WGU CRITICAL THINKING -D265
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GUARANTEED SUCCESS!!!
Critical Thinking:
Definition: Critical thinking is the ability to reflect on and evaluate one's
own thought processes, reasoning, and decisions. It is about being able to
step back, assess your thinking, and identify any errors or assumptions that
may affect the conclusions you draw.
"Criticizing" your own reasoning: The term "criticize" here doesn't mean
to be harsh or judgmental. It means taking a careful, reflective approach, like
a coach evaluating an athlete's performance to help them improve. It's about
identifying areas for growth in one's reasoning to make it clearer, more
logical, or more coherent.
Being Curious and Thinking Creatively:
Curiosity: Critical thinkers are not satisfied with simple answers. They seek
to dig deeper into issues, exploring various viewpoints and considering
multiple arguments before forming conclusions. This openness helps in
discovering new perspectives and innovative solutions.
Creative thinking: In this context, creativity refers to the ability to
approach problems from different angles, question assumptions, and think
"outside the box." It’s not just about generating new ideas, but also being
flexible enough to entertain and evaluate those ideas rigorously.
Separating the Thinker from the Position:
Objectivity: This principle suggests that we should be able to discuss ideas,
viewpoints, or positions without attaching personal judgment or emotions to
the individual holding that position. This is especially important in debates
, or discussions, where the focus should remain on the strength of the
arguments rather than personal attacks.
Avoiding personal attachment: It's important to recognize that our identity
is not inherently tied to our opinions or beliefs. A critical thinker can
separate their sense of self from their viewpoints, which helps to approach
arguments more openly and less defensively.
Why This Matters in Critical Thinking:
1. Self-awareness: By reflecting on our reasoning, we become aware of
cognitive biases and assumptions that might be influencing our thinking.
This awareness helps improve the quality of our decisions.
2. Open-mindedness: Curiosity and creativity fuel critical thinking by
encouraging a mindset that values diverse perspectives and flexible problem-
solving. This leads to a broader, more nuanced understanding of complex
issues.
3. Constructive discussions: By separating the person from the argument,
critical thinkers engage in discussions that are more respectful, focused on
the logic of ideas, and more likely to lead to productive insights and growth.
Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought:
being aware of the flawed patterns of reasoning we are disposed to engage in,
being aware of cognitive biases and mental heuristics (rough rules that work well
enough to survive but don't work in many cases) that we're prone as a species to
have, all in the interest of counteracting these biases and flaws.
Having intellectual honesty, humility, and charity: very important:
being honest about what we know and how we know it, what evidence we have
and what questions are not yet settled; being humble in recognizing the vast
, number of things we don't yet know or understand and in recognizing how very
difficult it is to truly know anything at all and so recognizing that the standards are
high and we, most of the time, don't meet them (and that's okay); and being
charitable or having the disposition to attribute the best intentions and most
sophisticated positions and arguments that we can imagine to our opponents in
arguments.
Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence:
thinking carefully about thinking, about arguments and positions.
Propositions
statements that can be true or false.
Non-propositions
Sentences that are not statements about matters of fact (or fiction). They do not
make a claim that can be true or false.
Exhort
to urge strongly, Example: Let's go to get dinner! Let's go hiking on Tuesday!
Command
give an authoritative order. Example: Go to the store later to buy me some cheese.
Don't do that.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH
COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
GUARANTEED SUCCESS!!!
Critical Thinking:
Definition: Critical thinking is the ability to reflect on and evaluate one's
own thought processes, reasoning, and decisions. It is about being able to
step back, assess your thinking, and identify any errors or assumptions that
may affect the conclusions you draw.
"Criticizing" your own reasoning: The term "criticize" here doesn't mean
to be harsh or judgmental. It means taking a careful, reflective approach, like
a coach evaluating an athlete's performance to help them improve. It's about
identifying areas for growth in one's reasoning to make it clearer, more
logical, or more coherent.
Being Curious and Thinking Creatively:
Curiosity: Critical thinkers are not satisfied with simple answers. They seek
to dig deeper into issues, exploring various viewpoints and considering
multiple arguments before forming conclusions. This openness helps in
discovering new perspectives and innovative solutions.
Creative thinking: In this context, creativity refers to the ability to
approach problems from different angles, question assumptions, and think
"outside the box." It’s not just about generating new ideas, but also being
flexible enough to entertain and evaluate those ideas rigorously.
Separating the Thinker from the Position:
Objectivity: This principle suggests that we should be able to discuss ideas,
viewpoints, or positions without attaching personal judgment or emotions to
the individual holding that position. This is especially important in debates
, or discussions, where the focus should remain on the strength of the
arguments rather than personal attacks.
Avoiding personal attachment: It's important to recognize that our identity
is not inherently tied to our opinions or beliefs. A critical thinker can
separate their sense of self from their viewpoints, which helps to approach
arguments more openly and less defensively.
Why This Matters in Critical Thinking:
1. Self-awareness: By reflecting on our reasoning, we become aware of
cognitive biases and assumptions that might be influencing our thinking.
This awareness helps improve the quality of our decisions.
2. Open-mindedness: Curiosity and creativity fuel critical thinking by
encouraging a mindset that values diverse perspectives and flexible problem-
solving. This leads to a broader, more nuanced understanding of complex
issues.
3. Constructive discussions: By separating the person from the argument,
critical thinkers engage in discussions that are more respectful, focused on
the logic of ideas, and more likely to lead to productive insights and growth.
Knowing oneself enough to avoid biases and errors of thought:
being aware of the flawed patterns of reasoning we are disposed to engage in,
being aware of cognitive biases and mental heuristics (rough rules that work well
enough to survive but don't work in many cases) that we're prone as a species to
have, all in the interest of counteracting these biases and flaws.
Having intellectual honesty, humility, and charity: very important:
being honest about what we know and how we know it, what evidence we have
and what questions are not yet settled; being humble in recognizing the vast
, number of things we don't yet know or understand and in recognizing how very
difficult it is to truly know anything at all and so recognizing that the standards are
high and we, most of the time, don't meet them (and that's okay); and being
charitable or having the disposition to attribute the best intentions and most
sophisticated positions and arguments that we can imagine to our opponents in
arguments.
Understanding arguments, reasons, and evidence:
thinking carefully about thinking, about arguments and positions.
Propositions
statements that can be true or false.
Non-propositions
Sentences that are not statements about matters of fact (or fiction). They do not
make a claim that can be true or false.
Exhort
to urge strongly, Example: Let's go to get dinner! Let's go hiking on Tuesday!
Command
give an authoritative order. Example: Go to the store later to buy me some cheese.
Don't do that.
