CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 THINKING SKILLS IN THE AGE OF GLOBALIZATION
Whether we like it or not, globalization is changing the way we work and live. First of all, we are increasingly faced with complex problems that affect the whole world, whether it is global warming, pollution, financial crises, or new epidemics. We need good thinking and creative ideas to coordinate efforts to solve these problems. At the personal level, globalization brings about an ever-quickening pace of life. We have a huge amount of information available, but what we learn today might easily become obsolete tomorrow. Although fast changes also bring new opportunities, we now have to compete with talented people across the world. To be successful in this environment, we need good thinking skills that can help us make reliable decisions and acquire new knowledge quickly.
But what do we mean by good thinking skills? Basically, it comes down to two thingsācritical thinking and creativity. Critical thinking is thinking clearly and rationally. It involves thinking precisely and systematically, and following the rules of logic and scientific reasoning, among other things. As for creativity, it is a matter of coming up with new and useful ideas, generating alternative possibilities. This book is about these two sets of thinking skills, but at this point, you might ask, Which is more important, critical thinking or creativity? The short answer is that they are equally important. We need creativity to come up with ideas to solve problems, but we also need critical thinking to evaluate and improve these ideas. They complement each other, and we need both to survive and to prosper.
In this book we shall discuss critical thinking first, and come back to creativity near the end. As we shall see, there is a lot more we can say systematically about critical thinking. A critical thinker is someone who is able to do the following:
- Understand the logical connections between ideas.
- Formulate ideas succinctly and precisely.
- Identify, construct, and evaluate arguments.
- Evaluate the pros and cons of a decision.
- Evaluate the evidence for and against a hypothesis.
- Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning.
- Analyze problems systematically.
- Identify the relevance and importance of ideas.
- Justify oneās beliefs and values.
- Reflect and evaluate oneās thinking skills.
As we can see from the list, critical thinking skills are essential for all sorts of careers in which we have to communicate ideas, make decisions, analyze, and solve problems. This is why critical thinking is called a domain-general thinking skill. But critical thinking is not just for the workplace. To live a meaningful life and plan for the future, we need to think about ourselves honestly and carefully. The Greek philosopher Socrates (469ā399 B.C.E.) once said, āthe unexamined life is not worth living.ā One big difference between human beings and other animals is our capacity for self-reflection. We can examine the purpose and meaning of our life and change ourselves accordingly. Critical thinking contributes to this process of self-evaluation and transformation.
Good critical thinking is also the foundation of science and democracy. Science requires rationality in designing experiments and testing theories. A vibrant and progressive democracy requires citizens who can think objectively about social and political issues and are able to avoid biases and prejudices. So obviously the cultivation of critical thinking should be a central aim of education.
1.2 SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT CRITICAL THINKING
However, critical thinking is sometimes thought to be too confrontational. Some people think critical thinking means criticizing others all the time, which is not constructive. But this is a misunderstanding. Critical thinking is not a purely destructive force. First, by rejecting bad ideas, we become better at finding the truth. Second, thinking critically does not mean we criticize people all the time. When other people are right, we donāt have to disagree. And when other people are wrong, critical thinking helps us recognize the mistakes being made, but it does not follow we have to publicly denounce them. Sometimes mistakes do not matter. Sometimes we have to be polite, and sometimes we can help people reason better not by criticizing them but by other indirect meansāfor example, by giving hints and suggestions. A critical thinker can be sympathetic and constructive rather than confrontational.
Another objection to critical thinking is that it is not practically useful because people in real life do not listen to reason. They act on the basis of self-interest, emotion, or personal relationships. The first problem with this objection is that it confuses rational thinking with talking about reasons. It might be true that many people are irrational, and to influence them we need to appeal to authority, emotions, or anything other than reason. But we can still use critical thinking to think strategically about the best means to achieve our objectives.
The objection is also wrong in assuming that critical thinking is opposed to emotions, relationships, and so on. Consider for example love and friendship. They are certainly valuable, but critical thinking can help us cultivate them. For example, thinking carefully about what is good or bad about a relationship can help us improve it and make it more fulfilling. Besides, it is not always wise to act solely on the basis of emotions. They can be biased by ego, fear, and greed. Thinking more about our decisions can counteract this problem.
1.3 IMPROVING OUR THINKING
So how do we enhance our critical thinking if it is so useful? Obviously, we are all able to think critically to some extent, or we will not survive very long! But there is always room for improvement. Even with a skill as natural as running, training with an expert can improve our breathing and posture and help us run even better. Thinking is something we all do and take for granted, but the fact is that even normally intelligent people can sometimes be stubborn and biased. Psychology research tells us that people make lot of mistakes in their reasoningāthey overestimate their abilities, interpret the world to confirm their prejudices, and look for causes and patterns in the wrong places. By studying critical thinking, we are more likely to avoid such errors. We can also help other people by studying critical thinking. Sometimes we get the feeling that an argument is wrong but we do not know exactly why. Critical thinking gives us the concepts and vocabulary to explain what is wrong. This promotes understanding and more effective discussions.
Good critical thinking is a cognitive skill. In general, developing a skill requires three conditionsālearning the theory, deliberate practice, and adopting the right attitudes. By theory we mean the rules and facts we have to know in order to possess the skill. For example, one cannot be a good basketball player without knowing the rules of the gameāfor example, kicking the basketball is not allowed. Likewise, thinking critically requires knowing a certain amount of logic. However, knowing the theory is not the same as being able to apply it. You might know in theory that you should balance the bike when you are cycling, but it does not mean you can actually do it. This is where practice comes in, because it translates your theoretical knowledge into actual ability. However, your attitudes make a big difference as to whether your practice is effective and sustainable. If you hate playing the piano, forcing you to practice is not productive in the long run.
1.3.1 Theory
Let us now look at the theoretical knowledge required for good critical thinking. It can be divided into five main areas, and in this book we shall discuss all of them:
1. Meaning analysis: Explain ideas clearly and systematically; use definitions and other tools to clarify meaning and make ideas more precise.
2. Logic: Analyze and evaluate arguments; identify logical consequences and inconsistencies.
3. Scientific methods: Use empirical data to test a theory; identify causes and effects; probability theory and statistics.
4. Decision and values: Rational decision making; critical reflection of value frameworks and moral judgments.
5. Fallacies and biases: Typical mistakes of reasoning and the psychological traits likely to cause such mistakes.
Naturally you will find some topics more interesting than others. But whether we are learning martial arts or the piano, there are basic techniques we have to master. They might be boring, but they form the foundation of more advanced techniques. The same is true of critical thinking. Some theories and principles seem rather dry and abstract, but I hope you will appreciate their power and relevance to everyday thinking once you understand how they can be applied.
1.3.2 Practice
Psychologists have discovered a 10-year ...