PAUL AND ELDER CRTICAL THINKING - Essay Example

As human beings we are bestowed with intellectual faculty and it is for this reason that we are able to analyze issues and make rational decisions to the best of our ability. Although intellect is inherent within us, we must be able to cultivate our intellectual skills in order to become critical thinkers and not just thinkers. Intellectual traits are attributes of an excellent critical thinker. This individuals use the elements of reasoning to make any decisions and use intellectual standards to assess their reasons.

The intellectual standards include clarity and accuracy of the decisions that one makes. A critical thinkers decision should be understandable, in that it can be elaborated and explained. It should be free from errors, mistakes and lies and should be detailed to a level. It should be logical , the ideas in ones reasoning should make sense, coherent and not contradict each other. It is through the seasoned practicing of these standards does one gain intellectual traits.Intellectual traits are virtues that are necessary for right action.

These are values adopted by open minded thinkers who seek more than one opinion to arrive at the truth. Valuable intellectual traits include intellectual humility which is the ability for an individual to embrace the limits of his knowledge as opposed to claiming what he does not know or understand. I often say things which I have no knowledge for and it will suit me if I listen more and talk less in conversations on topics I have no knowledge of. A critical thinker is one who has the courage to face and discuss topics that are avoided by most people due to either its sensitivities or its correctness rationally and fairly.

Some issues and topics are considered incorrect in our society and for that reason most people refrain from discussing such topics. I am no different as I shy away from topics that are deemed sensitive but it is important if I find out this issues for myself and what is wrong with such an issue thus giving me the courage to discus those issues rationally. The ability to put myself in others shoes in order to better understand other individuals point of view is a trait that I have lacked.Listening to other points of view more often and trying to understand where this views are coming from will take a step closer to attaining intellectual empathy.

REFERENCESCogan,R.(1998).Critical Thinking: Step by Step. University Press of America.Fisher,A.(2011).Critical Thinking: An introduction. Cambridge University Press