?” or “What happens if?”. their thinking skills grow dull. It is easier to The one key difference, however, is that in imagine times when people are just too fiction Sherlock always solves the mystery, tired, too lax, or too frightened. But imagine while in the real world there is no guarantee. it you can, Young Skywalker, so there has Critical thinking is about how you approach problems, questions, issues. It is the best to be more to critical thinking than just the way we know of to get to the truth. But! list of cognitive skills. Human beings are There still are no guarantees — no answers more than thinking machines. And this in the back of the book of real life. Does brings us back to those all-important this characterization, that strong critical attitudes which the experts called thinkers possess a “critical spirit, a probing “dispositions.” inquisitiveness, a keenness of mind...” fit with your examples of people you would call The experts were persuaded that strong critical thinkers? critical thinking is a pervasive and purposeful human phenomenon. The ideal But, you might say, I know people critical thinker can be characterized not who have skills but do not use them. We merely by her or his cognitive skills but also cannot call someone a strong critical thinker by how she or he approaches life and living just because she or he has these cognitive in general. This is a bold claim. Critical skills, however important they might be, because what if they just do not bother to 2011 update Page 10 apply them? One response is to say that it is hard to imagine an accomplished dancer who never dances. After working to develop those skills it seems such a shame to let Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” thinking goes way beyond the classroom. prudent people would want to ask to In fact, many of the experts fear that some manage their investments! of the things people experience in school are actually harmful to the development and The experts went beyond cultivation of strong critical thinking. Critical approaches to life and living in general to thinking came before schooling was ever emphasize that strong critical thinkers can invented, it lies at the very roots of also be described in terms of how they civilization. It is a corner stone in the approach specific issues, questions, or journey human kind is taking from beastly problems. The experts said you would find savagery to global sensitivity. Consider these sorts of characteristics: what life would be like without the things on this list and we think you will understand. * clarity in stating the question or concern, The approaches to life and living which * orderliness in working with complexity, characterize critical thinking include: * diligence in seeking relevant information, * reasonableness in selecting and applying criteria, * inquisitiveness with regard to a wide range of * care in focusing attention on the concern at hand, issues, * persistence though difficulties are encountered, * precision to the degree permitted by the subject and * concern to become and remain well-informed, * alertness to opportunities to use critical thinking, the circumstances. * trust in the processes of reasoned inquiry, So, how would a weak critical thinker * self-confidence in one’s own abilities to reason, approach specific problems or issues? * open-mindedness regarding divergent world views, Obviously, by being muddle-headed about what he or she is doing, disorganized and * flexibility in considering alternatives and opinions overly simplistic, spotty about getting the * understanding of the opinions of other people, facts, apt to apply unreasonable criteria, * fair-mindedness in appraising reasoning, easily distracted, ready to give up at the * honesty in facing one’s own biases, prejudices, least hint of difficulty, intent on a solution that is more detailed than is possible, or stereotypes, or egocentric tendencies, being satisfied with an overly generalized * prudence in suspending, making or altering and uselessly vague response. Remind you of anyone you know? judgments, * willingness to reconsider and revise views where Someone positively disposed toward using critical thinking would probably agree honest reflection suggests that change is with statements like these: warranted. “I hate talk shows where people shout their What would someone be like who opinions but never give any reasons at all.” lacked those dispositions? “Figuring out what people really mean by It might be someone who does not what they say is important to me." care about much of anything, is not interested in the facts, prefers not to think, “I always do better in jobs where I'm mistrusts reasoning as a way of finding expected to think things out for myself.” things out or solving problems, holds his or her own reasoning abilities in low esteem, is “I hold off making decisions until I have close-minded, inflexible, insensitive, cannot thought through my options.” understand what others think, is unfair when it comes to judging the quality of arguments, “Rather than relying on someone else's denies his or her own biases, jumps to notes, I prefer to read the material myself.” conclusions or delays too long in making judgments, and never is willing to “I try to see the merit in another’s opinion, reconsider an opinion. Not someone even if I reject it later.” “Even if a problem is tougher than I expected, I will keep working on it.” “Making intelligent decisions is more important than winning arguments.” Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 11 A person disposed to be averse or place of “is a strong critical thinker” or “has hostile toward using critical thinking strong critical thinking skills.” This is not would probably disagree with the only a helpful conversational shortcut, it statements above but be likely to agree with suggests that to many people “critical these: thinker” has a laudatory sense. The word can be used to praise someone at the same “I prefer jobs where the supervisor says time that it identifies the person, as in “Look exactly what to do and exactly how to do it." at that play. That’s what I call a defender!” “No matter how complex the problem, you “If we were compelled to make a can bet there will be a simple solution.” choice between these personal attributes and knowledge about "I don't waste time looking things up." the principles of logical “I hate when teachers discuss problems reasoning together with some instead of just giving the answers.” degree of technical skill in “If my belief is truly sincere, evidence to the manipulating special logical contrary is irrelevant." processes, we should decide for “Selling an idea is like selling cars, you say the former.” whatever works." John Dewey, How We Think, 1909. Republished as We used the expression “strong How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of critical thinker” to contrast with the expression “weak critical thinker.” But you Reflective Thinking to the Educational Process. D. C. will find people who drop the adjective Heath Publishing. Lexington, MA. 1933. “strong” (or “good”) and just say that someone is a “critical thinker” or not. It is We said the experts did not come to like saying that a soccer (European full agreement on something. That thing “football”) player is a “defender” or “not a has to do with the concept of a “strong defender”, instead of saying the player’s critical thinker.” This time the emphasis is skills at playing defense are strong or weak. on the word “good” because of a crucial People use the word “defender” in place of the phrase “is good at playing defense.” 2011 update Page 12 Similarly, people use “critical thinker” in Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” ambiguity it contains. A person can be would prefer to think that critical thinking, by good at critical thinking, meaning that the its very nature, is inconsistent with the kinds person can have the appropriate of unethical and deliberately dispositions and be adept at the cognitive counterproductive examples given. They processes, while still not being a good (in find it hard to imagine a person who was the moral sense) critical thinker. For good at critical thinking not also being good example, a person can be adept at in the broader personal and social sense. developing arguments and then, unethically, In other words, if a person were “really” a use this skill to mislead and exploit a gullible “strong critical thinker” in the procedural person, perpetrate a fraud, or deliberately sense and if the person had all the confuse and confound, and frustrate a appropriate dispositions, then the person project. simply would not do those kinds of exploitive and aggravating things. The experts were faced with an interesting problem. Some, a minority, This self-rating form also appears in Chapter 3 of Think Critically, Pearson Education, 2011. For a fuller and more robust measure of critical thinking dispositions see the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI) by Facione and Facione, published in 1992, by Insight Assessment. Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 13 The large majority, however, hold “Thinking” in Popular Culture the opposite judgment. They are firm in the view that strong critical thinking has nothing We have said so many good things to do with any given set of cultural beliefs, about critical thinking that you might have religious tenants, ethical values, social the impression that “critical thinking” and mores, political orientations, or orthodoxies “good thinking” mean the same thing. But of any kind. Rather, the commitment one that is not what the experts said. They see makes as a strong critical thinker is to critical thinking as making up part of what always seek the truth with objectivity, we mean by good thinking, but not as being integrity, and fair-mindedness. The majority the only kind of good thinking. For example, of experts maintain that critical thinking they would have included creative thinking conceived of as we have described it above, as part of good thinking. is, regrettably, not inconsistent with abusing one’s knowledge, skills, or power. There Creative or innovative thinking is the have been people with superior thinking kind of thinking that leads to new insights, skills and strong habits of mind who, novel approaches, fresh perspectives, unfortunately, have used their talents for whole new ways of understanding and ruthless, horrific, and immoral purposes. conceiving of things. The products of Would that it were not so! Would that creative thought include some obvious experience, knowledge, mental horsepower, things like music, poetry, dance, dramatic and ethical virtue were all one and the literature, inventions, and technical same. But from the time of Socrates, if not innovations. But there are some not so thousands of years before that, humans obvious examples as well, such as ways of have known that many of us have one or putting a question that expand the horizons more of these without having the full set. of possible solutions, or ways of conceiving of relationships which challenge Any tool, any approach to situations, presuppositions and lead one to see the can go either way, ethically speaking, world in imaginative and different ways. depending on the character, integrity, and principles of the persons who possess The experts working on the concept them. So, in the final analysis the majority of critical thinking wisely left open the entire of experts maintained that we cannot say a question of what the other forms good person is not thinking critically simply thinking might take. Creative thinking is because we disapprove ethically of what the only one example. There is a kind of person is doing. The majority concluded purposive, kinetic thinking that instantly that, “what ‘critical thinking’ means, why it is coordinates movement and intention as, for of value, and the ethics of its use are best example, when an athlete dribbles a soccer regarded as three distinct concerns.” ball down the field during a match. There is a kind of meditative thinking which may Perhaps this realization forms part of lead to a sense of inner peace or to the basis for why people these days are profound insights about human existence. demanding a broader range of learning In contrast, there is a kind of hyper-alert, outcomes from our schools and colleges. instinctive thinking needed by soldiers in “Knowledge and skills,” the staples of the battle. In the context of popular culture one educational philosophy of the mid-twentieth finds people proposing all kinds of thinking century, are not sufficient. We must look to or this-kind of intelligence or that-kind of a broader set of outcomes including habits intelligence. Some times it is hard to sort out of mind and dispositions, such as civic the science from the pseudo-science – the engagement, concern for the common kernel of enduring truth from the latest good, and social responsibility. cocktail party banter. Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 14 “Thinking” in Cognitive Science precisely because drivers are able to see and react to dangerous situations so Theories emerging from more scientific quickly. Many good decisions which feel studies of human thinking and decision- intuitive are really the fruit of expertise. making in recent years propose that thinking Decisions good drivers make in those is more integrated and less dualistic than moments of crisis, just like the decisions the notions in popular culture suggest. We which practiced athletes make in the flow of should be cautious about proposals a game or the decisions that a gifted suggesting oversimplified ways of teacher makes as she or he interacts with understanding how humans think. We students, are borne of expertise, training, should avoid harsh, rigid dichotomies such and practice. as “reason vs. emotion,” “intuitive vs. linear,” “creativity vs. criticality,” “right brained vs. At the same time that we are left brained,” “as on Mars vs. as on Venus.” immersed in the world around us and in our daily lives, constantly making decisions There is often a kernel of wisdom in unreflectively, we may also be thinking quite popular beliefs, and perhaps that gem this reflectively about something. Perhaps we’re time is the realization that some times we worried about a decision which we have to decide things very quickly almost as make about an important project at work, or spontaneous, intuitive, reactions to the about a personal relationship, or about a situation at hand. Many accidents on the legal matter, whatever. We gather freeways of this nation are avoided information, consider our options, explore Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 15 possibilities, formulate some thoughts about review and revise our work in the light of what we propose to do and why this choice relevant guidelines or standards or rules of is the right one. In other words, we make a procedure. While System 2 decisions are purposeful, reflective judgment about what also influenced by the correct or incorrect to believe or what to do – precisely the kind application of heuristic maneuvers, this is of judgment which is the focus of critical the system which relies on well articulated thinking. reasons and more fully developed evidence. It is reasoning based on what we have Recent integrative models of human learned through careful analysis, evaluation, decision-making propose that the thinking explanation, and self-correction. This is the processes of our species is not best system which values intellectual honesty, described as a conflictive duality as in analytically anticipating what happens next, “intuitive vs. reflective” but rather an maturity of judgment, fair-mindedness, integrative functioning of two mutually elimination of biases, and truth-seeking. supportive systems “intuitive and reflective.” This is the system which we rely on to think These two systems of thinking are present carefully trough complex, novel, high- in all of us and can act in parallel to process stakes, and highly integrative problems.5 cognitively the matters over which we are deciding. Educators urge us to improve our critical thinking skills and to reinforce our One system is more intuitive, disposition to use those skills because that reactive, quick and holistic. So as not to is perhaps the best way to develop and confuse things with the notions of thinking in refine our System 2 reasoning. popular culture, cognitive scientists often name this system, “System 1.” The other System 1 and System 2 are both (yes, you can guess its name) is more believed to be vital decision-making tools deliberative, reflective, computational and when stakes are high and when uncertainty rule governed. You are right, it is called is an issue. Each of these two cognitive “System 2.” systems are believed to be capable of functioning to monitor and potentially In System 1 thinking, one relies override the other. This is one of the ways heavily on a number of heuristics (cognitive our species reduces the chance of making maneuvers), key situational characteristics, foolish, sub-optimal or even dangerous readily associated ideas, and vivid errors in judgment. Human thinking is far memories to arrive quickly and confidently from perfect. Even a good thinker makes at a judgment. System 1 thinking is both System 1 and 2 errors. At times we particularly helpful in familiar situations misinterpret things, or we get our facts when time is short and immediate action is wrong, and we make mistakes as a result. required. 5 Chapters 9 and 10 of Think Critically, Pearson While System 1 is functioning, Education, 2011, locate critical thinking within this another powerful system is also at work, integrative model of thinking. The cognitive heuristics, that is, unless we shut it down by abusing which will be described next, and the human capacity alcohol or drugs, or with fear or indifference. to derive sustained confidence decisions (right or Called “System 2,” this is our more wrong),-- known as “dominance structuring,” – are reflective thinking system. It is useful for presented there too. There are lots of useful exercises making judgments when you find yourself in and examples in that book. You may also wish to unfamiliar situations and have more time to consult the references listed at the end of this essay. figure things out. It allows us to process The material presented in this section is derived from abstract concepts, to deliberate, to plan these books and related publications by many of ahead, to consider options carefully, to these same authors and others working to scientifically explain how humans actually make Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” decisions. 