CRITICAL THINKING THE ELEMENTS of THOUGHT

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-CRITICAL THINKING- THE ELEMENTS of THOUGHT

• PRESENTED BY
• Felix Rizk
• Nancy Johnson
• Jane Pfeilsticker

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Elements of Thought

• Where is the thinking?
• Critical Thinker?

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Elements of Thought

• What are we doing with our minds?

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Elements of Thought

• What factors are involved holistically?

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Elements of Thought

• What factors are involved holistically?

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8 ELEMENTS OF THOUGHT

• Is a circle an appropriate geometric model for
  the elements?
• Is there a particular preference where to begin
  your thought process? That is, can you begin in
  any sector and still maintain coherence?

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LINEAR THOUGHT ELEMENTS

• The best element to start with is Purpose in a
  question format. What am I trying to accomplish?
• What Question (s) am I addressing?

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LINEAR THOUGHT ELEMENTS (Contd)

• Next is Information what information do I have
  or need to answer the question?
• Then, you make Inferences to reach a
  Conclusion.
• Do my conclusions fit into an established concept?

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LINEAR THOUGHT ELEMENTS (Contd)

• What assumptions have lead me to that conclusion?
• Are there implications from my conclusions and
  assumptions?
• Are there alternate points of view regarding this
  conclusion?

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Elements of Thought

• AT WHAT STAGE OF THINKING ARE YOU?

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Keys to Unlocking the Mind

• Intellectual Standards

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Check the quality of reasoning

• Clarity
• Accuracy
• Precision
• Relevance
• Depth and Breadth
• Logic

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Check the quality of reasoning

• This is not an exhaustive list.
• Other intellectual standards include
• Plausibility
• Significance
• Practicality
• Fairness . . .

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Reasoning with a purpose Good Reasoning
Bad Reasoning

• States purpose clearly
• Relates multiple purposes consistently to goal
• Constructs realistic and significant purposes and
  goals
• Demonstrates unity of purpose

• States central purpose unclearly
• Switches between different, often contradictory,
  purposes
• Constructs unrealistic and/or trivial purposes
  and goals
• Negates own stated purposes and goals

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Critical Thinking is thinking done well

• More than higher order thinkingProvides
  framework for assessing
• the value of opinions of others.
• the difference between legitimate reasoning
  supported by evidence and an assertion of the
  truth.

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Intellectual Traits

• The results gained from practicing critical
  thinking
• Obstacles to attaining the Intellectual Traits

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Intellectual Traits

• Intellectual Humility
• Intellectual Autonomy
• Intellectual Integrity
• Intellectual Courage

• Intellectual Perseverance
• Confidence in Reason
• Intellectual Empathy
• Fair-mindedness

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Intellectual Humility

• Acknowledging limits of ones knowledge
• Sensitivity to bias, prejudice and viewpoint
  limitations
• Claiming only true knowledge
• Relinquishing of intellectual pretentiousness

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Intellectual Courage

• Face ideas and viewpoints that evoke negative
  responses
• Face and consider viewpoints considered dangerous
  or absurd
• View all sides of painful or controversial topics
• Attain the courage to be true to ones own
  thinking

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Intellectual Empathy

• Focus on the situation of opponents and others
• Identify with differing viewpoints
• Reconstruct the reasoning of others
• Recall personal parallel situations
• Respect and analyze all viewpoints

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Intellectual Integrity

• Adherence to ones own thinking
• Consistency in thinking and effecting thoughts
• Holding ones self to identical standards to
  which others are held
• Honestly admitting ones mistakes or
  discrepancies of thought and action
• Ensuring consistency between thought,
  discussions, and action

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Intellectual Perseverance

• Continual support for intellectual approach to
  problem solving
• Firm adherence to rational principles despite
  irrational opposition
• Insistence on clarity in confusing situations
• Willingness to spend sufficient time with a
  problem to determine a rational solution

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Faith in Reason

• Faith that humankind WILL be best served by
  reason
• Ones own higher interests will be best fulfilled
  by reason
• All people can and will come to rational
  solutions to problems given sufficient
  opportunity to do so
• All people possess the capacity to explore
  differing viewpoints and reach rational
  conclusions

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Fairmindedness

• Examining all viewpoints equally
• Suppressing ones own reference point in order to
  view those of others
• Ignoring ones own vested interests in order to
  view all possibilities
• Adherence to intellectual standards above ones
  own interests

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Obstacles to attaining the Intellectual Traits

• EGOCENTRIC THINKING

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Hallmarks of Egocentric Thinking

• Autopilot thinking or Reactionary thinking
• It is true because I believe it to be true
• It is true because WE believe it to be true
• It is true because it has always been this way
• It is true because it is in my best interest for
  it to be true
• SELFISH THINKING

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Choose to control actions

• We cannot chose our thoughts
• We must choose the thoughts upon which we will act

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Steps toward Improvement

• Listen to advice of others
• Pause to think before reacting
• Examine personal value of truth
• Examine personal consistency of thoughts, and
  actions
• THINK ABOUT YOUR THINKING

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Critical Thinking in the Classroom

• Discuss elements, standards and traits
• Use standards as grading criteria
• EXEMPLIFY CRITICAL THINKING BY DISPLAYING THE
  TRAITS