...Critical Thinking & Society Omar A. Jones PHL/458 Creative Minds & Critical Thinking June 21, 2012 Aisha Simmons Critical Thinking & Society Introduction In today’s society being a critical thinker is a bonus. With all the scams and too good to be true deals out here, we need to be able to think for ourselves so that we can survive. Don’t become that sucker that P.T. Barnum was referring to. In this paper I hope to get across my points of why critical and creative thinking is necessary for people today by giving examples and definitions of some of the terms that a critical thinker may come across. Real Life Experience Recently, I acquired a new roommate, my brother. He needs a place to stay until he gets on his feet (everyone is getting hit in today’s economy in some way). Anyway, my brother and I have two totally different lifestyles. I like things done a certain way. I believe that there is a place for everything and everything has a place. My brother seems to have his own rules to live by. So, I figured that it was time for a talk so that we could come to an understanding or at least a compromise. Well, sometime while we were talking it became more of a shouting match rather than a discussion. I thought I was making some valid points, but he took it as aan attack on his maturity. So to rectify the disagreement I called in my pastor to mediate. She went about discussing my points and his points by calmly...
Words: 1283 - Pages: 6
...Critical Thinking and Society PHL 458 March 17, 2014 Critical Thinking and Society Critical and creative thinking is important in order to be successful in the work place. Challenges arise daily that require the management team to think on their feet in both critical and creative ways. However there are times when they do not have the time needed to really think about how to handle a situation. A challenging guest came into one of the restaurants and was giving the host and cashier a difficult time. This guest had been in the restaurant before and is a constant challenge every time. Management usually knows what to expect when they see this guest walk into the restaurant. This particular day the manager on duty had had enough of this guest and his reoccurring challenges. The guest started to complain about something and the manager on duty had asked the guest why he is always so rude and if he was that unhappy every time why does he keep returning. Of course this upset the guest even further and caused a big scene. Regardless of how the guest acted it was not professional for the manager to approach the guest in that way. Had this manager stopped and used her creative and critical thinking she most likely could have approached this guest in a less offensive way. Free Will, Truth, Knowledge, and Opinion Free will is having the ability to make a decision even though a person may have grown up or been conditioned to think a certain way. Truth is something that will always...
Words: 872 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking and Society Exercise Student PHL/458 June 4, 2012 Instructor Critical Thinking and Society Exercise Describe a situation in which critical and creative thought could have been used for a better outcome. Describe why it is important to think critically and creatively in similar situations. Alaska’s economy in the summer is in many ways driven by tourists visiting the state. A few years back the Alaska legislators enacted a head tax on visitors who arrive to the state. The $50. Per passenger tax was to go to projects that benefited the cruise line industry. Two problems arose from this ill-conceived tax; legislators could not find enough projects to put the funds to. Bradner,T, (2009) Par 10, along with this the downturn in the economy along with higher costs caused many cruise line companies to reconsider their Alaska destinations. If the legislators approached the cruise line companies and asked them for specific projects that would benefit their industry before levying a tax and then looking for projects they may have helped bolster the industry instead of hurting it. By thinking critically one considers the outcome and the effect ones decisions have. Also a creative thinker would look for inventive ways to accomplish goals that would have better outcomes than following the usual procedure. Define free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Explain how we use them to form thoughts. Free will is the ability to free oneself from the influences or...
Words: 764 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking and Society Exercise PHL/ 458 Prof. January 7, 2014 Critical Thinking and Society Exercise Situation can be described as related to critical thinking and creative thinking could be used in the results related to driving license in our young adolescents under age in the state of Florida. Permission designed to handle restriction is 16 years old and must have the consent and approval of the parents. It is legislating in the state of Florida, to grant permission for a driver's license without restrictions taking other considerations into our youth, such as young people who have a grade point average of excellence, high truancy and has reflected a pattern consecutive game and academics. It is important to think critically and creatively due to the continuous changes faced by each member of a family, but without forgetting the responsibilities that entails, as are the possible bodily experiences and write a first and second persons. I think it is an idea that has to be studied very thoroughly before being adopted due to the recent statistics in our youth , the first cause of death in young people are accidents of cars and the second suicide . As we have to hurdle the following few factors, how mature and capable is the young, how responsible is and how expensive it is to allow a driving license. If every young man who wants a license without restrictions you must meet certain requirements established from time to time and to report to the department for...
