Critical Thinking - Assignment Example

Critical Thinking What is Critical Thinking? Critical thinking is expressing in a very critical way. An element of critical thinking is the usage of different elements within the decision making processes. Decision making requires tact, intellect and a sense of understanding related with the significant elements which play a huge role in the eventual decision and all of which come under the critical thinking exercise. Words should be chosen that have a deep incisive meaning and not the ones that spark off controversies. Critical thinking needs to have proper reasoning and methodologies within it which must mix with what is stated within the whole setting. Within critical writing, the introduction needs to be short, crisp and must give an insight as to what the reader might expect to read during the course of the whole argument essay or writing while in the conclusion, a recap or summary is basically provided that sums up what has been said above and what to expect next. (Grant, 1988) At certain times, there can be a call for action, which asks the reader to carry out certain actions to his liking if the person wants to pursue with the meaning of the argument or at other times to completely shun what has been said there and negate with the meaning in totality. Critical thinking has logical rationales which must be evidenced with the help of evidence and solid proofs that cannot be taken for granted and must be solid enough for the claims to be proven right in any court of law. Reasoning and logical conclusions under critical thinking ought to be correct, true to its meaning and proper by any contextual definition of the word. In any critical thinking exercise, the target needs to be assured that whatever is being said is for their understanding and to gain insight from the same is for their own good. They must not be insulted under any circumstance whatsoever and hence they should be given preference when a thinking ideology is discussed so that they feel in line with what is being said with reference to the context. Insults thus need to be taken away from the agenda of the person who is raising the ideology and personal talks of low nature be removed so that people feel that whatever is being said under the heading of critical thinking is for their own understanding and betterment. (Halpern, 2003) 2. Explain this idea of using the categories of the true, the good and the beautiful as a way of organizing our way of thinking about critical thinking The categories of true are related with fact and truth which is present in the entire world. Truth is a very difficult thing to understand and once this understanding is reached upon, the person who finds the truth feels that there has been success present for him. Being true about something means that the facts have come out in a very clear manner and there are no confusions present at all. True is a category which demands a lot of respect from the people who hold the information as important and extreme and therefore the value of this understanding is of significance as well. The good is the wellness within this world. What this means is that the goodness comes from the acts of virtue that take place within this world. Being good to others and holding them in the highest category is an important aspect of being good and doing good with others. Good is a very temporary phenomenon since the good can easily turn into bad if the evidence for the good is not present and proof thus demands a lot of importance. Philosophy has looked at the good as being a very defining entity for the people since they explore the benefits which come from the good which is being done upon them. (Conquest, 1993) Good organizes the thought patterns in a way that the positive aspects easily become apparent. The beautiful is another category of good which represents love and class. It is linked with a sense of positive understanding for each other and thus love remains the key for the eventual growth of beauty. Having beautiful thoughts, remaining within beautiful people and talking beautifully are some of the examples which are critically examined through the thought process. The beautiful organizes thoughts in a very positive way since these thoughts bring out the good feelings in a person and hence the true face is revealed because of the beautiful understandings. However it is important that beautiful remains a much cherished thing and it should not make frequent visits for the person who wants to have it for his own happiness. The desire must be there at all times to achieve beautiful things in life and it really does not matter in what size and proportion this beauty arrives. 3. Compare and contrast metaphysical and scientific thinking Metaphysical thinking is drawn upon one’s own experience while scientific thinking is attained through the secondary research which has been undertaken on the subject. Metaphysical thinking is based on the use of logic with experience while scientific thinking looks to explore whilst basing on the advancing sciences and the way science and technology brings to focus the different issues and subjects are of primary significance. Metaphysical thinking is elaborate, based on principles, rules and philosophies and contains alternatives only while scientific thinking is focused heavily on the way modern day thinkers are highlighting the important issues and matters. Metaphysical thinking at times could be clear and expressive as it provides the best option for thinking in a very traditional and sufficient manner. Scientific thinking is at times very difficult to understand as there are scientific discoveries still being made within the world and hence new explorations are coming to the notice of all the people from time to time. Metaphysical thinking is based on perceptions, thoughts, ideas and feelings while scientific thinking is completely different as it focuses more on the experiments which are being done within the laboratory settings and the case studies that have been studied upon in a very deep manner. (Emmet, 1945) Metaphysical thinking relies more on the physical existence of the subject while the scientific thinking patterns are heavily dependent upon the experimental inventions and the work that goes into those experiments as well. Metaphysical thinking is how a certain group of people view a particular theory while scientific thinking takes this theory from the perspective of changing times and ideologies. Metaphysical thinking makes opinions which are based on how the people feel about a certain topic or aspect of thinking while scientific thinking does not take into notice what people really think and concentrates more on how the world from an external point of view shapes up this theory. Thus the difference between the two thinking ideologies is very clear and no debates must be applicable when the understanding is reached as per their distinctive attributes and characteristics. Both are used for the benefit of the particular study where they are needed. 4. What is the difference between induction and deduction Induction is more open-ended form of reasoning while deduction is the exact opposite. Induction looks to explore the subject from the point of observation leading towards the pattern under which this observation has been established. After thus, induction looks at the tentative hypotheses which have been made available. Lastly, induction focuses on the theory aspects of reasoning and thinking phases. Deduction, on the other hand, starts from the theory and goes on towards hypothesis after which observation is made and finally ending up at confirmation of the theory which was firstly determined. In induction, specific observations are changed to general observations and theories while in deduction, the theory is moved on from the general to specific angles. Induction is a bottom-up approach while deduction is top-down. Both methods are carried out very differently when research is being done and the results are distinctive as well since induction and deduction aim to look at the same things in a very varying perspective. Induction looks to explore while deduction is very narrow and is usually concerned with testing hypotheses and confirming them on a constant basis. Most research which is done in a social domain comprises of both induction as well as deduction so that the results are complete from all the angles. Induction basically asserts and the conclusion follows after the premises have been used in probability while deduction asserts that this conclusion necessarily follows from the premises which have been made. (Nisbett, 1993) The difference is in the manner of the truth that exists within these premises and which are indeed very important for both induction as well as deduction. Both induction and deduction are used for the sake of forming up different reasoning patterns, thinking ideologies, testing hypothetical situations, confirming the results, checking for observation, discussing the theoretical aspects and so on. The results between the two might be different but then again both induction and deduction present to the researcher entirely different perspectives of looking at the same issues. Works Cited Conquest, Robert. History, Humanity, and Truth. National Review, Vol. 45, June 7, 1993 Emmet, Dorothy M. The Nature of Metaphysical Thinking. Macmillan & Co. Ltd, 1945 Grant, Grace E. Teaching Critical Thinking. Praeger Publishers, 1988 Halpern, Diane F. Thought & Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003 Nisbett, Richard E. Rules for Reasoning. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993 Word Count: 1,519 Read More