2011 update Page 16 But often our errors are directly related to negative reaction to some idea, proposal, the influences and misapplications of person, object, whatever. Sometimes called cognitive heuristics. Because we share the a “gut reaction” this affective response sets propensity to use these heuristics as we up an initial orientation in us, positive or make decisions, let’s examine how some of negative, toward the object. It takes a lot of them influence us. System 2 reasoning to overcome a powerful affective response to an idea, but it can be Cognitive heuristics are thinking done. And at times it should be, because maneuvers which, at times, appear to be there is no guarantee that your gut reaction almost hardwired into our species. They is always right. influence both systems of thinking, the intuitive thinking of System 1 and the The Association heuristic is reflective reasoning of System 2. Five operating when one word or idea reminds heuristics often seem to be more frequently us of something else. For example, some operating in our System 1 reasoning are people associate the word “cancer” with known as availability, affect, association, “death.” Some associate “sunshine” with simulation, and similarity. “happiness.” These kinds of associational reasoning responses can be helpful at Availability, the coming to mind of a times, as for example if associating cancer story or vivid memory of something that with death leads you not to smoke and to go happened to you or to someone close to in for regular checkups. At other times the you, inclines a person make inaccurate same association may influence a person to estimates of the likelihood of that thing’s make an unwise decision, as for example if happening again. People tell stories of associating “cancer” with “death” were to things that happened to themselves or their lead you to be so fearful and pessimistic friends all the time as a way of explaining that you do not seek diagnosis and their own decisions. The stories may not be treatment of a worrisome cancer symptom scientifically representative, the events may until it was really too late to do anything. be mistaken, misunderstood, or misinterpreted. But all that aside, the power The Simulation heuristic is working of the story is to guide, often in a good way, when you are imagining how various the decision toward one choice rather than scenarios will unfold. People often imagine another. how a conversation will go, or how they will be treated by someone else when they The Affect heuristic operates when meet the person, or what their friends or you have an immediate positive or an boss or lover will say and do when they have to address some difficult issue. These Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” simulations, like movies in our heads, help us prepare and do a better job when the difficult moment arrives. But they can also lead us to have mistaken expectations. People may not respond as we imagined, things may go much differently. Our preparations may fail us because the ease of our simulation misled us into thinking that things would have to go as we had imagined them. And they did not. The Similarity heuristic operates when we notice some way in which we are like someone else and infer that what 2011 update Page 17 happened to that person is therefore more the time each of the decisions along the likely to happen to us. The similarity way was “good enough for the time being.” heuristic functions much like an analogical argument or metaphorical model. The We are by nature a species that is similarity we focus on might be fundamental and relevant, which would make the averse to risk and loss. Often we make inference more warranted. For example, the boss fired your coworker for missing sales decisions on the basis of what we are too targets and you draw the reasonable conclusion that if you miss your sales worried about losing, rather than on the targets you’ll be fired too. Or the similarity that comes to mind might be superficial or basis of what we might gain. This works out not connected with the outcome, which would make the inference unwarranted. For to be a rather serviceable approach in many example you see a TV commercial showing trim-figured young people enjoying fattening circumstances. People do not want to lose fast foods and infer that because you’re young too you can indulge your cravings for control, they do not want to lose their fast foods without gaining a lot of excess unsightly poundage. freedom, they do not want to lose their lives, Heuristics and biases often their families, their jobs, their possessions. appearing to be somewhat more associated with System 2 thinking include: satisficing, High stakes gambling is best left to those risk/loss aversion, anchoring with adjustment, and the illusion of control. who can afford to lose the money. Las Satisficing occurs as we consider Vegas didn’t build all those multi-million our alternatives. When we come to one which is good enough to fulfill our objectives dollar casino hotels because vacationers we often regard ourselves as having completed our deliberations. We have are winning all the time! And so, in real life, satisficed. And why not? The choice is, after all, good enough. It may not be we take precautions. We avoid perfect, it may not be optimal, it may not even be the best among the options unnecessary risks. The odds may not be available. But it is good enough. Time to decide and move forward. stacked against us, but the consequences The running mate of satisficing is of losing at times are so great that we would temporizing. Temporizing is deciding that the option which we have come to is “good prefer to forego the possibilities of gain in enough for now.” We often move through life satisficing and temporizing. At times we order not to lose what we have. And yet, on look back on our situations and wonder why it is that we have settled for far less than we occasion this can be a most unfortunate might have. If we had only studied harder, worked out a little more, taken better care of decision too. History has shown time and ourselves and our relationships, perhaps we would not be living as we are now. But, at time again that businesses which avoid Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” risks often are unable to compete successfully with those willing to move more boldly into new markets or into new product lines. Any heuristic is only a maneuver, perhaps a shortcut or impulse to think or act in one way rather than another, but certainly not a failsafe rule. It may work out well much of the time to rely on the heuristic, but it will not work out for the best all of the time. For example, people with something to lose tend toward conservative choices politically as well as economically. Nothing wrong with that necessarily. Just an observation about the influence of Loss Aversion heuristic on actual decision making. We are more apt to endure the status quo, even as it slowly deteriorates, than we are to call for “radical” change. Regrettably, however, when the call for change comes, it often requires a far 2011 update Page 18 greater upheaval to make the necessary future events may be quite negligible. At transformations, or, on occasion, the times we do have some measure of control. situation has deteriorated beyond the point For example we may exercise, not smoke, of no return. In those situations we find and watch our diet in order to be more fit ourselves wondering why we waited so long and healthy. We are careful not to drink if before doing something. we are planning to drive so that we reduce the risks of being involved in a traffic The heuristic known as Anchoring accident. But at times we simply are with Adjustment is operative when we find mistaken about our ability to actually ourselves making evaluative judgments. exercise full control over a situation. Sadly The natural thing for us to do is to locate or we might become ill even if we do work hard anchor our evaluation at some point along to take good care of ourselves. Or we may whatever scale we are using. For example, be involved in an accident even if we are a professor says that the student’s paper is sober. Our business may fail even if we a C+. Then, as other information comes our work very hard to make it a success. We way, we may adjust that judgment. The may not do as well on an exam as we might professor, for example, may decide that the hope even if we study hard. paper is as good as some others that were given a B-, and so adjust the grade upward. Related to the Illusion of Control The interesting thing about this heuristic, is heuristic is the tendency to misconstrue our that we do not normally start over with a personal influence or responsibility for past fresh evaluation. We have dropped anchor events. This is called Hindsight Bias. We and we may drag it upward or downward a may over-estimate the influence our actions bit, but we do not pull it off the bottom of the have had on events when things go right, or sea to relocate our evaluation. First we may underestimate our responsibility or impressions, as the saying goes, cannot be culpability when things go wrong. We have