Introduction to Critical Thinking Do You Agree With This Statement? “Some people study all their life and at their death they have learned everything except to THINK” THINK – Francois Domergue Why? Why does IU have this course? To help you improve your Thinking Skills  HOW TO THINK! Introduction to Critical Thinking What is Thinking? Types of Thinking Characteristics of a Critical Thinker Barriers to Critical Thinking What is Critical Thinking? Critical Thinking Standards Benefits of Critical Thinking What is Thinking? Why doesn’t SHE like me? Why doesn’t HE like me? As you start asking questions and seek answers, you are in fact thinking Types of Thinking • Analyzing • Evaluating • Reasoning Problem ProblemSolving Solving Decision DecisionMaking Making New Ideas Critical Thinking Left Right Creative Thinking What is Critical Thinking? WARNING: THIS MAN IS NOT THINKING CRITICALLY!! Barriers to Critical Thinking EGOCENTRISM – the tendency to view one’s own interests, ideas and values as superior to everyone’s else SELF-INTERESTED THINKING – tendency to accept and defend beliefs that harmonize one’s own self-interest Tendency: khuynh hướng SELF-SERVING BIAS – tendency to overrate oneself Barriers to Critical Thinking Sociocentrism: group-centred thinking   Group bias – the tendency to see one’s own group as being inherently better than others Herd instinct (conformism) – the tendency to follow the crowd Barriers to Critical Thinking Unwarranted Assumptions & Stereotyping    Assumption – something taken for granted, something we believe to be true without any proof or conclusive evidence Unwarranted assumption – something taken for granted without good reason Stereotyping – making a hasty generalization Barriers to Critical Thinking Wishful thinking   Believing something not because you had good evidence for it but simply because you wished it were true Believing something because it makes one feel good, not because there is good rational grounds for thinking it is true Barriers to Critical Thinking Relativistic thinking  Relativism is the view that truth is a matter of opinion  There are two popular forms of relativism: subjectivism and cultural relativism  Subjectivism is the view that truth is a matter of individual opinion  Cultural relativism is the view that truth is a matter of social or cultural opinion  The most common form of relativism is moral relativism Barriers to Critical Thinking    Relativistic thinking - moral relativism Moral subjectivism is the view that what is morally right and good for an individual, A, is whatever A believes is morally right and good Cultural moral relativism is the view that what is morally right and good for an individual, A, is whatever A’s society or culture believes is morally right and good Barriers to Critical Thinking Several serious problems with cultural moral relativism Relativism makes it impossible for us to criticize other cultures’ customs and values, even those that intuitively seem to us to be terribly wrong Relativism makes it impossible for us to criticize our own societies’ customs and values Relativism rules out the idea of moral progress Barriers to Critical Thinking Several serious problems with cultural moral relativism Relativism can lead to conflicting moral duties: - When a relativist is a member of society that holds belief that conflict with moral relativism (case and 3) - When a relativist belongs to two or more cultures and those cultures hold mutually inconsistent moral belief (case 3)  Mini Quiz – Question In a 1989 international study of 13-year-olds, Koreans finished first in mathematics and Americans finished last Yet when asked whether they thought they were "good at mathematics," only 23 percent of Koreans said "yes," compared to 68 percent of Americans Which critical thinking barrier the American students exhibit: A) B) C) D) Self-interested thinking Group bias Self-serving bias Conformism Mini Quiz – Question An: My friend Diep is a 1st year student at IU He is cool, loves hanging out, and has a very laid-back personality Lan: I bet he’s from the south of Vietnam Which critical thinking barrier does Lan exhibit? A) Self-interested thinking B) Stereotyping C) Group bias D) Conformism laid-back: thoải mái Mini Quiz – Question Suzie: I can't believe I got a B- on this marketing paper My friend Sarah turned in this same paper in a different marketing class last semester, and she got an A Ali : Don't you realize it's wrong to plagiarize someone else's work? Suzie: That's your opinion What's wrong for one person isn't necessarily wrong for another, and I say there's nothing wrong with plagiarismas long as you don't get caught Which critical thinking