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Critical thinking and decision making skills
Critical thinking and decision making skills
Critical thinking and decision making skills
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The world of critical thinking is filled with many theories and beliefs for self-improvement. Each author has their own belief of what Critical Thinking is, and opinions can vary greatly, the one notion everyone seems to agree on is there is not enough of it going on. Critical thinking skills are in extremely high demand because this; Christian Fisher writes “According to "Forbes," It’s a leadership skill required by 90 percent of the most in-demand jobs created since 2010.” Making it that much more important for everyone to hone their skill. A large factor to becoming a Critical Thinker is honest self-criticism and evaluation of your personal skills. This essay will evaluate my critical thinking skills and what stage of development I believe …show more content…
Challenging myself to be open to differing ideas and thinking objectively about said ideals is what I believe Critical Thinking to be and it hasn’t been an easy or fast change, I can understand why it’s difficult getting past the unreflective thinker stage. It is absolutely easier to discredit someone and prove them wrong than to evaluate their thoughts objectively because it differs from my own. Controlling my emotions when challenged was the first step for my betterment, if able to keep my feelings out of a confrontational situation, I can think clearly about where the different thought is coming from and explore deeper the why behind the thought. The first of Ritchhart’s four steps to harnessing the power of emotion advises “Recognize your immediate emotional response. Our brain is hardwired to feed us an immediate emotional response. We need to be aware of that and to recognize this initial response for what it is: an emotion-based first impression. In essence, we need to be metacognitive. We have to be aware of the thoughts we are having and their origin.” Very true and hard to do when your entire life has been based on reactions to emotions rather than clear thought. I can recognize the situation when it develops and evaluate opportunities after the situation has …show more content…
Good thinking in general dictates good behavior all around. Critical thinking takes it one step further; rather than just appeasing a thought or opinion, engage it, explore it and be open to the answers you may find while doing it. Through the teachings in this course, I’ve been able to use some of the methods and teachings such as Daniel Cohen’s For argument’s sake to start to develop my own critical thinking and apply I’ve learned at work and home. Since the realization of the opportunity to change my thinking, I’ve noticed a big change at work and how I’m approached and responded to. I’ve developed better working relationship with my bosses and employees simply by taking an extra moment or two to reflect on what was said and the motivation behind it. Recognizing the way my biases and personal feelings can immediately cloud my opinion of a rational and well thought out task has been very beneficial as well, in order to truly appreciate an idea, personal dialog weighing the pros and cons before I make known my opinion has kept me from making a very large mistake had I gone with my gut
The author Vincent Ruggiero defines critical thinking in his book Beyond Feelings: A Guide to Critical Thinking, as a “search for answers, a quest.” It is the idea that one does not accept claims, ideas, and arguments blindly, but questions and researches these things before making a decision on them. From what I learned in class, critical thinking is the concept of accepting that there are other people and cultures in this world that may have different opinions. It is being able to react rationally to these different opinions.
The classic forms of social criticism were developed and applied in practice, even in ancient philosophy by Xenophanes, Socrates, Plato and the Cynics. The interest in critical thinking has never waned in the social and political thought, but social criticism reached true prosperity in the Enlightenment. Voltaire and Rousseau, Montesquieu and Locke, Hume, and Kant saw the most important means of formation of free and responsible citizens, harmonious and creative personality in a critical attitude towards the institutions and values. A new wave of criticism of social philosophy, implemented in classical forms, is associated with the names of the supporters of the revolutionary transformation of society. First of all, there may be mentioned the names of Marx, Bakunin, and Proudhon (Lavery, Hughes, & Doran, 2009).
A majestic and ancient sentinel encompasses the horizon. It began its ascertainments before the dawn of time. From the first creature to scale its eminence to the now senescent thickets spanning its plateau, it mutely observes the delicate world born upon itself. Eons of wisdom and antiquity have entrenched its vista. An unspoken understanding of a simple balance ensconced within its acclivity still eludes the human mind. Humans capable of creating such magnificent, beautiful works of art, prose of thought, and music defying description are also capable of pure devastation and destruction of this very delicate and life sustaining balance of the planet. If the human mind were as evolved and experienced as the mountain in its understanding of
Critical thinking is when an individual identifies and evaluates outside sources before making a decision. This is a very important still to learn to become an effective thinker and making educated choices. Critical thinking is fundamental when making choices, from selecting the right answer on multiple choice exams to choosing the right place and time to buy a house. An individual that has learned critical thinking is less expected to make poor choices that could potentially harm him or affect others. In theory this individual could calculate the consequences of his actions. A good critical thinker doesn’t need to memorize huge amounts of information. Instead, he asks questions, is open to alternative solutions, formulates theories,
Critical thinking has been defined in great depth over thousands of years yet comparison of many of these definitions show the emphasis alters between what characteristic is deemed most important for each individual. However the definition alters, the same three important principles are always included: scepticism, open-mindedness and objectivity. It is important for each individual to conclude his or her own definition of critical thinking to enable a specific authenticity that equates to an individuals academic work. This essay will show that while the true meaning of critical thinking doesn’t change, adapting a personal definition is vital for success in higher education and life skills.
