The Process of Critical Thinking - Essay Example

Number Knowledge is generated through the interaction of critical and creative thinking. Knowledge is something that starts to be adopted by the individual since the time the individual steps in this world. Everyone is learning something new through interaction, observation and thinking. There is constant interaction taking place of individuals with other individuals. Living in isolation is not possible for any individual and therefore human interaction is a necessity and part of life. The minute people are born, they start interacting and learning new things by observation and situations. Learning is a constant phenomenon that is faced by individuals either intentionally or unintentionally. Knowledge management is an important part of life, and without knowledge it is difficult for an individual to survive in this world of such cut throat competition. Individuals constantly need to strive for knowledge and also need to understand the different ways of attaining knowledge and also the different areas of knowledge. In my opinion, the statement “Knowledge is generated through the interaction of critical and creative thinking” is a true statement. Critical thinking can be defined as giving a reflective statement by assessing the thoughts and efforts of other individuals or processes. Critical thinking allows one to think from many perspectives and then arrive at a conclusion. When one is in the phase of thinking critically, many new types of knowledge may be experienced by the individual in justifying their critical thoughts and opinions. Critical thinking can be applied to all disciplines of knowledge areas. The disciplines can be science, math and even history. All areas need critical reviews and evaluations to be conducted for justifications. Critical thinking can be a challenging task and it can prove to be a strong learning experience for the individuals. Science has many new inventions and innovations that have been invented for the use of mankind. With each new invention, there is a history as to how the product or service came into being (Preece, 310). If we take the example of Newton, he invented the science of physics. He invented the law of motion and other such laws in the field of physics. Such knowledge was invented through observation, critical thinking and investigation of events that were unfolding in front of him. This is the way how individuals learn new knowledge and come upon new inventions. The process of critical thinking consists of understanding the assumptions that are associated with any situation or statement, then the arguments present need to be reviewed and scrutinized with care. Critical thinking involves thinking deeply about the situation or event to a large extent. Human sciences have a lot of critical thinking involved in them for understanding their complex nature (Preece, 308). Then the judgment needs to be made about the statement or situation on which the critical thinking process is being applied. Various types of interpretations and justifications need to be applied which opens the horizons of knowledge to wide angles. Critical thinking can involve giving both positive and negative reviews. Creative thinking can be defined as the ideas that are generated from the individuals which are unique, have some meaning and use, and can be implemented or elaborated for the situation or process. Creative thinking allows one to put on their creative thinking caps and explore all the interesting and useful ideas for any situation or event. Creative thinking is a fun learning process and involves creativity in ideas to a very large extent (IBO). Creative thinking allows problem solving stages to be solved with a variety of unique solutions. Some problems are of high complexity and this nature of the problems may create many other types of complexities. In such situations, if the problems are creatively solved then the solutions for the problems can be derived successfully. Brainstorming is another way of creative thinking and expanding upon the horizons of knowledge (Marsh and Thompson, 270). An inquiring and investigative nature is required by creative thinkers for working upon the issues and situations. The results of creative thinking can come up to be beyond expectations and can prove to be highly successful as well. Knowledge can be available in abundance and it needs to be dealt in a systematic manner so as to extract the important information for use and leave the rest of the information. Knowledge and information can be derived and deduced from various different types of angles. There are many ways of gaining knowledge and many areas of knowledge are present that can educate an individual. It’s just the effort that the individual needs to make for gaining the right knowledge and information. Knowledge is generated through the ways of attaining knowledge and also by the areas of knowledge. The ways of attaining knowledge are through the perceptive skills of the individuals, the senses, the emotions of the individuals, the way reasoning is conducted for any issue, the language used also comes under the category of ways of attaining language along with the tones and symbols. All these different elements are used for the purpose of attaining knowledge by an individual. Attaining knowledge through observation requires the individual to see and think about the circumstances and situations before making an analysis. The emotions are involved highly especially when dealing with the area of arts. Dealing with arts requires softness and creativity in the person so that the actual meaning can be derived (Marsh and Thompson, 272). The areas of knowledge are the various subject disciplines that an individual learns in their learning phases of life. They are the discipline of mathematics, the study of natural sciences, the study of human sciences, the discipline of arts and history and also the study of ethical principles come under the category of areas of knowledge that can be used by individuals to gain knowledge about anything (IBO). Natural sciences and human sciences involves a lot of critical thinking elements so that knowledge can be explored and new things can be discovered in these areas of sciences. The two areas of knowledge that can be taken up are the discipline of arts and the study of ethical principles. Generating knowledge in both these areas of knowledge requires a high level of creative and critical thinking respectively. Arts require more feelings and emotions to be judges whereas ethics involves the judgment between right and wrong and certain principles are involved in this discipline which requires the individual to gain knowledge (IBO). The discipline of arts requires one to think in a creative manner and think upon unique ideas. Arts can be molded according to the individual. It depends on the way an individual takes any situation. Applying unique principles and ideas can deduce creative results and also can increase the knowledge base of the individual. The discipline of art allows one to have abstract thinking as well, arts involves feeling more than the mind. The discipline of arts cannot be dealt with hard liners. Flexibility and creativity is required to expand the knowledge base in this area of knowledge. The discipline of ethics allows one to think critically about situations and then decide about the judgments to be made for the situation. Ethics is a very critical issue and all individuals should abide by the ethical values. Ethics need to be applied everywhere, both in personal and professional life. For being ethically right in situation, one needs to gain knowledge about the actual situation and think deeply and critically about the matter (Steneck, 60). Ethics may be applied while one has to be sincere with his job. Leaking out confidential information about the business to the competitive firm is highly unethical and one needs to think critically before doing such an act (Kalichman, 35). There are many ethical sessions and programs being conducted and individuals should attend such sessions so that they can enhance their knowledge base in such areas. Conclusion Knowledge is being gained by the individual through different means and modes. It actually depends upon the type of situation and circumstances faced by the individual that decides the judgment based by the individual. The bottom line is that critical and creative interaction by individuals increases their knowledge base and allows them to explore new arenas and dimensions of knowledge. Gaining knowledge through the various areas of knowledge can be a very interesting process. This essay discusses about two areas of knowledge that are the discipline of arts and the discipline of ethics through which individuals tend to gain knowledge and apply in their personal and professional lives. Critical and creative thinking is a necessity in all areas of evaluation and judgment and all individuals should practice towards developing such skills. All areas of knowledge are extremely important for individuals to adhere to so that they can become successful people and successful professionals in the future. To have a deep insight on things one needs to think critically and creatively so that they can get the grasp of the matter and deduce possible solutions in a professional and creative manner. This is the most successful way of attaining and evaluating the knowledge horizons of situations. Works Cited Areas of Knowledge, Theory of Knowledge Guide. IBO, 2006. Web. 26th April 2011. Kalichman, MW. “Ethics and Science: A 0.1% solution.” Issues in Science and Technology 23 (2006): 34-36. Print. Marsh, J. & Thompson, P. Parental Involvement in Literacy Development: using media texts, Journal 547-556. Thousand of Research in Reading, 24, (2001): 266-278. Print. Preece, J. Beyond the Learning Society: The Learning World?, University of Glasgow, UK, vol. 25, issue 3, (2006): pp. 307-320. Print. Steneck, NH. “Fostering Integrity in Research: Definitions, Current Knowledge, and Future Directions.” Science and Engineering Ethics 12(2006):53-74. Print Read More