Thinking and Reasoning (from Foundation For Critical Thinking, 1996)

You are responsible for your education. You are responsible for your thinking. You are responsible for your learning. That means you have to struggle through the thinking process. You will either think well or think poorly. You are accountable for your thinking.

There are three common and poorly founded ways that people decide whether to accept or reject an idea:

1. It's true if I believe it (ego-centric)
2. It's true if we believe it (socio-centric--the peer group decides what is true for you)
3. It's true if I/we want to believe it (self-deception)

The following seven elements are required for basing belief on sound, critical thinking:

1. Clarity: (a) state it; (b) elaborate or explain it; (c) illustrate or diagram it; and (d) exemplify it.
2. Accuracy
3. Precision
4. Relevance (to the issue at hand)
5. Depth
6. Breadth
7. Logic (does it make sense?)

What are the parts of thinking? (These do not work under relativism and subjectivity.) Considering these eight principles should help you with your writing projects.

1. What is the purpose or goal of what you are thinking or writing about, or what you are studying?
2. What are the questions, the problems, the issues?
3. What information, data, or observations are available?
4. How is this to be interpreted? What are the inferences?
5. What concepts, theories, laws, axioms, principles, definitions should be used or are being used?
6. What assumptions are being used?
7. What are the implications? The results?
8. What is my frame of reference, my point of view?

Students face two obstacles to critical thinking:

1. Doing only what is required, nothing more.
2. Doing it too late ­ waiting for the deadline, or cramming.