open university critical thinking

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Critical thinking

What is critical thinking?

To think critically is to examine ideas and weigh them up them against what you already know. You need to be able to consider different viewpoints and reach a logical conclusion.  The aim of critical thinking is to be objective. When you think critically, you weigh up all sides of an argument and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. So, critical thinking skills entail: 

• Thinking about all sides of an argument 
• testing the soundness of the claims made 
• testing the soundness of the evidence used to support the claims.

You need an open mind and to be prepared to question the author’s claims. How you do this and the questions you ask will vary depending on what – and why – you are reading (for example, you might be responding to an assignment question). 

The reason critical thinking is a skill - and not just an automatic thought process - is because most people think “uncritically,” and make decisions based on personal biases, self-interest, or irrational emotions. 

These contributions are from my colleagues Robert Craw and Nicky Mee

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Critical thinking – A skill and a process