What is critical thinking?
Critical thinking is the process of deliberate evaluation of the “thinking process”.
What does critical thinking involve?
In 1941, Edward Glaser identified three core characteristics of critical thinking:
- A general “analytical state of mind” that means a person is disposed to questioning and analysing issues
- An understanding of how arguments are structured and how logic works
- Skills in applying these analytical / logical methods
In short, the best critical thinkers are inquisitive people who have a logical mind and analytical skills. Most people are naturally inquisitive, however it requires a certain amount of skill and training to develop up razor sharp logic-based analytical skills.
Why is critical thinking important?
Critical thinking’s important because it allows people to analyse and evaluate thinking (arguments etc.) decreasing the chances of adopting / acting on a false belief.
Practical uses of critical thinking
From a professional perspective, critical thinking is an important skill to have for a whole range of different professions:
- Business managers: allowing them to evaluate their staff’s work
- Business sales people: enhancing the ability to persuade and convince
- Academics: ensuring their theories are rock solid
- Lawyers and Barristers: helping analyse law, and argue a good case in court
- Even a post man: allowing a post man to analyse the best and most efficient route for his post delivery round, and allowing him to argue his case to his manager effectively!
>> If you’re a teacher, check out our Critical Thinking teachers pack
>> If you’re interested in finding out “How to argue”, check out our guide to Aristotle’s Rhetoric
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