barrier does Suzie exhibit? A) Stereotyping B) Self-interested thinking C) Wishful thinking D) Relativistic thinking  Why standards of critical thinking are important to overcome the barriers of critical thinking? Characteristics of a Critical Thinker Are you OPEN MINDED about other people’s view? Are you HONEST to yourself (or others) when you are wrong? Do you have the COURAGE and PASSION to take initiative and confront problems and meet challenges? Are you AWARE of your own biases and preconceptions? Do you WELCOME CRITICISM from other people? Do you have INDEPENDENT opinions and are not afraid to Reference http://www.criticalthinking.org  http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=gNCOOUK-bMQ  http://www.criticalthinking.org/CTmodel/CT Model1.cfm  http://www.teachertube.com/v.php? viewkey=8caaadb505ab52c68278 [...]... influence your judgment What is Critical Thinking? • Analyzing • Evaluating • Reasoning Critical Thinking Don’t need to memorize definitions! Just understand and practice the core critical thinking skills emphasized in this course Problem Problem Solving Solving Decision Decision Making Making Left Right Critical Thinking Standards (CTS) The most significant critical (intellectual) thinking standards:  ... critical thinking: What factors make up this difficult problem? What are the complexities of this issue? What are the difficulties I need to deal with? Is my thinking taking into account the different perspectives I need to consider? CTS – Breadth     Do we need to consider another point of view? Is there another way to look at this question? What would this look like from a conservative standpoint?... need to consider another point of view? Do I need to look at this situation in other ways? Logic      When we think, we bring a variety of thoughts together in some order When the combination of thoughts is mutually supporting and makes sense in combination, the thinking is “logical.” The logic of our critical thinking can be measured by the following questions: Does my thinking make sense as a... the combination of thoughts are mutually supporting and make sense in combination, the thinking is "logical.“ CTS – Fairness Critical thinking demands that our thinking be fair  Open-minded  Impartial = fair công bằng  Free of distorting biases and preconceptions Fair-mindedness is an essential attribute of a Critical Thinker Distore: xuyên tạc Consistency   A person holds inconsistent beliefs,...What is Critical Thinking?   Critical thinking is the general term given to a wide range of cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions needed: to effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth claims, to... too crowded  Good Thinking is… CLEAR……… rather than UNCLEAR CLEAR ACCURATE… rather than…….INACCURATE ACCURATE PRECISE…… rather than…….VAGUE PRECISE RELEVANT…….rather than…….IRELEVANT RELEVANT CONSISTENT….rather than……INCONSISTENT CONSISTENT LOGICAL……….rather than……ILLOGICAL LOGICAL COMPLETE……rather than……INCOMPLETE COMPLETE FAIR…………….rather than… BIASED FAIR Benefits of Critical Thinking Examples:... the arguments and beliefs of others  Critically evaluating those arguments and beliefs  Develop and defend one's own well-supported arguments and beliefs Workplace  Helps us to reflect and get a deeper understanding of our own and others’ decisions  Encourage open-mindedness to change  Aid us in being more analytical in solving problems Benefits of Critical Thinking  Daily life    Helps us... can be clear but not accurate Accuracy       - A statement can be clear, but not accurate as in, “Most cats are over 100lbs in weight.” Questions related to evaluating the accuracy of thinking include: Is my thinking accurate? How could I check to see if this is true? How could I find out if this is correct? How can I verify for accuracy? CTS – Precision   Could you give more details? Could you... significant critical (intellectual) thinking standards:         Clarity Accuracy Precision Relevance Depth Breadth Logic Fairness CTS - Clarity     Could you elaborate further on that point? Could you express that point in another way? Could you give me an illustration? Could you give me an example? Clarity is the gateway standard Clarity       Clarity is a gateway standard, If a statement is... whether it is accurate or relevant In fact we cannot tell anything about it because we do not yet know what it is saying Exploratory questions related to the Clarity Standard: Is my thinking clear? Do I need to elaborate my thinking more? Do I need to provide an illustration of what I mean? Do I need to give an example from everyday life? CTS – Accuracy    Is that really true? How could we check that?