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Critical Thinking: What Is It and How Can We Use It

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Critical Thinking: What is it and how can we use it
Tony Smith
GEN/201
June 10 2015
Joann Iglinski

Critical Thinking: What is it and how can we use it
Critical thinking to me means making logical, reasonable and well thought out decisions based on all the information available. It requires one to take a questioning attitude and not simply accepting the conclusions or ideas of others. It requires wanting to see what evidence is involved to support a particular argument or conclusion. Users of critical thinking are the ones who use who, what, where, when, why, and how when making their decisions. Weissberg describes critical thinking as “an ability to use reason to move beyond the acquisition of facts to uncover deep meaning” (Weissberg, 2013). But what does this really mean; this paper examines what critical thinking is and how it can be put use.
Defining Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is defined in many different ways, Edward Glaser defines critical thinking as follows “The ability to think critically, as conceived in this volume, involves three things: (1) an attitude of being disposed to consider in a thoughtful way the problems and subjects that come within the range of one's experiences, (2) knowledge of the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, and (3) some skill in applying those methods. “ (Glaser, 1942). Rudd comments that “critical thinking has been defined and measured in a number of ways but typically involves the individual's ability to do some or all of the following: identify central issues and assumptions in an argument, recognize important relationships, make correct inferences from data, deduce conclusions from information or data provided, interpret whether conclusions are warranted on the basis of the data given, and evaluate evidence or authority” (Rudd, 2007).
What is Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is that mode of

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