CRE101 Lessons 1-13 Notes

LESSON 1: What is Critical Thinking?

What is Critical Thinking?
The process of reasoned judgment

* read chapter 1: “The Power of Critical Thinking”

Questions to Ponder
-​ what is the problem really about?
-​ what sides can I take in relation to the problem?
-​ what do I know about each side?
-​ how good is my information?



What Makes a Good Critical Thinker?
* read skills in chapter 2 (do practice activity in lesson)

Critical Thinking Habits of the Mind:

POSITIVE:​​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ NEGATIVE:
truth seeking​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ intellectually dishonest
open-minded​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ intolerant
analytical​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ reckless
confident in reasoning​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ unreasonable
inquisitive ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ indifferent

, Reading Chapter 1 & 2: Summary

CHAPTER ONE:
A lot of societies block freedom (social media, internet, books) because
they know that critical thinking challenges their powerful positions.

Critical thinking = people of power are scared

-​ China’s one child policy favored males, resulting to infanticide of the
want of only male heirs.
-​ Now some villages have a ratio of unmarried men to men 1 : 20

Without critical thinking = devastation to our lives, family, society and
environment.



WHAT IS CRITICAL THINKING?
-​ “The process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment”

Purpose: to form a well-reason and fair-minded judgment regarding what to
believe or what to do.

●​ self-regulatory: refers to our capacity to monitor our own thinking
process and correct any mistakes we might detect.

Critical thinking, knowledge, dedication, training and ethical courage factor
in the formula for success.

Failure of critical thinking often leads to saddest and most tragic accidents.
-​ 2009 Air France jeter crashed resulting in 288 deaths could have
been prevented if the pilot had tried to resolve the problem and not
jump to safe altitude.

, Strong critical thinking = positive outcomes
​ ​ ​ ​ BUT
Failures of critical thinking = major problems

** Critical thinking ≠ impulsive reactions **

, CHAPTER TWO:
Judging correctly about what kind of problem we face is essential.
Mistakes about what the problem is consumes time and energy…

Emotion ≠ antithesis (contrast) to reason
Emotion = impetus (force) to reason

Critical spirit: asking good questions and strive to dive deep

A STRONG critical thinker ≠ a GOOD critical thinker

BUILD POSITIVE HABITS OF THE MIND:
1.​ Value Critical Thinking
2.​ Take Stock
3.​ Be Alert for Opportunities
4.​ Forgive and Persist

Critical thinking = judgment… and skills ** are used to make judgment

Professionals measure outcomes
-​ musicians -> quality of concert
-​ salesperson -> number of sales
-​ teachers -> learning accomplished

When asking questions… involve and promote:
-​ interpretation
-​ inference
-​ evaluation