Critical thinking is not simply about going against or opposing a viewpoint, but rather the ability to use theory, logic, and evidence to build and defend one’s perspective on a well-founded basis. It involves logical reasoning, analyzing differences, asking questions, and exploring details to achieve a deep understanding of the issue.
Critical thinking is decisive not only in the academic field but also of great importance to daily life and career. Practicing critical thinking helps us identify and evaluate decisions, problem-solving methods, come up with creative solutions, and ensure fairness and logic in debates and discussions among parties.
Critical thinking is not only necessary for us to become creative and analytical thinkers, but also the ability to face new knowledge and explore new opportunities in an increasingly complex, changing, and constantly flexible world.
So what is critical thinking?
According to Monash University, critical thinking is a type of thinking in which you question, analyze, interpret, evaluate, and make judgments about what you read, hear, say, or write.
The term ”critical” comes from the Greek word kritikos meaning “able to judge or distinguish”.
Good critical thinking is making reliable judgments based on reliable information.
Applying critical thinking does not mean being negative or focusing on faults. It means being able to clarify your thinking so that you can break down a problem or a piece of information, interpret it, and use that interpretation to arrive at an informed decision or judgment.
People who apply critical thinking consistently are said to have critical thinking skills, but no one is born with this.
These are attributes learned and improved through practice and application.
How to develop good critical thinking
In the academic context, critical thinking is often combined with arguments. You may be asked to think critically about someone else’s argument or create your own. Therefore, to become a better critical thinker, you need to learn how to:
Six steps to develop your critical thinking
#1. Clarify the purpose and context of your thinking:
We live in a world saturated with a lot of information of varying quality and relevance. To be an effective critical thinker, you need to focus on your own purpose and context, which is how you avoid information overload and track your own train of thought.
#2. Question your information sources:
Not all information sources are equally reliable, accurate, or relevant. Questioning your sources will sharpen your own thinking and help you choose the most appropriate information and prepare the basis for further analysis and evaluation.
#3. Identify arguments:
Debating is always everywhere. Whenever someone tries to prove something is true or persuade others to agree with them, you can identify an argument.
As a student, you will find that the ability to identify arguments is one of the most useful critical thinking skills and is frequently applied in school.
#4. Analyze sources and arguments:
To analyze something means to examine it in detail, explain, and interpret it. For the purposes of critical thinking, you need to be able to examine sources, arguments, theories, and processes, and explain how they work.
Good analysis also involves examining and explaining the interaction of evidence, reasoning, assumptions, methodology, claims, and arguments
#5. Evaluate others’ arguments:
Evaluation should consider and explain the relative strengths and weaknesses of your sources.
You need to be able to evaluate arguments, the claims supporting those arguments, the evidence supporting those claims, and the reasoning connecting them all.
#6. Create your own arguments:
Building an argument involves assembling evidence, reasoning, and claims, and developing your own main claim. Building an argument is also known as synthesis, which means “putting things together”.
When you build an argument, you gather insights from your analysis and evaluation. You also consider how your critical thinking can be applied in a broader context, as well as the new insights and perspectives it provides.
HUFLIT Career Hub Editorial Board
Reference source: Monash University
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