102 Critical Thinking and Ignorance Professor Ramos Blog

102 Critical Thinking and Ignorance What is Critical Thinking? Quick Write What is critical thinking? Write for two minutes. What is Critical Thinking? Quality of Thinking, Quality of Life 30 Days to Better Thinking and Better Living Through Critical Thinking Critical thinking, in a rich sense of the term, is self-guided disciplined thought that attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fairminded way. From our textbook. Critical comes from the Greek word  krinein, meaning â€Å"to separate, to choose†; above all, it implies  conscious  inquiry (4). Conscious also means to be awake or aware. This suggests that by examining our reasoning, we can understand the basis of our judgments and decisions – ultimately, so that we can make better ones. According to Google: Critical Thinking – the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment. Critical Thinking According to our textbook, to think critically, you must question not only the beliefs and assumptions of others, but also one’s own beliefs and assumptions (5). Identify important problems. Explore relevant issues. Evaluate available evidence. Consider the implications of the decisions. Critical thinking is NOT collecting information to support established conclusion. Survey, considering as many perspectives as possible. Analyze, identifying and then separating out the parts of the problem. Evaluate, judging the merit of various ideas, claims, and evidence. Why is it important? Texas GOP wants to get rid of critical thinking.   Ignorance According to our textbook, to think critically, you must question not only the beliefs and assumptions of others, but also one’s own beliefs and assumptions (5). â€Å"Most of us assume whatever we believe to be â€Å"right.† Though we were taught much of what we believe before we could critically analyze our beliefs, we nevertheless defend out beliefs as  the truth† (Elder and Paul). Vocabulary Ignorance  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  lack of knowledge or information. Intellectual Arrogance  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the tendency to confidently assert as true what you do not in fact know to be true. Intellectual Humility  Ã¢â‚¬â€œÃ‚  awareness of the extent of your ignorance. People with a high degree of intellectual humility understand that there is far more that they will  never  know that they will  ever  know (Elder and Paul). Acknowledge that you may be wrong, until you find sufficient evidence to prove your belief. Notice when you argue if you are justifying your beliefs. Do you have evidence? Question your beliefs, especially religious, cultural, or political. Research from multiple perspectives. Explore new beliefs. Weekly Journals Every week, you will locate an article, news report, social media post, or related in some way to the class discussion or readings.   First, summarize the text, explaining how you are understanding what they are saying. Second, respond to the article using the skills we will be working on in class. About 250 words. Reply to the post on the blog or type and print it out to hand in by Monday 2BR02B Solution The proposal asks that we define a problem and come up with a solution that we can implement to the problem. It is important in critical thinking to think thought the decisions. If you come up with a solution, you have to think of the implications it will have. Will it lead to problems in the future? While we may not be able to predict with certainty if it will cause problems, we can think through it and anticipate some possible negative outcomes. Kurt  Vonnegut 2BR02B Homework Read Chapter 1, Critical Thinking