Words: 319 - Pages: 2
...Critical Thinking and Society Exercise 1. Describe a situation in which critical and creative thought could have been used for a better outcome. Describe why it is important to think critically and creatively in similar situations. Critical thinking along with critical thought is used every day and most individuals don’t even realize it. One such situation in which I could have used critical or creative thought for the better was my decision to separate from the Air Force. When I was making this decision to separate, I was only thinking of the negative items with the military and why I wanted to separate at the end of my enlistment. Just like many other people that faced this same situation, if given the opportunity to repeat this process utilizing the creative thinking process would be a major player in my decision making. I would suggest to those people to use critical thinking by looking at the whole picture including positives and negatives of staying in the military. Also, using creative thinking to try and come up with a plan of action if separation is the final choice and what the path forward from that point will be. 2. Define free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Explain how we use them to form thoughts. Free will is defined as choosing to make a decision. Truth is defined as “what is so about something, the reality of the matter, as distinguished from what people wish were so, believe to be so, or assert to be so” (Ruggiero, 2009). Knowledge is to know about...
Words: 874 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking and a Democratic Society The definition of an informed citizen is having sufficient and sufficiently reliable information or knowledge to be able to understand a subject or situation and make appropriate judgments or decisions regarding it. Meaning, to understand something fully you need to be properly informed. You cannot make an educated guess on most problems or issues. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the concept of Critical thinking and Creative thinking in a Democratic Society .The requirements to become a better critical thinker stems from a realization that complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity of a person characteristic of their current environment. Most of the material about critical thinking derives from philosophy, education, and psychology. There are, however, competing schools of thought on what critical thinking is and how to best develop it. In most cases a multidisciplinary assessment of a topic leads to a richer body of research, however, in the case of critical thinking it seems to have led to competing and incomplete views of the topic. Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal directed. Critical thinking is a purposeful, directed thought. It is not easy, as it requires explicit mental energy. The great majority of the decisions and issues we face throughout the day do not...
Words: 875 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking and Society Exercise Matthew J. Brown PHL/458 February 17, 2014 Lauren Castrogiovanni Critical Thinking and Society Exercise Justin Bieber getting arrested for drag racing down a public highway is an example of a situation where critical and creative thought could have been used to result in a better outcome. Justin Bieber was recently arrested for racing down a public highway. This is the same person that has millions of dollars and access to do almost anything he wants to do without breaking any laws. If he would have thought critically and creatively about this situation, he could have reserved a local racetrack if he wanted to drive fast. If would have cost him a few thousand dollars to reserve a track and his public humiliation could have been eliminated. By definition, the person’s ability of choosing the best alternative from several possibilities is called free will. Free will gives us to think ourselves, take decision based on our own knowledge, thoughts and feelings. Truth is the ability of being in accordance with the reality or the fact. It can also mean any idea or judgment that is accepted as true or is considered true. Knowledge is a collective set of information and facts acquired through both education and experience. Knowledge helps in making rational decisions in critical thinking based upon our experience and what we take as truth. Opinions are judgments or beliefs that are not supported by...
Words: 648 - Pages: 3
...Critical Thinking and Society Exercise Allen V. Briscoe PHL 458 September 14, 2013 Joseph Zodl A situation where creative thought and critical thinking could have been used for a better outcome has to deal with hiring the right skill-set of people in barbershops around the world. Many barbershops around the world hire people who can give good hair-cuts to different customers with different textures or styles of hair, unfortunately that doesn’t go well for some minorities. All barbershops around the world should hire barbers suited to cut all styles of hair to customer satisfaction to include all people around the world. Thinking creatively and critically introduces new ideas and ensures careful planning. Free will is the will to do what you please at any time. Truth is when someone tells facts that happen and could be proven. Knowledge is the research and experience you have on different subjects. Opinion is something everyone expresses about each and every subject. These are all used in our formulation of thoughts. Our thoughts are made up of free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Three habits that are hindrances to the critical thinking process are human limitations, use of language, and misconceptions due to faulty logic. Methods of overcoming each one of these hindrances are to acquire an adequate basis of understanding of the situation at hand for human limitations, for use of language we need to recognize when words are not intended to communicate ideas...
