Chapter 4
Critical thinking
❑Meaning of Critical Thinking
❑Critical thinking can be defined as (refers to) :
➢ Involving or Exercising skilled judgment
➢ thinking clearly and intelligently
➢ Wide range of cognitive skills and intellectual dispositions
o Identify /classify
o Evaluate:
o Analyze:
o Understand:
o Synthesize:
o Criticize
➢ Critical thinking is to think
o Clearly:
o Actively:
o Persistent fairly:
o rationally:
o objectively:
o independently:
➢john Dewey:
o Critical thinking is active, persistent, careful consideration of issues/belief in
different grounds
➢For Robert Ennis:
o Critical thinking is reasonable, and reflective
thinking focusing on decide what you believe or to do
(decision making)
➢For Richard Paul:
ocritical thinking is model of thinking which
focus in reflecting on thoughts
- having ability of thinking about one’s
thinking and
- consciously aim to improve it.
❑Critical thinking helps us to:
➢ discovers & overcomes personal preconceptions or prejudice
➢ formulate & provide convincing reason and justifications to
➢ make reasonable/rational decision about what we believe /d
➢ impartially investigate data and facts not swayed by emotion
➢ arrive at well-reasoned, sound and justifiable conclusion
❑ Standards of CT
CT is normal and acceptable if it fulfills
the following standards
1. Clarity
2. Precision
3. Accuracy
4. Relevance
5. Consistency
6. Logical Correctness
7. Completeness
8. Fairness
1. Clarity
o Clear understanding of concepts
o Expression should free of vagueness and ambiguity
o CT strive both for clarity of language & thought
2. Precision
o being exact, accurate and careful
o reducing vague and obscures thoughts
o Provide precise answer to precise questions of life
3. Accuracy
o Having correct and genuine information
o CT value truth, accurate and timely information
o Every decision should be made based on true information
o If the input is false information, decision will not be sound
4. Relevance
o It’s an issue of connection
o focus on Significant ideas logical to the issue at hand
o focus should be given to the issue at hand
5. Consistency
o Quality of always behaving in the same way
o following same standards in decisions making
o There are two kinds of inconsistency that we should avoid
- Logical inconsistency
- Practical inconsistency:
6. Logical Correctness
o To think logically it reason correctly
o To draw well-founded conclusions from belief/information
o Conclusions should logically follow believes/ideas or evidence
7. Completeness
o deep and complete thinking to shallow and superficial thinking
8. Fairness
o Treat all relevant views alike
o thinking should be based on
✓ fair
✓ open mindedness,
✓ Impartiality and
o thinking should be free
✓ distortion,
✓ Biasedness
✓ Preconceptions,
✓ Inclinations,
✓ Personal interests
❑Principles of Good Argument
1.The Structural Principle
➢Use arguments that meet fundamental
structural requirement
➢valid form is the First requirement for
argument to be good (deductive)
• don’t use reason that contradict to each other (avoid invalid inference)
• conclusion should follow the premise with strict necessity
➢good argument:
o structurally good form(valid)-
o Premises must be compatible to each other (compatibility principle)
o conclusion should not contradict with the premises
(non contradiction principle)
2. The Relevance Principle
➢One who argues in favor or against a
position……?
o Set forth premise whose Truth provides evidence for the truth of the
conclusion
o Premise is relevant if its provides logical reason to the conclusion
o basic question
- Does the truth of the premise support the truth of the conclusion?
3. The Acceptability Principle
➢ Premise must provide evidence that can be accepted by a mature,
rational person
➢ If the reason has the capability to convince a rational person to accept
conclusion
4. The Sufficiency Principle
➢ Premise provides sufficient reason that outweigh the acceptance of the
conclusion.
➢ Questions to test sufficiency of evidence
o Are the available reasons enough to drive someone to conclusion?
o are key or crucial evidence missing from the argument ?
5. the Rebuttal Principle
➢Person should provide effective rebuttal
(refutation) to all anticipated serious
criticisms of an argument raised against it.
➢good argument effectively refute criticisms
raised against it
➢Ask and answer following questions in
applying the rebuttal principle to an
argument.
o What is the strongest side of arguments against the position being
defended?
o Does the argument address the counterargument effectively?
o What potentially serious weaknesses exist in the argument
❑Principles of Critical Thinking
1. The Fallibility Principle
➢Willingness of participants in an argument
to acknowledge his/her fallibility
➢Accept one ‘s own initial view thay may
not be the most defensible position on the
issue
➢Consciously accept that your view may
wrong - willing to change your mind
➢An admission of fallibility is a positive sign
for further discussion, inquiry and fair
resolution of the issue
2. The Truth-Seeking Principle
➢participant should be committed to search truth
➢one should be willing to
o Examine alternative positions seriously
o look for insights and positions of others
o Allow others to present arguments for or against
issue
➢The search for truth is lifelong endeavor and can be
attained if:
o We discuss and entertain the ideas and arguments of
fellow
o We listen arguments for positions and
o Have Willingness to look at all available options
o We encourage criticisms of our own views
➢So, everyone should have the Willingness to look at all
available options
3. The Clarity Principle
➢Formulations of all positions, defenses, and attacks should
be free of any kind of linguistic confusion
➢discussion is successful if it carried on in language that all
the parties involved can understand
➢expressing in confusing, vague, ambiguous, or
contradictory language will not help reach the desired goal
4. The Burden of Proof Principle
➢Burden of proof rests on the participant who sets forth the
position or argument
➢Participant is logically obligated to produce reasons in
favor of his claim
➢The arguer is Obliged to give logical answer to the
why/how questions
➢Exception: if claim in question is well established or
5. The Principle of Charity
➢If the participant ‘s argument is
reformulated by an opponent, it should be
carefully expressed in its strongest possible
version (intension of the original argument)
➢Opponent has an obligation of interpreting
a speaker's statements in the most rational
way, considering its best strongest possible
interpretation of original argument
➢but If we deliberately create and then
attack a weak version-uncharitable version-
of the original argument, we will fail to
6. The Suspension of Judgment Principle
➢suspend judgment about the issue if
o no position is defended by good argument, or
o two or more positions seem to be defended with equal strength
o one has no good basis (evidence) for making a decision
➢To make decision: relative benefits or harm
of (consequence) should also take in to
consideration
7. The Resolution Principle
➢Issue should be considered resolved if the
o Argument for one of the alternative positions is a structurally good
o Argument provides relevant and acceptable ,sufficient reasons to
justify the conclusion
o Argument provides effective rebuttal to all serious criticisms of
➢Why are issues not resolved? When
o When One or more of the parties to the dispute:
✓ has a blind spot: not objective about the issue at hand and rational but
not psychologically convinced by the discussion
✓ have been rationally careless
✓ has a hidden agenda
✓ not being honest with themselves
o are in deep disagreement of underlying assumptions
