Chapter One: Components of Critical Thinking

　　Critical thinking is akin to the study of logic. It relates to how we make decisions and use our judgment. Critical thinking is more than just thinking about thinking or metacognition. It is also about how we take action. It involves many components, and we will address a number of unique components in this chapter.

　　Applying Reason

　　The ability to reason is often considered one of the characteristic marks of being human. An individual’s ability to reason well is a critical thinking skill. Many of the definitions of critical thinking tend to focus on the ability to reason. Reasoning occurs when we use our knowledge of one thing, process, or statement to determine if another thing, process, or statement is true. When we apply reasoning, we use logic to determine “what follows what.” Human reasoning does not always follow logic and is often based on emotional bias.

　　Open Mindedness

　　Open-mindedness is the virtue by which we learn. In particular, being open-minded means taking into account relevant evidence or arguments to revise a current understanding. It means being critically open to alternatives, willing to think about other possibilities even after having formed an opinion, and not allowing pre-conceived notions to constrain or inhibit reflection on newly presented information. Open-minded inquiry is a central theme in education.

　　Analysis

　　In critical thinking the step of analysis helps us to discriminate and access information. Learning occurs in three domains: cognitive, affective, and psychomotor. In the cognitive domain, analysis involves the process of discriminating or separating. It gives us the ability to break down the complexity of an item or idea, and allows us to gain a better understanding.

　　Logic

　　Logic and reasoning are similar but not the same. Logic is the branch of philosophy that gives the rules for deriving valid conclusions. A conclusion is valid if it follows from statements that are accepted as facts. For instance, a logical statement might be, 1 + 1 = 2. This is a rule based on fact. Factual statements are called premises. When reasoning does not follow the rules, we say it is illogical.

　　Practical Illustration

　　A group of physicists have been researching matter and motion for some years. After numerous studies, they have come to the following conclusions:

　　“No physical activity happens by chance. All chance occurrences are random events. No random events are physical activities.”

　　Neither a closed mind nor an empty one is likely to produce much that would qualify as effective reasoning.

　　R.S. Nickerson