The Importance Of Critical Thinking

By Author: Kirk Wales
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Critical thinking is the ability to analyze situations critically and creatively. A critical thinker does not easily give in and believe what he or she sees. Critical thinking involves use of individuality in thinking, which enables one to draw conclusions from a given situations. The doctrine of critical thinking was advanced by philosophers and critical thinkers of antiquity. Critical thinking is the use of valid reasoning to deduct or derive the best arguments from a situation. Critical thinking was exemplified by the critical thinker, Rene Descartes, who was so critical on situations. He was too critical that he assumed that all the experiences he had were all dreams, through this, he portrayed clearly what critical thinking is all a bout. He also clarified the doctrine of critical thinking through appearance and reality.
For example, he imagined that he was dreaming, he asked himself what difference could be there when dreaming and when in reality. Imagine, for example, when walking down a path, how can one ascertain that he or she is not just in a deep dream? In dreams we see things, we touch things, we also feel ...
... thing. The path could just be a dream, through being critical, Rene Descartes was able to critically analyze phenomenon, and this is what critical thinking is all about. We should doubt circumstances in order to establish the truths behind those circumstances. Descartes used also an example of a table placed in an illuminated place, to portray how appearance could be confused with reality. When the table is looked from various angles of light, the color of the table seemed to vary. He, therefore, asked himself what was the real color of light. We know, however, the change in colors was due to the total internal reflection of light, he, however used this experiment to explain appearance and reality. This is the same way that a con man is able to steel money from an innocent passer-by by confusing his or appearance with reality. Through critical thinking, we are able to differentiate appearance from reality, this means we will not accept everything we see or we are told without first analyzing critically the circumstances behind the phenomenon.
Critical thinking is a core in excellent academic performance. Through critical thinking, learners discover their individuality and consequently do things on their own; this creates confidence, even in times of exams when they think alone they are able to write the right answers through critical thinking. There are many areas in life where critical thinking is applicable, in academic writing, for example, instructors the critical thinking skills of students by requiring them to critically create their writing. This means that the students will not only reflect on the writing of authors through literature review but also, they will provide their own opinions on what they are writing about.
When required to write an essay critically, the writers should read and understand the topic of the writing. However, in the writing, they will not write exactly what they have read about the topic, they are also expected to write their own views about the topic. The personal views should not be arbitral; the students should use both deductive and inductive thinking skills. Inductive thinking will enable the students to be more creative and predict the best outcomes. Critical thinking should be used hand in hand with creative thinking in order to be more effective.

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