Words: 605 - Pages: 3
...Critical Thinking and Society Exercise PHL/458 March 27, 2013 Critical Thinking and Society Exercise • Describe a situation in which critical and creative thought could have been used for a better outcome. Describe why it is important to think critically and creatively in similar situations. With an ever growing populace, the majority of cities are experiencing traffic congestion that is plaguing the road and rail network and highways. The fast-paced way of life of individuals traveling to and from work, school, and business creates a treacherous potential for commuters who are restless to arrive at their destination on time. Road rage is now becoming a frequent incidence in several of our major cities. Los Angeles, for instance, is home to hundreds of key freeways connecting inner cities with suburbs. With county inhabitants of overt nine million people (U.S Census Bureau, 2010). Most drivers, particularly belligerent drivers, create a hazard to the protection of other people sharing the road. In one example, hostile manners such as tailgating, cutting off, sudden braking, not using blinkers. It is easier said than done to identify where the accountability originated, is not significant as to how these road rage situations might have been avoided in the first place. • Define free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Explain how we use them to form thoughts. Free will: the aptitude to take action in ways that refuse to accept even the strongest influences. Free will...
Words: 945 - Pages: 4
...Critical Thinking and Society Exercise John Doe PHL/458 - Creative Minds and Critical Thinking March 31st, 2011 Ace Ventura Critical Thinking and Society Exercise * * Describe a situation in which critical and creative thought could have been used for a better outcome. Describe why it is important to think critically and creatively in similar situations. * Most people use critical thinking and creative thought each day and don’t even realize it. One situation in which I could have used critical or creative though better was when I was developing one of my first new metal wall panel systems. We offer a wide variety of metal wall panel products for architectural construction and while developing a new metal panel system, I focused just a few aspects of the system that I was developing with out thinking of future needs or product expansion. I could have used critical thinking to broaden my perspective. * While what I was working on was good, it could have been much better if I had taken some time to set aside preconceptions and evaluated my creative concepts. If given the same situation I would take the opportunity to write down ideas then evaluate them based on there perceived values. Then after I was completed with my critical review I would also invite peer review to see if there was a perspective that I missed. * * Define free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Explain how we use them to form thoughts. * Free will is the ability to...
Words: 988 - Pages: 4
...Critical and Creative Thinking in Society PHL458 Critical and Creative Thinking in Society Free will is the ability to use critical and creative thinking to approach problems to make an educated choice in what directive or direction to take (Ruggiero, 2012, Chapter 2). The textbook states that some psychologists would argue there is no free will, only compulsion as defines as the irresistible urge to do something. The textbook author, Ruggiero, states that although we are influenced by both nature and nurture, we retain a significant amount of free will to make choices (Ruggiero, 2012, Chapter 2). According to Ruggiero (2012) truth is what is so about something, the reality of the matter, as distinguished from what people wish were so, believe to be so, or assert to be so (Chapter 2). The truth is not relative nor does truth change; only one's perception of what is truth changes. If truth were relative, no one would seek out the answers as any answer could be considered truth. Perception can be relative; truth is the view that is fated to be ultimately agreed to by all who investigate (Ruggiero, 2012, Chapter 2). Knowledge is what we know, not what we think we know (Ruggiero, 2012, Chapter 2). We can find true knowledge from experience, observation and report. All three of these methods of obtaining knowledge are subject to the failure of faulty experience, faulty experience, faulty reporting and faulty memory. One may feel he is knowledgeable on a subject, only to...