Questions are something that must be asked and can be very important when reading a literary work, watching a movie, or just simply trying to understand the habits of people today. Asking questions opens up the human brain to dig farther and deeper into the meaning of why someone did something in a specific way and what purpose it has that something must be done in that way. Critical thinking is asking question and trying to hypothesize on what the answer to that question might be. Critically thinking is a healthy aspect of opening up the brain and will improve one’s thought process on how to apply critical thinking in situations where it is dependent, like a future
While the semester is over and the deadline has expired, I thought I would write this to express my true intended thoughts.
Chris had just been promoted as an Executive Assistant for Pat the CEO, Chief Executive Officer, of Faith Community Hospital. Pat had given Chris her very first assignment on her first day of work as an executive assistant and that was to gather information so that Pat can present the issues to the board of directors. Faith Hospital is faced with issues that needed attention and the board of directors must be notified of the issues so that a solution can be remedy to help the hospital stay in business.
Critical thinking is a significant and essential topic in recent education. The strategy of critical thinking skills helps identify areas in one's courses as the suitable place to highlight, expand and use some problems in exams that test students' critical thinking skills.
What is not easily recognized is the fact that the very fabric of life is dependent on the ability to think properly and make good decisions. Improper thinking is costly in the quality of life and monetarily. The result of a critical thinker that has worked to cultivate proper thinking skills includes: the ability to ask vital questions and to identify problems with clarity. A critical thinker also collects relevant information while effectively interpreting it, thinks with an open mind, uses alternative systems of thought, and understands how to communicate while working to formulate a strong solution. In summary, critical thinking is self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. Above all else, the standards of excellence are rigorous, and it entails the prospect of overcoming the challenge of sociocentrism and
Knowledge is generated through critical and creative thinking. Creative thinking is something new or original that is created with value. Critical thinking is a type of thinking that questions assumptions and validates or invalidates a current belief or something that is said to be previously true. Knowledge is created through the culmination of generally accepted assumptions and creativity. How do you separate general assumptions and creativity? These two types of thinking can be easily separated in regards to concrete or realistic ideas compared to abstract or original ideas however to generate new, acceptable knowledge critical and creative thinking must interact together. The questioning of established beliefs with the creation of unorthodox new ideas will expose the most beneficial knowledge for the world.
According to The Foundation for Critical Thinking (2007), "Critical thinking is, in short, self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking. It presupposes assent to rigorous standards of excellence and mindful command of their use. It entails effective communication and problem solving abilities and a commitment to overcome our native egocentrism (Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2007).
“Critical thinking is the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances” (Paul & Elder, 2006, p. xviii). Critical thinking involves the capability to think rationally and fair-minded. One must have the ability to employ his thinking reflectively and independently. Critical thinking is more than just thinking "naturally." It involves analyzing oneself and self improvement. One needs to do more than gather information when making a good decision to think critically. Even if someone has a good memory and knows a large amount of facts is does not necessarily mean that he thinks critically. As a critical thinker one needs the ability to determine the consequences from what one knows, to know how to make use of information to solve problems, and seek reliable sources of information to inform oneself ("Module: About Critical Thinking", 2011). Critical thinking in business in important because it helps one recognize the prejudices, false beliefs, and habits that may lead to flawed decisions.
In his essay Critical Thinking: What Is It Good For? (In Fact, What Is It), Howard Gabennesch explains the importance of critical thinking by drawing attention to how its absence is responsible for societies many ills including, but not limited to, the calamity in Vietnam. Yet, at the end of his essay, Gabennesch also mentions that, despite “the societal benefits of critical thinking, at the individual level, uncritical thinking offers social and psychological rewards of its own.”(14). Similarly, it is these rewards that, like the bait on a fishhook, often make individuals hesitant to engage in critical thinking despite the resulting harm to both them and society.
Critical thinking regularly involves the capability to interpret information and make knowledgeable decisions based on such information. Additionally, problem solving is frequently theorised as the use of critical thinking skills towards the effective solution of a specific problem or towards a specific end goal. Critical thinking is the disciplined art of ensuring that you use the best thinking you are capable of in any set of circumstances. The general goal of thinking is to figure out some situation” (Critical Thinking, 2001, p.1), solve some problem, answer some questions, or resolve some issue. It also is a process in which a person pursuits reliable and pertinent information about the world. Critical thinking is often described as reasonable, ruminative, trustworthy, and a well-practiced form of thinking that assists people with deciding what they should believe in and what actions should be taken. A practiced critical thinker will ask good questions, collects pertinent data, categorizes common characteristics, logically reasons with the new data and then he or she will come to a trustworthy and dependable conclusion. Critical thinking makes use of many processes and procedures. Some processes include but is not limited to asking questions, making judgments, and identifying