Critical Thinking
Critical thinking skills enable people to evaluate,
compare, analyze, critique, and synthesize information. Those
who practice critical thinking know that knowledge is not a collection
of facts, but rather an ongoing process of examining information, evaluating
that information, and adapting it to their understanding of the world. Critical
thinkers also know to keep an open mind, and they frequently end by
changing their views based on new knowledge.
Critical thinking skills are vital to well-educated
individuals and acquiring this ability should be your most important
goal inside and outside of the classroom. You should consider
alternate positions and theories, participate in class discussions
and debates, interpret what you read and hear, and learn to form your
own logical, informed views; in doing so you should always try to rationally
weigh the prevailing opinion for validity rather than popularity.
A broad-based education, inter-disciplinary study, and the
ability to think beyond the text or class discussion extend to your
written work, your oral presentations, and your participation in the
classroom. Being able to think, argue, and communicate clearly,
critically, and cogently is a skill that will contribute immensely
to any life-choice and will greatly enrich your future and the lives
of those with whom you interact.
In science, statements can be tested and falsified
but they can never be proven true. Rather they can be substantiated
and supported by further research and by the retesting of data in equal
or similar ways. In time, the original relationship of an innovative
hypothesis can lead, with further testing, to an established theory,
such as Charles Darwin's theory of descent with modification or Gregor
Mendel's law of independent assortment. Often, advances in other
areas of inquiry also substantiate the value of a new hypothesis or
larger theory. Inadequate hypotheses that do not pass the test
of replication, or which are replaced by a hypothesis with stronger
explanatory potential, end by being rejected, such as Jean Baptiste
Lamarck's theory of acquired characteristics.
Questions to ask when trying to think critically include:
1. What data are presented?
2. What conclusions are presented and how are they
organized (as tentative hypotheses or as more dogmatic assertions)?
3. Are these views the opinions of the authors or are
they supported by a larger body of research?
4. What are the research findings? Are they adequately
documented?
5. Is the information consistent with information that
you already possess? If not, how might the inconsistencies be
explained?
6. Are the conclusions (hypotheses) testable? How
might one test the various hypotheses presented?
7. If new research findings are at odds with previous
hypotheses (or theories), must these hypotheses now be modified or
completely rejected?
8. How do your own personal views bias your interpretation
of the results? Once you have identified your own biases, how
might you set them aside so as to evaluate the information more objectively?
9. Are you able to discuss fairly both the pros and
cons of a topic?
(Questions condensed from: Robert Jurmain, Harry Nelson,
Lynn Kilgore, and Wenda Trevathan: Introduction to Physical Anthropology,
pp. 18-20. New York: Wadsworth Publishing Co, 1997)