Words: 975 - Pages: 4
...Critical thinking and society paper After being in the military and retired I’ve come to realize that I have used critical and creative thinking. Every decision I had to make whether it was planning a convoy or planning out the work schedule for the week, there was always critical thinking involved and definitely creative as well. Every military day was defined with creative and critical thinking. With everyday life a person has to think critical because there are much decoction that have to be made that involves people lives and finances and how the job is going to be performed and all the logistics that go with creative thinking. Defining free will is that a person mind knows that they have choices of thinking and expressing their opinion. To form thoughts people need to see what they are trying to think about. As example whether to take their car to a mechanic and change out a part and pay them $100 or spend the time to change this simple part and get to know your car better and take a little pride and get a little dirty and save yourself a $100. In today’s worlds politicians have strayed away from the truth. The truth to them is the false words they use to be elected for a position. Over the last 15 years people have lost the real site of truth just for their own self gain and have no regard for the people involved. Opinions are intensely personal, so it is understandable that people have strong feelings towards situations or matter at hand. Knowledge is obtain by degrees...
Words: 370 - Pages: 2
...Critical and Creative Thinking in Society Short Essays PHL/458 December 1, 201X XXX Introduction Critical and creative thinking are an important part of everyday life. First, this paper will describe a situation of public interest in which these could have been used for a better outcome. Next, it will define free will, truth, knowledge and opinion, how they are used to form thoughts and the role they play in critically assessing situations. It will also identify three hindrances to the critical thinking process with an experience. Lastly, it will identify a message in advertising, how it was perceived, and the reality of the advertisement and distinguish between perception and the reality of the message. Situation of Public Interest The current situation of public interest that will be discussed is the selling of swastika ridden wrapping paper by Walgreens. Walgreens was carrying the wrapping paper in celebration of Hanukkah when customers started to notice the swastikas. This is clearly offensive to the Jewish community who would be purchasing the wrapping paper. As a result the product has been pulled from the shelves (Huffington Post, 2014). This situation could have been avoided if a quality assurance individual or product reviewer was consulted. It is those individuals job to review the product and gage how consumers will perceive the product. The review process should include a checklist with critical thinking questions one it. One example would be...
Words: 1042 - Pages: 5
...than half were American citizens and most were from the West Coast and Hawaii. If critical thinking and creative thought had been applied, the situation would have been much more desirable. Instead of an executive order consisting of one man’s thoughts, the situation could have been brought to congress to debate a better outcome. An outcome that helped identify individuals that posed a credible threat rather than detaining an entire ethnic group of people. Similar situations would also benefit from debates among many rather than decisions made among few. Free will is a voluntary decision; free and independent choice. (dictionary.com, 2014) Truth is the actual state of a matter. (dictionary.com, 2014) Knowledge is the fact or state of knowing. (dictionary.com, 2014) Opinion is a personal view, attitude, or appraisal. (dictionary.com, 2014) Free will allows us the freedom and ability to form thoughts and think critically. Truth is the information that we seek to help form our thoughts and to be able to effectively think critically using facts. Knowledge is what we have or have gained from using truth and thinking critically. Opinion is the state of thoughts and ideas that we have and the conclusions that we make using the knowledge that we have gained from thinking critically. Many hindrances get in the way of critical thinking. Three that I can think of are emotion, self-centered thinking, and prejudices. Overcoming these barriers involve taking a step back, clearing...
Words: 451 - Pages: 2
...Critical and Creative Thinking in Society Short Essays Week One Describe a situation of public interest in which critical and/or creative thought could have been used for a better outcome. Describe why it is important to think critically and creatively in similar situations. One situation that comes immediately to mind is the phenomenon of climate change we are currently dealing with and how we are woefully unprepared to cope with it. If critical and/or creative thought had been used by all concerned, instead of fear and denial, we would be in a better position to handle and curtail these climate changes. When the data that pointed to human-induced climate change first was made public, it seemed that fear and hysteria was the common theme in most discussions of the problem. It has gotten better in recent years but it may be a case of too little, too late. It is important to think critically and creatively because it helps you to see the whole picture. When you think critically, all sides of the problem such as history, a source, a context are considered making a realistic and effective solution to a problem more likely. Define free will, truth, knowledge, and opinion. Explain how we use them to form thoughts. What role does each play in critically assessing situations? We have free will when we have the freedom of self-determination, action and ability to make choices. If the choice is consistent with a person's desires and nature then it is representative of a person’s...
Words: 813 - Pages: 4
