Definitions Of Critical Thinking

the state of having wandering and imaginative thoughts in order to escape from reality. the practice of engaging in activities that enable one to avoid having to deal with reality, as the persistent attendance at science-fiction films, reading of fantasy literature, etc.1. — speculative, adj.divergent thinking, out-of-the-box thinking - thinking that moves away in diverging directions so as to involve a variety of aspects and which sometimes lead to novel ideas and solutions; associated with creativity tradition, defined the "reflective thinking" as "Active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds which support it and the further conclusions to which it tends (Dewey, 1933).the rational inquiry into the principles and truths of being, nature, knowledge, conduct, etc.2. the contemplation or consideration of some subject.2. a conclusion or opinion reached by such activity.4. These complementary functions are what allow for critical thinking to be a practice encompassing imagination and intuition in cooperation with traditional modes of deductive inquiry.

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"First wave" logical thinking consisted of understanding the connections between two concepts or points in thought.

It followed a philosophy where the thinker was removed from the train of thought and the connections and the analysis of the connect was devoid of any bias of the thinker.

Socrates demonstrated that having authority does not ensure accurate knowledge.

He established the method of questioning beliefs, closely inspecting assumptions and relying on evidence and sound rationale.

Kerry Walters describes this ideology in his essay Beyond Logicism in Critical Thinking, "A logistic approach to critical thinking conveys the message to students that thinking is legitimate only when it conforms to the procedures of informal (and, to a lesser extent, formal) logic and that the good thinker necessarily aims for styles of examination and appraisal that are analytical, abstract, universal, and objective.

This model of thinking has become so entrenched in conventional academic wisdom that many educators accept it as canon".It entails effective communication and problem-solving abilities as well as a commitment to overcome native egocentrism The earliest documentation of critical thinking are the teachings of Socrates recorded by Plato.Socrates established the fact that one cannot depend upon those in "authority" to have sound knowledge and insight.Walters summarizes logicism as "the unwarranted assumption that good thinking is reducible to logical thinking"."A logistic approach to critical thinking conveys the message to students that thinking is legitimate only when it conforms to the procedures of informal (and, to a lesser extent, formal) logic and that the good thinker necessarily aims for styles of examination and appraisal that are analytical, abstract, universal, and objective." As the ‘second wave’ took hold, scholars began to take a more inclusive view of what constituted as critical thinking.The adoption of these principals parallels themselves with the increasing reliance on a quantitative understanding of the world.In the ‘second wave’ of critical thinking, as defined by Kerry S. 1), many authors moved away from the logocentric mode of critical thinking that the ‘first wave’ privileged, especially in institutions of higher learning.Rationality and logic are still widely accepted in many circles as the primary examples of critical thinking. Walters (Re-thinking Reason, 1994) argues that rationality demands more than just logical or traditional methods of problem solving and analysis or what he calls the "calculus of justification" but also considers "cognitive acts such as imagination, conceptual creativity, intuition and insight" (p. These "functions" are focused on discovery, on more abstract processes instead of linear, rules-based approaches to problem-solving.The linear and non-sequential mind must both be engaged in the rational mind.In his mode of questioning, Socrates highlighted the need for thinking for clarity and logical consistency.Socrates asked people questions to reveal their irrational thinking or lack of reliable knowledge.