Introduction to Critical Thinking Module 1.ppt

Introduction to Critical Thinking

1. Critical Thinking
Skills
Module 1
What is Critical Thinking?

2. ‘Critical’, ‘criticism’ and
‘critic’ all originate from
the ancient Greek word
kritikos, meaning able to
judge, discern or decide.
Analysis
Evaluation
Argument
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Introduction

4. •What is you reaction when bus is late And you got to reach somewhere
urgent?
•What is your reaction when bus is late and you have time to wait ?
•What would be your reaction if you know that road is blocked 100m
behind or 100m further?
•What would be your reaction if you came to know there is strike by
drivers?
•What would be your reaction if you came to know there is a riot?
Your reaction changed because you have started thinking critically.
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6. Introduction
“The objective analysis and
evaluation of an issue in order to
form a judgment”
Critical Thinking refers to a
person observing a situation,
identifying the problem,
analyzing it through the lens of
experience and arriving at a
conclusive decision to solve it
rationally.
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7. Critical thinking refers to the
ability to analyze information
objectively and make a
reasoned judgment.
It involves the evaluation of
sources, such as data, facts,
observable phenomena, and
research findings.
WHAT IS
CRITICAL
THINKING

8. What is critical thinking?
•Ability to think about connected ideas thoroughly
and independently, basing those ideas on factual
evidence.
•It is the act of turning the full force of our reasoning
towards resolving real world problems
•When we apply critical thinking, we attempt to treat
arguments we like and dislike objectively and fairly
•Critical Thinking is self directed, self disciplined, self
monitored, and self corrective thinking.
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9. Why Critical
Thinking?
•Avoid Deception and Identify facts
•Separate facts from spin
•Question tradition
•Disrupt market with Innovation
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•Disorganised Inefficient system in society
•Incompetency and inefficiency
•Outdated social beliefs, Cultural norms
•Blind belief without questioning authority
When there is no critical thinking we find:

10. Critical
Thinker
•Truth Seeker: Raises vital question and
problems, formulating them clearly
and precisely
•Systematic: Gathers and asses relevant
information, using abstract ideas to
interpret effectively.
•Analytical: Comes to well reasoned
conclusion and solutions
•Thinks open minded
•Communicates effectively
•Careful not to misrepresent or distort
information
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11. Critical
Thinking
consists
of
Perception
Assumption
Emotion
Language
Arguments
Fallacies
Logic
Problem Solving
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12. Barriers to Critical Thinking

13. Beliefs
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•Core beliefs are the assumptions we make about ourselves, others,
or situations we come into contact with.
•They are based around our values and determine how we take in
information, and generally see the world around us.
•Core beliefs are also the things that cause us to argue as human
beings because we all have varying beliefs on different subjects.
•Your core beliefs, whether right or wrong, often are not your fault.
•When you behave or you see the same things over and over again
throughout your life, you start to believe that they are right and
other beliefs are wrong.
•You might also inherit your core beliefs from your parents or other
family members because that’s the only reality you know.

15. Exercise: Think of three important decisions you have made
in following three fields
Personal Life
Finance
Career
•Make a list of beliefs you consider important to your identity and
not shared by everyone around you
•Look at each belief, did they influence any of three decisions
•Was the influence of your belief positive or negative
•Were you aware of the influence of your beliefs on your decision
making at the time
•How will you remain aware of the influence of your beliefs on
decisions you make in the future

16. Biases
•https://youtu.be/wEwGBIr_RIw
•A bias is when an individual has either a strong preference or
aversion to something, regardless of its merit.
•We develop our thought patterns as a means of dealing with
uncertainty.
•Our mind develops a habit of seeking out certainity instead of
truth.
•We cling to trusted but unexamined information and values.
•Child consumes all the information from parents and children,
because it comes form position of authority
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17. Fallacies
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDGp04CfM4M
Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine
the logic of your argument.
Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant
points, and are often identified because they lack evidence
that supports their claim.  
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18. Types of Fallacies
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19. Composition Fallacy
•The fallacy of composition consists in treating a distributed characteristic
as if it were collective.
•It occurs when one makes the mistake of attributing to a group (or a
whole) some characteristic that is true only of its individual members (or
its parts), and then makes inferences based on that mistake.
•For example, if you stand up at a concert, you can usually see better. You
may then directly infer that if everyone stands up, everyone can see better.
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20. Association Fallacy
•An association fallacy is an informal inductive fallacy of the hasty-generalization or
red-herring type and which asserts, by irrelevant association and often by appeal to
emotion, that qualities of one thing are inherently qualities of another.
•An example of an association fallacy being used in positive way (called pro
hominem, or honour by association) is as follows: Citizens of Country X won more
Nobel Prizes, gold medals, and literary awards than citizens of Country Y. Therefore,
a citizen of Country X is superior to a citizen of Country Y.
•Police arrive at a party and find that everyone is under 21 years of age. Not everyone
had been drinking, but police arrest all parties involved under the assumption that
they were all participating.
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21. Ad hominem attack
•Ad hominem (Latin for “to the person”) is a category of argumentative
strategies that involve criticizing an opponent's character, motive,
background, or other personal attributes instead of their argument's
content. Example:
•Person 1: I think it is important to enforce minimum-wage legislation so
that workers are not exploited.
•Person 2: Nonsense. You only say that because you just can't get a good
job!
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22. 22

23. Intuition
•Intuition is an attempt to gain knowledge without in depth reasoning.
•It is default manner in which brain functions
•Quick answers whether correct or not immediately alleviate the pain
caused by uncertainty
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24. Heuristics
•Heuristics are how we turn our intuition into thoughts and action
plans
•Types of Heuristics
•Trial and Error
•Rule of Thumb
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25. Emotions
•We tend to think of critical thinking as a rational exercise,
one which can only be hindered by our emotions.
•Anger is incompatible with Critical Thought.
•When we burst out of anger, we are not thinking critically.
And we end up in worse situation.
•Emotions can cloud our judgement and hinder our
reasoning process.
•Anger, Jealousy, self righteousness, and pride are obstacle to
critical thinking
•Empathy compassion, and generosity help and make us
think of others instead of ourselves
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26. Emotions
•Can we take proper decision when angry?
•Selfishness and Jealousy can constrain us from doing what is
good for the people around us.
•First Rule: If your emotions are going to be involved in the
process, make sure they are your noble emotions
•Second Rule: Emotions (only the good ones) can be essential
in defining problems and setting out their solutions
•We can’t and shouldn’t stop feeling. It is what makes us
human, and our best emotions make life worth living. Just
remember to let the bad one pass before you start reasoning
•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1ZyhT-Meo0
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27. OUR BIASES AND WHERE THEY STEM
FROM

38. END OF MODULE 1
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