undone. The good thing about this heuristic all heard people bragging about how they is that it permits us to move on. We have did this and how they did that and, as a done the evaluation; there are other papers result, such and such wonderful things to grade, other projects to do, other things in happened. We made these great plans and life that need attention. We could not long look how well our business did financially. endure if we had to constantly re-evaluate Which may be true when the economy is every thing anew. The unfortunate thing strong; but not when the economy is failing. about this heuristic is that we sometimes It is not clear how much of that success drop anchor in the wrong place; we have a came from the planning and how much hard time giving people a second chance at came from the general business making a good first impression. environment. Or, we have all been in the room when it was time to own up for some The heuristic known as Illusion of thing that went wrong and thought to Control is evident in many situations. Many ourselves, hey, I may have had some part in of us over-estimate our abilities to control this, but it was not entirely my fault. “It what will happen. We make plans for how wasn’t my fault the children were late for we are going to do this or that, say this or school, hey I was dressed and ready to go that, manipulate the situation this way or at the regular time.” As if seeing that the that way, share or not share this information family was running late I had no or that possibility, all the time thinking that responsibility to take some initiative and some how our petty plans will enable us to help out. control what happens. We act as if others are dancing on the ends of the strings that 2011 update Page 19 we are pulling, when in actuality the influences our words or actions have on Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” “Insanity is doing the same not what happens.6 When seeking to thing over and over again while explain how people decide on an option with expecting a different outcome.” such conviction that they stick to their decision over time and with such confidence Albert Einstein that they act on that decision, the concept that what we do is build a Dominance Research on our shared heuristic Structure has been put forth. In a nutshell patterns of decision-making does not aim to this theory suggests that when we settle on evaluate these patterns as necessarily good a particular option which is good enough we or bad patterns of thinking. I fear that my tend to elevate its merits and diminish its wording of them above may not have been flaws relative to the other options. We raise as entirely neutral and descriptive as it up in our minds until it becomes for us the perhaps it should have been. In truth, dominant option. In this way, as our reliance on heuristics can be an efficient decision takes shape, we gain confidence in ways of deciding things, given how very our choice and we feel justified in complicated our lives are. We cannot dismissing the other options, even though devote maximal cognitive resources to the objective distance between any of them every single decision we make. and our dominant option may not be very great at all. But we become invested in our Those of us who study these dominant option to the extent that we are heuristic thinking phenomena are simply able to put the other possibilities aside and trying to document how we humans do act on the basis of our choice. In fact, it think. There are many useful purposes for comes to dominate the other options in our doing this. For example, if we find that minds so much that we are able to sustain people repeatedly make a given kind of our decision to act over a period of time, mistake when thinking about a commonly rather than going back to re-evaluate or experienced problem, then we might find reconsider constantly. Understanding the ways to intervene and to help ourselves not natural phenomenon of dominance repeat that error over and over again. structuring can help us appreciate why it can be so difficult for us to get others to This research on the actual patterns change their minds, or why it seems that our of thinking used by individuals and by reasons for our decisions are so much groups might prove particularly valuable to better than any of the objections which those who seek interventions which could others might make to our decisions. This is improve how we make our own heath care not to say that we are right or wrong. decisions, how we make business Rather, this is only to observe that human decisions, how we lead teams of people to beings are capable of unconsciously work more effectively in collaborative building up defenses around their choices settings, and the like. which can result in the warranted or unwarranted confidence to act on the basis Popular culture offers one other of those choices. myth about decision-making which is worth questioning. And that is the belief that when 6 Henry Montgomery, “From cognition to action: The we make reflective decisions we carefully search for dominance in decision making.” In Process weigh each of our options, giving due and Structure in Human Decision-Making, consideration to all of them in turn, before Montgomery H, Svenson O (Eds). John Wiley & Sons: deciding which we will adopt. Although Chichester, UK, 1989. For a more accessible perhaps it should be, research on human description along with reflective exercises on how to decision-making shows that this simply is avoid becoming “locked in” to a poor decision prematurely, see chapter 10 of Think Critically. Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 20 Realizing the power of dominance you have greater success in your work? structuring, one can only be more Would you get better grades? committed to the importance of education and critical thinking. We should do all that Actually the answer to the grades we can to inform ourselves fully and to question, scientifically speaking, is very reflect carefully on our choices before we possibly, Yes! A study of over 1100 college make them, because we are, after all, students shows that scores on a college human and we are as likely as the next level critical thinking skills test significantly person to believe that we are right and they correlated with college GPA.7 It has also are wrong once the dominance structure been shown that critical thinking skills can begins to be erected. Breaking through that be learned, which suggests that as one to fix bad decisions, which is possible, can learns them one’s GPA might well improve. be much harder than getting things right in In further support of this hypothesis is the the first place. significant correlation between critical thinking and reading comprehension. There are more heuristics than only Improvements in the one are paralleled by those mentioned above. There is more to improvements in the other. Now if you can learn about dominance structuring as it read better and think better, might you not occurs in groups as well as in individuals, do better in your classes, learn more, and and how to mitigate the problems which get better grades. It is, to say the least, may arise by prematurely settling on a very plausible. “good enough” option, or about how to craft educational programs or interventions which Learning, Critical Thinking, and Our help people be more effective in their Nation’s Future System 1 and System 2 thinking. There is much to learn about human thinking and “The future now belongs to societies how to optimize it in individuals of different that organize themselves for learning... ages; how to optimize the thinking of groups nations that want high incomes and full of peers and groups where organizational employment must develop policies that hierarchies influence interpersonal emphasize the acquisition of knowledge dynamics. And, happily, there is a lot we and skills by everyone, not just a select know today about human thinking and few.” decision-making that we did not know a few years ago. Ray Marshall & Marc Tucker, Thinking For A Living: Education And The Wealth of Nations, Basic Books. New Why critical thinking? York. 1992. Let us start with you first. Why would critical thinking be of value to you to But what a limited benefit — better have the cognitive skills of interpretation, grades. Who really cares in the long run? analysis, evaluation, inference, explanation, Two years after college, five years out, what and self-regulation? does GPA really mean? Right now college Apart from, or maybe in light of, what 7 Findings regarding the effectiveness of critical we said at the beginning of this essay about thinking instruction, and correlations with GPA and the utility of positive critical thinking and reading ability are reported in “Technical Report #1, about the problems that failures of critical Experimental Validation and Content Validity” (ERIC thinking contribute to, why would it be of ED 327 549), “Technical Report #2, Factors value to you to learn to approach life and to Predictive of CT Skills” (ERIC ED 327 550), and approach specific concerns with the critical “Gender, Ethnicity, Major, CT Self-Esteem, and the thinking dispositions listed above? Would California Critical Thinking Skills Test” (ERIC ED 326 584). These findings remain consistent in research Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” using the tools in the California Critical Thinking Skills Test family of instruments published by Insight Assessment. 