Putting on our critical thinking caps will help us better understand and address important challenges we face throughout our lives. The process requires some effort. It is often avoided, sometimes out of laziness but more so out of fear that long held beliefs will not withstand fair and reasoned analysis.
Nonetheless, it is essential to making decisions which affect our families and friends. It is certainly important to our judgments which have the effect of placing individuals into positions of authority and power.
The American Philosophical Association has defined critical thinking as “the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment. The process gives reasoned consideration to evidence, contexts, conceptualizations, methods, and criteria” (1990).
Critical thinking is sometimes broadly defined as “thinking about thinking.” It includes the ability to interpret, verify, and reason, all of which involve applying the principles of logic. It is intended to guide behavior and beliefs. Several skill sets are required.
Interpretation: Having the ability to understand the information you are being presented with and being able to communicate the meaning of that information to others.
Analysis: Having the ability to connect pieces of information together in order to determine what the intended meaning of the information was meant to represent.
Inference: Having the ability to understand and recognize what elements you will need in order to determine an accurate conclusion or hypothesis from the information you have at your disposal.
Evaluation: Being able to evaluate the credibility of statements or descriptions of a person’s experience, judgment or opinion in order to measure the validity of the information being presented.
Explanation: Having the ability to not only restate information, but add clarity and perspective to the information, so it can be fully understood by anyone you are sharing it with.
Self-Regulation: Having the awareness of your own thinking abilities and the elements that you are using to find results.
Now, think about your decisions past and future.
Edward H. Schulman is a resident of Kailua-Kona