Critical thinking-definitions
The ability to think critically has long been considered the most importanttrait any student or individual can possess to analyze information andreach unbiased conclusions. Critical thinking is therefore an importantsubject with educators of all disciplines trying to incorporate this skillin learning methodologies. But in order for someone who understand theconcept and to incorporate it effectively, it is important to know whatexactly is critical thinking. However this is not an easy task.It has been noticed that despite numerous the best efforts of thinkers,educators, and researchers, critical thinking has more or less remained anelusive asset and for this reason, there is no widely accepted definitionof the concept. However since the beginning of 20th century, tremendouswork has been done in this field and thinkers have developed some importantdefinitions of the concepts. These definitions may not explain whatprecisely is critical thinking but they offer an insight into the variousThe first person to offer a sound definition of critical thinking was JohnDewey who in 1909 presented a good if not complete definition of critical
Critical thinking alsoinvolves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into theconclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making adecision. In mostdefinitions, we notice that the word active is either clearly used orimplied for which we are heavily indebted to John Dewey who introduced usto the term. One such definitionwas offered by Halpern (1996). While there definition is comprehensive in nature, it borrows fromRobert Ennis definition of critical thinking, which has not been widelyaccepted and has often been criticized for not including personalattributes. According to her, critical thinking refers to "the use of thosecognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirableoutcome. Critical thinking is an active process, which allows individuals toactively participate in the analysis of information and evaluation of data. The report sheds light on the character traits of a criticalthinker when it says: "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 selection of criteria, focused inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit. Not all individuals are capable of criticalevaluation, which reminds us of the significance of personality orcharacter traits required by a thinker. To the sake of brevity,they should not include explanation of the components. the ability to analyze facts, generate and organize ideas, defend opinions, make comparisons, draw inferences, evaluate arguments and solve problems" (Chance, 1986, p. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking becauseit focuses on a desired outcome. " The APA Delphi Report, 1990Studying the above definition of the concept, we realize that personalityor character attributes play an important role in the process of criticalthinking. Mayer and Goodchild (1990) define critical thinking as an".
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