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What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking is the capacity to think rationally and clearly. It consists of the skills to engage in independent and reflective thinking. An individual with critical thinking capacity is able to understand the logical relationships between ideas. In addition, an individual is able to construct, identify and evaluate arguments (Lau, 1). Besides, a person has the ability to detect inconsistencies and common errors in reasoning. In this respect, an individual who uses critical thinking skills is able to solve problems analytically. Therefore, he/she is able to identify the importance and relevance of ideas (Lau, 2). Further, an individual is in a position to reflect on the reasons of his/her values and beliefs.
However, critical thinking does not entail accumulating information. Therefore, an individual with good memory is not necessarily having critical thinking skills. A good critical thinker has the ability to infer outcomes from the facts he knows (Lau, 2). Therefore, he/she utilizes the information to solve conflicts and seek appropriate information sources.
Additionally, critical thinking is different from argumentative thinking or criticizing other people. Nonetheless, critical thinking skills can be utilized to reveal poor reasoning and fallacies. Besides, critical thinking can play a crucial part in constructive reasoning and cooperative task (Lau, 2). Therefore, it can be applied to strengthen arguments, knowledge acquisition and improving theories. Further, critical thinking is important to improve processes of work and enhancing social institutions.
Critical thinking does not hinder creativity since it demands strict following of procedures and rules of reasoning and prudence. However, critical thinking involves breaking rules (Lau, 3). Therefore, it similar to “out of box” thinking since it challenges consensus and utilizes less popular approaches.
Works cited
Lau, Joe. ‘Critical Thinking Web’. Philosophy.hku.hk. N. p., 2014. Web. 29 Aug. 2014.