Learn more about what critical thinking is and how to practice it every day.
Every day, we are inundated with choices. We chose the people with whom we spend our time, who we vote for, what food we eat, what clothes to wear, how best to tend to our health, how much money we should let ourselves spend, etc. Making poor choices can be socially, psychologically, physically, and financially costly. In some instances, the consequences of bad decisions can be enduring. That’s why critical thinking is so important.
Critical thinking is a faculty that is thought to be unique to humans, granted to us by our higher-order and most recently evolved brain structure: the pre-frontal cortex. It’s the pre-frontal cortex that gives us the ability to deliberate, compare new information with what we know to be true, and to opt-out of the base patterns of behavior inherited from our ancestors.
The exact definition of critical thinking is still debated among scholars. Though we don’t have a specific and universally accepted description of critical thinking, there is widespread agreement on the foundational elements. In general, critical thinking is understood to involve skeptical scrutiny—an open-minded but cautious approach to determining the veracity of a proposition through reasoning informed by evidence.
Why Critical Thinking Is Important
Critical thinking is a central feature of autonomy. When we make decisions that are not well-informed and carefully reasoned, it is easier for us to be manipulated, for others to influence us in such a way that we are unwittingly acting as the means for someone else’s ends. To put it perhaps a little dramatically, we risk becoming the puppets of some egoistic puppet master.
Critical thinking is also a vital element of a functioning democracy for this same reason. Through misinformation and manipulation, people are often compelled to support policies that don’t reflect their values or needs. For example, we all require clean air and hospitable temperatures for survival and the science is crystal clear that both of these needs are under critical threat and we must act fast if we want to ensure a future for all of humanity (Arias et al., 2021).
As mentioned previously, critical thinking also protects us against those with a vested interest in deceiving us out of our money. For example, many purveyors of ‘holistic medicine’ might try to convince you that purchasing a particular set of crystals will improve aspects of your physical health or love life, despite the stark lack of evidence supporting these claims.
“The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks.”
― Christopher Hitchen
How to Think Critically
We know that critical thinking involves the ability to recognize and develop a well-reasoned point of view, so let’s get into how we can actually go about this.
In The Demon-Haunted World (really a fantastic read if you are interested in learning more about critical thinking and pseudoscience) Carl Sagan lays out what he describes as the “Baloney Detection Kit”, which is a collection of cognitive tools we can refer to in situations when we need to think critically. To keep it simple, here are 6 questions we can ask ourselves when we are trying to determine whether or not an argument is baloney:
1. Can you confirm the “facts” presented with multiple other sources?
2. What level of expertise does the person presenting the argument have with the subject matter?
3. Are there other explanations that are simpler or more likely to be true?
4. Does the argument logically follow from the premise?
5. Is there quantifiable evidence in support of the argument?
6. Could the argument be proven false?
Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking is generally thought to include 6 core skills (Facione, 2011):
1. Interpretation – understanding the significance of a wide variety of experiences
2. Analysis – examining ideas to identify the reasons and claims of an argument
3. Explanation – presenting your reasoned argument including the evidence supporting it
4. Evaluation – Assessing the credibility of claims and the quality of arguments made
5. Inference – Formulating alternative hypotheses and drawing logically valid conclusions
6. Self-regulation – Monitoring yourself and updating your viewpoint in accordance with the evidence
Scholars and researchers that study critical thinking often note that, in addition to the skills, critical thinking requires the disposition to actually use them (Lai, 2011).
In Sum
Critical thinking is a vital component of our daily lives. It allows us to be responsible citizens, enriches our lives with a more accurate representation of how the universe really works, and inoculates us against charlatans and purveyors of alt-facts. By moving through life with curiosity, respect for evidence, openness to correction, and a keen awareness of common biases and barriers to critical thought, we can improve both our lives and our world.
References
● Arias, P., Bellouin, N., Coppola, E., Jones, R., Krinner, G., Marotzke, J., … & Zickfeld, K. (2021). Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group14 I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Technical Summary.
● Facione, P. A. (2011). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts. Insight assessment, 2007(1), 1-23.
● Lai, E. R. (2011). Critical thinking: A literature review. Pearson’s Research Reports, 6(1), 40-41.