2011 update Page 21 level technical and professional programs challenge, question, and dissent. In fact, have a half-life of about four years, which this is exactly what the professors want. means that the technical content is They want their students to excel on their expanding so fast and changing so much own, to go beyond what is currently known, that in about four years after graduation to make their own contributions to your professional training will be in serious knowledge and to society. [Being a need of renewal. So, if the only thing a professor is a curious job — the more college is good for is to get the entry level effective you are as a teacher, less your training and the credential needed for some students require your aid in learning.] job, then college would be a time-limited value. Liberal education is about learning to learn, which means learning to think for The APA Delphi Report, yourself on your own and in collaboration Critical Thinking: A Statement of Expert with others. Consensus for Purposes of Educational Liberal education leads us away Assessment and Instruction from naive acceptance of authority, above 1990 ERIC Doc. NO.: ED 315 423 self-defeating relativism, and beyond ambiguous contextualism. It culminates in Is that the whole story? A job is a principled reflective judgment. Learning good thing, but is that what a college critical thinking, cultivating the critical spirit, education is all about, getting started in a is not just a means to this end, it is part of good job? Maybe some cannot see its the goal itself. People who are weak critical further value, but many do. A main thinkers, who lack the dispositions and skills purpose, if not the main purpose, of the described, cannot be said to be liberally collegiate experience, at either the two-year educated, regardless of the academic or the four-year level, is to achieve what degrees they may hold. people have called a “liberal education.” Not liberal in the sense of a smattering of Yes, there is much more to a liberal this and that for no particular purpose education, than critical thinking. There is an except to fulfill the unit requirement. But understanding of the methods, principles, liberal in the sense of “liberating.” And who theories and ways of achieving knowledge is being liberated? You! Liberated from a which are proper to the different intellectual kind of slavery. But from whom? realms. There is an encounter with the cultural, artistic and spiritual dimensions of From professors. Actually from life. There is the evolution of one’s decision dependence on professors so that they no making to the level of principled integrity longer stand as infallible authorities and concern for the common good and delivering opinions beyond our capacity to social justice. There is the realization of the ways all our lives are shaped by global as Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” well as local political, social, psychological, economic, environmental, and physical forces. There is the growth that comes from the interaction with cultures, languages, ethnic groups, religions, nationalities, and social classes other than one’s own. There is the refinement of one’s humane sensibilities through reflection on the recurring questions of human existence, meaning, love, life and death. There is the sensitivity, appreciation and critical 2011 update Page 22 appraisal of all that is good and all that is scale economic disaster would become bad in the human condition. As the mind extremely likely. So, given a society that awakens and matures, and the proper does not value and cultivate critical thinking, nurturing and educational nourishment is we might reasonably expect that in time the provided, these others central parts of a judicial system and the economic system liberal education develop as well. Critical would collapse. And, in such a society, one thinking plays an essential role in achieving that does not liberate its citizens by teaching these purposes. them to think critically for themselves, it would be madness to advocate democratic Any thing else? What about going forms of government. beyond the individual to the community? Is it any wonder that business and The experts say critical thinking is civic leaders are maybe even more fundamental to, if not essential for, “a interested in critical thinking than rational and democratic society.” What educators? Critical thinking employed by an might the experts mean by this? informed citizenry is a necessary condition for the success of democratic institutions Well, how wise would democracy be and for competitive free-market economic if people abandoned critical thinking? enterprise. These values are so important Imagine an electorate that cared not for the that it is in the national interest that we facts, that did not wish to consider the pros should try to educate all citizens so that they and cons of the issues, or if they did, had can learn to think critically. Not just for their not the brain power to do so. Imagine your personal good, but for the good of the rest life and the lives of your friends and family of us too. placed in the hands of juries and judges who let their biases and stereotypes govern Generalizing, imagine a society, say, their decisions, who do not attend to the for example, the millions of people living in evidence, who are not interested in the Los Angeles basin, or in New York and reasoned inquiry, who do not know how to along the east coast, or in Chicago, or draw an inference or evaluate one. Without Mexico City, Cairo, Rome, Tokyo, Baghdad, critical thinking people would be more easily Moscow, Beijing, or Hong Kong. They are, exploited not only politically but de facto, entirely dependent upon one economically. The impact of abandoning another, and on hundreds of thousands of critical thinking would not be confined to the other people as well for their external micro-economics of the household checking supplies of food and water, for their survival. account. Suppose the people involved in Now imagine that these millions permitted international commerce were lacking in their schools and colleges to stop teaching critical thinking skills, they would be unable people how to think critically and effectively. to analyze and interpret the market trends, evaluate the implications of interest 2011 update Page 23 fluctuations, or explain the potential impact of those factors which influence large scale production and distribution of goods and materials. Suppose these people were unable to draw the proper inferences from the economic facts, or unable to properly evaluate the claims made by the unscrupulous and misinformed. In such a situation serious economic mistakes would be made. Whole sectors of the economy would become unpredictable and large Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” Imagine that because of war, or AIDS, or Consider the “cultural revolutions” famine, or religious conviction, parents undertaken by totalitarian rulers. Notice how could not or would not teach their children in virtually every case absolutist and how to think critically. Imagine the social dictatorial despots seek ever more severe and political strife, the falling apart of limitations on free expression. They label fundamental systems of public safety and “liberal” intellectuals “dangers to society” public health, the loss of any scientific and expel “radical” professors from teaching understanding of disease control or posts because they might “corrupt the agricultural productivity, the emergence of youth.” Some use the power of their paramilitary gangs, strong men, and petty governmental or religious authority to crush warlords seeking to protect themselves and not only their opposition but the moderates their own by acquiring control over what as well -- all in the name of maintaining the food and resources they can and destroying purity of their movement. They intimidate those who stand in their path. journalists and those media outlets which dare to comment “negatively” on their Look at what has happened around political and cultural goals or their heavy the world in places devastated by economic handed methods. embargoes, one-sided warfare, or the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Or, consider the The historical evidence is there for problem of global climate change, and how us to see what happens when schools are important it is for all of us to cooperate with closed or converted from places of efforts to curtail our uses of fossil fuels in education to places for indoctrination. We order to reduce emissions of harmful know what happens when children are no greenhouse gases. longer being taught truth-seeking, the skills of good reasoning, or the lessons of human Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” history and basic science: Cultures disintegrate; communities collapse; the machinery of civilization fails; massive numbers of people die; and sooner or later social and political chaos ensues. Or, imagine a media, a religious or political hegemony which cultivated, instead of critical thinking, all the opposite dispositions? Or