Human beings have been preoccupied with thought and the concept of
thought for centuries as is evidenced by the many philosophical and
religious writings we find dating from ancient times. After all, we as
human beings hold ourselves to be the masters of intelligence in the
natural world since no other specie seems to exhibit the capability of
thought and intelligence as demonstrated by human beings, the very
term "homo sapiens" infers the ability to think. Critical thinking is
asking the right questions about the information we are presented with
on any given situation. Or as Brown and Keeley put it, it is "asking
critical questions." (Pg. 2) To put it more specifically, asking
critical questions "provide(s) a structure for critical thinking that
supports a continual, ongoing search for better opinions, decisions,
or judgments." (Brown and Keeley, 2000, Critical Thinking, Asking the
Right Questions, Pg. 2). This is, in the view of the writer, the best
and most accurate way to define critical thinking. There would be no
need for critical thinking, or asking pertinent questions, except we
are in search of "better opinions, decisions, or judgments" about what
we think. It is also the opinion of the writer that critical thinking
may not involve asking questions; some times it may be as simple as
recognizing facts. In this case we have not asked a question, but we
have seen an answer, we have recognized a process, or we have
discovered something before the question was even asked. Penicillin,
for example, was discovered by accident. As we examine the events that
lead to the discovery of this miracle drug, we are told that in 1929
Alexand...
... middle of paper ...
...as we
ask the right questions, we may be able to find that desired but
elusive nugget of gold hidden in the chaotic mess of the torrid
organization, a good decision. In other words, critical thinking is a
necessary part in decision making. It allows us to identify the
problem, evaluate the information, choose an alternative, and decide.
Working in the finance office of a medium size business, this writer
finds the decision-making and problem-solving processes not only
present, but utilized by some to a high level of skillfulness.
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[1] Quote from T.Connolly, "Uncertainty, Action, and Competence: Some
Alternatives to Omniscience in complex problem-solving," in
Uncertainty: Social and Behavioral Dimensions, ed.S. Fiddle (New York:
Preger, 1980)
Critical thinking is an important aspect of an individual’s daily life, regardless of an ethnicity, gender, or age. The individual, who has a strong sense of critical thinking skills, has a sense of inquisitiveness, finding an inventive solution to a problem or issue that he or she may be faced with. Critical thinking is used on an individual’s personal life he or she as well will use his or her critical thinking skills on a professional level. In the following paper the discussion of what critical thinking is as well as discusses the “University of Phoenix’s” decision making model, and how critical thinking skills can help us make a crucial decision. The subsequent paragraphs will also discuss the significance of as well as the benefits of critical thinking.
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).
“Everyone should try to make themselves more empathetic, sympathetic, compassionate, loving, and caring and less indifferent, hostile and prejudice”, (Williams, C. & Arrigo, B., 2008). Ethics of care teaches professionals to cultivate the appropriate feelings and emotions. Today people are brusque, short, rushed and irritated on a daily basis because of time. They should instead take a step back and think of how others would feel or take the conversation and plan the appropriate approach. This is what makes me strive to be a critical thinker through retaining information and beliefs that are generated by skills and to have a habit of intellectual commitment to guide my behavior. Can human beings use reasoned thinking to gain knowledge and understanding about reality? Effective reasoning and critical thinking requires the use of knowledge, skills, and tools necessary for critical reflection as well as analyze and work through ethical dilemmas. Effective reasoning is a form of moral reasoning which will aid me in recognizing moral considerations and cope with conflicts. Reasoning is responsibly conducted thinking that will guide my assessments and rationality in order to attempt a well-supported/well-defined question/answer. Reasoning is absolute and yields clarity. Critical thinking leads to an examined life which is when a human being reflects on their own life and strives to change wrong behaviors. An examined life requires us to maintain a healthy degree of skepticism, keep an open mind, step back to see what is in front of us, and see beyond categories, labels, stereotypes, and other performed ways of sorting. An unexamined life is not worth living if you are closed minded and cannot see beyond people’s face value. ...
When trying to define critical thinking you might run into some challenges along the way. Critical thinking is a widely used yet vague term that is practiced by different people in a variety of locations throughout the world. Critical thinking is a strong virtue for the majority and the worst enemy for others. Needless to say without critical thinking we would be nowhere close to where we are today pertaining to our technological and social endeavors.
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 the careful scrutiny of what is stated as true or what appears to be true and the resulting expression of an opinion or conclusion based on that scrutiny, and (2) the creative formulation of an opinion or conclusion when presented with a question, problem or issue, (Kist-Ashman, 2011, p. 33).
“An Army leader is any one who by virtue of assumed role or assigned responsibility inspires and influences peoples to accomplish organizational goals. She or He motivates people both inside and outside the chain of command to pursue actions, focus thinking, and shape decisions for the greater good of the organization.1” But for him to do that effectively and efficiently , he has to be prepared, shaped and refined. There are few institutions to prepare such leaders and CGSC is one of those institutions which are mandated, organized and equipped to prepare such leaders. In implementing its mandate, CGSC has programmed ILE common core C 100 to provide foundations for effective leadership development. The lessons covered in this block of instructions are important pillars of leadership development and impact on officers differently depending on the fields/specialties and the level of positions held. This paper therefore attempts to discuss the relevance of critical thinking and problem solving, group decision making, overcoming biases, planning and order production lessons on my future assignment as a logistics staff officer.
When it comes to the reasoning and problem solving of any issue there are various ways to come to a decision; thinking is the mental process that allows the people in the world to deal with it effectively, according to set goals, plans, ideas, and desires. Thinking involves the gathering of information that forms concepts and engages in problem solving, reasoning, and making precise decisions for the benefit of whom is concerned. Thinking according to Kirby and Goodpaster (2007),"is an internal mental process that uses information as input, integrates that information into previous learned material and the result may be knowledge or may be nothing". Creative thinking, logical thinking, and persuasive thinking are three types of thinking. Each of these types of thinking affects the critical thinking process in various ways. The three thinking types will be compared and contrasted, as well as applied to affects they have in the critical thinking process. Every person has a primary style of thinking that is used most to help in his or her decisions. Finally, critical thinking will be applied to the decision making process by using workplace examples.
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.
Critical thinking is a process of applying various skills to analyze information. Critical thinking uses rationality to distinguish between emotion and fact. This paper will discuss the definition of critical thinking, and the skills it takes to think critically. It will also provide an example of critical thinking applied to my current working environment. Finally this paper will discuss the importance and benefits of critical thinking in the decision-making processes.
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 and decision-making are related in more ways than people think. This paper will define critical thinking and decision-making according to the book Whatever It Takes. It will also present a personal definition of critical thinking and decision-making from the author of this paper. The relationship between the two will be explained as well as the benefits of being a critical thinker. The author of this paper will also show how critical thinking is present in his organization and how he implements critical thinking techniques on a daily basis.
The decision-making process in business is an important part of a company’s success. Making the right decision relies on using the attributes of critical thinking. The following will show the relationship between decision making and critical thinking and how one company uses critical thinking in its decision making everyday to maintain the company’s health and customer satisfaction.
We are in the 21st century, but then do we know what is exactly happen in 21st century? What are the skills needed to successfully survive in 21st century? So, we are going to define the term of this essay before we can go through the topic.