consider if that hegemony reinforced uncritical, impulsive decision making and the “ready-shoot-aim” approach to executive action. Imagine governmental structures, administrators, and community leaders who, instead of encouraging critical thinking, were content to make knowingly irrational, illogical, prejudicial, unreflective, short-sighted, and unreasonable decisions. How long might it take for the people in this society which does not value critical thinking to be at serious risk of foolishly harming themselves and each other? The news too often reports about hate groups, wanton shooting, terrorists and 2011 update Page 24 violently extreme religious zealots. intellectuals, or regulations aimed at Education which includes a good measure suppressing research and frustrating the of critical thinking skills and dispositions like fair-minded, evidence-based, and unfettered truth-seeking and open-mindedness, is a pursuit of knowledge, can happen wherever problem for terrorists and extremists of and whenever people are not vigilant every stripe because terrorists and defenders of open, objective, and extremists want to control of what people independent inquiry. think. They are ideologists of the worst kind. Their methods include indoctrination, Does this mean that society should place a intimidation, and the strictest authoritarian very high value on critical thinking? orthodoxy. In the “black-and-white” world of “us vs. them” a good education would mean Absolutely! that the people might begin to think for themselves. And that is something these Does this mean society has the right to extremists do not want. force someone to learn to think critically? History shows that assaults on Maybe. But, really, should we have to? learning, whether by book burning, exile of Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 25 EXPERT CONSENSUS STATEMENT REGARDING CRITICAL THINKING AND THE IDEAL CRITICAL THINKER “We understand critical thinking to be 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. CT is essential as a tool of inquiry. As such, CT is a liberating force in education and a powerful resource in one’s personal and civic life. While not synonymous with good thinking, CT is a pervasive and self-rectifying human phenomenon. The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well- informed, trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit. Thus, educating strong critical thinkers means working toward this ideal. It combines developing CT skills with nurturing those dispositions which consistently yield useful insights and which are the basis of a rational and democratic society.” READINGS and REFERENCES American Philosophical Association, Critical Thinking: A Statement of Expert Consensus for Purposes of Educational Assessment and Instruction. "The Delphi Report," Committee on Pre-College Philosophy. (ERIC Doc. No. ED 315 423). 1990 Brookfield, Stephen D.: Developing Critical Thinkers: Challenging Adults to Explore Alternative Ways of Thinking and Acting. Josey- Bass Publishers. San-Francisco, CA. 1987. Browne, M. Neil, and Keeley, Stuart M.: Asking the Right Questions. Prentice-Hall Publishers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 2003. Costa, Arthur L., & Lowery, l Lawrence F.: Techniques for Teaching Thinking. Critical Thinking Press and Software. Pacific Grove, CA. 1989. Facione, Noreen C, and Facione Peter A.: Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgment in the Health Sciences - An International Teaching Anthology. The California Academic Press, Millbrae CA. 2008. Facione, Noreen C. and Facione, Peter A. : Critical Thinking Assessment and Nursing Education Programs: An Aggregate Data Analysis. The California Academic Press. Millbrae, CA 1997. Facione, Noreen. C., and Facione, Peter A., Analyzing Explanations for Seemingly Irrational Choices, International Journal of Applied Philosophy, Vol. 15 No. 2 (2001) 267-86. Facione, Peter A and Noreen C,: Thinking and Reasoning in Human Decision Making. The California Academic Press. Millbrae CA, 2007 Facione, Peter A, Think Critically, Pearson Education: Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 2011. Facione, P.A., Facione, N.C., Talking Critical Thinking, Change: The Magazine of Higher Education, March-April, 2007. Facione, P.A., Facione N. C., and Giancarlo, C: The Disposition Toward Critical Thinking: Its Character, Measurement, and Relationship to Critical Thinking Skills, Journal of Informal Logic, Vol. 20 No. 1 (2000) 61-84. Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 26 Gilovich, Thomas; Griffin, Dale; and Kahneman, Daniel: Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment. Cambridge University Press. 2002. Goldstein, William, and Hogarth, Robin M. (Eds.): Research on Judgment and Decision Making. Cambridge University Press. 1997. Esterle, John, and Clurman, Dan: Conversations with Critical Thinkers. The Whitman Institute. San Francisco, CA. 1993. Janis, I.L. and Mann, L: Decision-Making. The Free Press, New York. 1977. Kahneman, Daniel; Slovic, Paul; and Tversky, Amos: Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Cambridge University Press. 1982. Kahneman Daniel: Knetsch, J.L.; and Thaler, R.H.: The endowment effect, loss aversion, and status quo bias. Journal of Economic Perspectives. 1991, 5;193-206. King, Patricia M. & Kitchener, Karen Strohm: Developing Reflective Judgment. Josey-Bass Publishers. San Francisco, CA. 1994 Kurfiss, Joanne G., Critical Thinking: Theory, Research, Practice and Possibilities, ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report # 2, Washington DC, 1988. Marshall, Ray, and Tucker, Marc, Thinking for a Living: Education and the Wealth of Nations, Basic Books. New York, NY. 1992. Resnick, L. W., Education and Learning to Think, National Academy Press, 1987. Rubenfeld, M. Gaie, & Scheffer, Barbara K., Critical Thinking in Nursing: An Interactive Approach. J. B. Lippincott Company. Philadelphia PA, 1995. Siegel, Harvey: Educating Reason: Rationality, CT and Education. Routledge Publishing. New York. 1989. Sternberg, Robert J.: Critical Thinking: Its Nature, Measurement, and Improvement. National Institute of Education, Washington DC, 1986. Toulmin, Stephen: The Uses of Argument. Cambridge University Press, 1969. Wade, Carole, and Tavris, Carol: Critical & Creative Thinking: The Case of Love and War. Harper Collins College Publisher. New York. NY 1993. GOVERNMENT REPORTS U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) Documents National Assessment of College Student Learning: Getting Started, A Summary of Beginning Activities. NCES 93-116. National Assessment of College Student Learning: Identification of the Skills to Be Taught, Learned, and Assessed, A Report on the Proceedings of the Second Design Workshop, November 1992. NCES 94-286. National Assessment of College Student Learning: Identifying College Graduates' Essential Skills in Writing, Speech and Listening, and Critical Thinking. NCES 95-001. About the Author Dr. Peter A. Facione and his co-investigators have been engaged in research and teaching about reasoning, decision-making, and effective individual and group thinking processes since 1967. Over the years they developed instruments to measure the core skills and habits of mind of effective thinking, these instruments are now in use in many different languages throughout the world. Since 1992 Dr. Facione has presented hundreds of workshops about effective teaching for thinking and about leadership, decision-making, leadership development, planning and budgeting, and learning outcomes assessment at national and international professional association meetings and on college and university throughout the nation. Dr. Facione, is a principal of the research and consulting firm, Measured Reasons, and a Senior Researcher with Insight Assessment. He earned his Ph.D. at Michigan State in 1971, and in subsequent years chaired the Department of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University, served as Dean of the School of Human Development and Community Service at California State University Fullerton, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Santa Clara University, and Provost of Loyola University Chicago. In 1999-2000 Dr. Facione was Chair of the American Conference of Academic Deans. He has been on many boards and panels, including the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the ACE Presidents’ Task Force on Education. He Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 27 has contributed articles to The Chronicle of Higher Education, Change - The Magazine of Higher Education, and Liberal Education. With Dr. Noreen Facione he co-authored Thinking and Reasoning in Human Decision Making (2007) and Critical Thinking and Clinical Judgment in the Health Sciences (2008). From 1988 through 1990 Dr. Facione was the principal investigator for the American Philosophical Association research project which culminated in the Delphi Report – An Expert Consensus Conceptualization of Critical Thinking. The executive summary of that report is available free of charge from Insight Assessment. His email is [email protected] Visit his website www.measuredreasons.com and the Insight Assessment website, www.insightassessment.com Facione, PA, “Critical Thinking: What It is and Why it Counts” 2011 update Page 28

Looking for a Resource?

We’ve taken the time to refine and enhance our resource library, focusing on delivering a more streamlined and impactful experience for our users. As part of our commitment to providing the highest quality tools and insights, we’ve updated our collection with new, more relevant resources.

Unlock Your Exclusive Access to Our Free Resource Library

Sign up for our free resource library to gain access to hands-on training tools, insightful published articles, and analytical reports that offer fresh perspectives and groundbreaking approaches, all designed to enhance your professional journey with our data-driven solutions.

Your subscription includes access to our resource library and periodic emails that keep you informed and ahead in your field. Your privacy is important to us. We promise to keep your information safe and never spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Critical Thinking: What It Is and Why It Counts

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

What Kamala Harris has said so far on key issues in her campaign

As she ramps up her nascent presidential campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris is revealing how she will address the key issues facing the nation.

In speeches and rallies, she has voiced support for continuing many of President Joe Biden’s measures, such as lowering drug costs , forgiving student loan debt and eliminating so-called junk fees. But Harris has made it clear that she has her own views on some key matters, particularly Israel’s treatment of Gazans in its war with Hamas.

In a departure from her presidential run in 2020, the Harris campaign has confirmed that she’s moved away from many of her more progressive stances, such as her interest in a single-payer health insurance system and a ban on fracking.

Harris is also expected to put her own stamp and style on matters ranging from abortion to the economy to immigration, as she aims to walk a fine line of taking credit for the administration’s accomplishments while not being jointly blamed by voters for its shortcomings.

Her early presidential campaign speeches have offered insights into her priorities, though she’s mainly voiced general talking points and has yet to release more nuanced plans. Like Biden, she intends to contrast her vision for America with that of former President Donald Trump. ( See Trump’s campaign promises here .)

“In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past,” she told members of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta at an event in Indianapolis in late July. “And with your support, I am fighting for our nation’s future.”

Here’s what we know about Harris’ views:

Harris took on the lead role of championing abortion rights for the administration after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. This past January, she started a “ reproductive freedoms tour ” to multiple states, including a stop in Minnesota thought to be the first by a sitting US president or vice president at an abortion clinic .

On abortion access, Harris embraced more progressive policies than Biden in the 2020 campaign, as a candidate criticizing his previous support for the Hyde Amendment , a measure that blocks federal funds from being used for most abortions.

Policy experts suggested that although Harris’ current policies on abortion and reproductive rights may not differ significantly from Biden’s, as a result of her national tour and her own focus on maternal health , she may be a stronger messenger.

High prices are a top concern for many Americans who are struggling to afford the cost of living after a spell of steep inflation. Many voters give Biden poor marks for his handling of the economy, and Harris may also face their wrath.

In her early campaign speeches, Harris has echoed many of the same themes as Biden, saying she wants to give Americans more opportunities to get ahead. She’s particularly concerned about making care – health care, child care, elder care and family leave – more affordable and available.

Harris promised at a late July rally to continue the Biden administration’s drive to eliminate so-called “junk fees” and to fully disclose all charges, such as for events, lodging and car rentals. In early August, the administration proposed a rule that would ban airlines from charging parents extra fees to have their kids sit next to them.

On day one, I will take on price gouging and bring down costs. We will ban more of those hidden fees and surprise late charges that banks and other companies use to pad their profits.”

Since becoming vice president, Harris has taken more moderate positions, but a look at her 2020 campaign promises reveals a more progressive bent than Biden.

As a senator and 2020 presidential candidate, Harris proposed providing middle-class and working families with a refundable tax credit of up to $6,000 a year (per couple) to help keep up with living expenses. Titled the LIFT the Middle Class Act, or Livable Incomes for Families Today, the measure would have cost at the time an estimated $3 trillion over 10 years.

Unlike a typical tax credit, the bill would allow taxpayers to receive the benefit – up to $500 – on a monthly basis so families don’t have to turn to payday loans with very high interest rates.

As a presidential candidate, Harris also advocated for raising the corporate income tax rate to 35%, where it was before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump and congressional Republicans pushed through Congress reduced the rate to 21%. That’s higher than the 28% Biden has proposed.

Affordable housing was also on Harris’ radar. As a senator, she introduced the Rent Relief Act, which would establish a refundable tax credit for renters who annually spend more than 30% of their gross income on rent and utilities. The amount of the credit would range from 25% to 100% of the excess rent, depending on the renter’s income.

Harris called housing a human right and said in a 2019 news release on the bill that every American deserves to have basic security and dignity in their own home.

Consumer debt

Hefty debt loads, which weigh on people’s finances and hurt their ability to buy homes, get car loans or start small businesses, are also an area of interest to Harris.

As vice president, she has promoted the Biden administration’s initiatives on student debt, which have so far forgiven more than $168 billion for nearly 4.8 million borrowers . In mid-July, Harris said in a post on X that “nearly 950,000 public servants have benefitted” from student debt forgiveness, compared with only 7,000 when Biden was inaugurated.

A potential Harris administration could keep that momentum going – though some of Biden’s efforts have gotten tangled up in litigation, such as a program aimed at cutting monthly student loan payments for roughly 3 million borrowers enrolled in a repayment plan the administration implemented last year.

The vice president has also been a leader in the White House efforts to ban medical debt from credit reports, noting that those with medical debt are no less likely to repay a loan than those who don’t have unpaid medical bills.

In a late July statement praising North Carolina’s move to relieve the medical debt of about 2 million residents, Harris said that she is “committed to continuing to relieve the burden of medical debt and creating a future where every person has the opportunity to build wealth and thrive.”

Health care

Harris, who has had shifting stances on health care in the past, confirmed in late July through her campaign that she no longer supports a single-payer health care system .

During her 2020 campaign, Harris advocated for shifting the US to a government-backed health insurance system but stopped short of wanting to completely eliminate private insurance.

The measure called for transitioning to a Medicare-for-All-type system over 10 years but continuing to allow private insurance companies to offer Medicare plans.

The proposal would not have raised taxes on the middle class to pay for the coverage expansion. Instead, it would raise the needed funds by taxing Wall Street trades and transactions and changing the taxation of offshore corporate income.

When it comes to reducing drug costs, Harris previously proposed allowing the federal government to set “a fair price” for any drug sold at a cheaper price in any economically comparable country, including Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Japan or Australia. If manufacturers were found to be price gouging, the government could import their drugs from abroad or, in egregious cases, use its existing but never-used “march-in” authority to license a drug company’s patent to a rival that would produce the medication at a lower cost.

Harris has been a champion on climate and environmental justice for decades. As California’s attorney general, Harris sued big oil companies like BP and ConocoPhillips, and investigated Exxon Mobil for its role in climate change disinformation. While in the Senate, she sponsored the Green New Deal resolution.

During her 2020 campaign, she enthusiastically supported a ban on fracking — but a Harris campaign official said in late July that she no longer supports such a ban.

Fracking is the process of using liquid to free natural gas from rock formations – and the primary mode for extracting gas for energy in battleground Pennsylvania. During a September 2019 climate crisis town hall hosted by CNN, she said she would start “with what we can do on Day 1 around public lands.” She walked that back later when she became Biden’s running mate.

Biden has been the most pro-climate president in history, and climate advocates find Harris to be an exciting candidate in her own right. Democrats and climate activists are planning to campaign on the stark contrasts between Harris and Trump , who vowed to push America decisively back to fossil fuels, promising to unwind Biden’s climate and clean energy legacy and pull America out of its global climate commitments.

If elected, one of the biggest climate goals Harris would have to craft early in her administration is how much the US would reduce its climate pollution by 2035 – a requirement of the Paris climate agreement .

Immigration

Harris has quickly started trying to counter Trump’s attacks on her immigration record.

Her campaign released a video in late July citing Harris’ support for increasing the number of Border Patrol agents and Trump’s successful push to scuttle a bipartisan immigration deal that included some of the toughest border security measures in recent memory.

The vice president has changed her position on border control since her 2020 campaign, when she suggested that Democrats needed to “critically examine” the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, after being asked whether she sided with those in the party arguing to abolish the department.

In June of this year, the White House announced a crackdown on asylum claims meant to continue reducing crossings at the US-Mexico border – a policy that Harris’ campaign manager, Julie Chavez Rodriguez, indicated in late July to CBS News would continue under a Harris administration.

Trump’s attacks stem from Biden having tasked Harris with overseeing diplomatic efforts in Central America in March 2021. While Harris focused on long-term fixes, the Department of Homeland Security remained responsible for overseeing border security.

She has only occasionally talked about her efforts as the situation along the US-Mexico border became a political vulnerability for Biden. But she put her own stamp on the administration’s efforts, engaging the private sector.

Harris pulled together the Partnership for Central America, which has acted as a liaison between companies and the US government. Her team and the partnership are closely coordinating on initiatives that have led to job creation in the region. Harris has also engaged directly with foreign leaders in the region.

Experts credit Harris’ ability to secure private-sector investments as her most visible action in the region to date but have cautioned about the long-term durability of those investments.

Israel-Hamas

The Israel-Hamas war is the most fraught foreign policy issue facing the country and has spurred a multitude of protests around the US since it began in October.

After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late July, Harris gave a forceful and notable speech about the situation in Gaza.

We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent.”

Harris echoed Biden’s repeated comments about the “ironclad support” and “unwavering commitment” to Israel. The country has a right to defend itself, she said, while noting, “how it does so, matters.”

However, the empathy she expressed regarding the Palestinian plight and suffering was far more forceful than what Biden has said on the matter in recent months. Harris mentioned twice the “serious concern” she expressed to Netanyahu about the civilian deaths in Gaza, the humanitarian situation and destruction she called “catastrophic” and “devastating.”

She went on to describe “the images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time.”

Harris emphasized the need to get the Israeli hostages back from Hamas captivity, naming the eight Israeli-American hostages – three of whom have been killed.

But when describing the ceasefire deal in the works, she didn’t highlight the hostage for prisoner exchange or aid to be let into Gaza. Instead, she singled out the fact that the deal stipulates the withdrawal by the Israeli military from populated areas in the first phase before withdrawing “entirely” from Gaza before “a permanent end to the hostilities.”

Harris didn’t preside over Netanyahu’s speech to Congress in late July, instead choosing to stick with a prescheduled trip to a sorority event in Indiana.

Harris is committed to supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, having met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at least six times and announcing last month $1.5 billion for energy assistance, humanitarian needs and other aid for the war-torn country.

At the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Harris said: “I will make clear President Joe Biden and I stand with Ukraine. In partnership with supportive, bipartisan majorities in both houses of the United States Congress, we will work to secure critical weapons and resources that Ukraine so badly needs. And let me be clear: The failure to do so would be a gift to Vladimir Putin.”

More broadly, NATO is central to our approach to global security. For President Biden and me, our sacred commitment to NATO remains ironclad. And I do believe, as I have said before, NATO is the greatest military alliance the world has ever known.”

Police funding

The Harris campaign has also walked back the “defund the police” sentiment that Harris voiced in 2020. What she meant is she supports being “tough and smart on crime,” Mitch Landrieu, national co-chair for the Harris campaign and former mayor of New Orleans, told CNN’s Pamela Brown in late July.

In the midst of nationwide 2020 protests sparked by George Floyd’s murder by a Minneapolis police officer, Harris voiced support for the “defund the police” movement, which argues for redirecting funds from law enforcement to social services. Throughout that summer, Harris supported the movement and called for demilitarizing police departments.

Democrats largely backed away from calls to defund the police after Republicans attempted to tie the movement to increases in crime during the 2022 midterm elections.

Related links

Additional credits