CHAPTER FOUR

BASIC CONCEPTS OF CRITICAL THINKING

Meaning of Critical Thinking

 Critical thinking, thus, is thinking clearly, thinking fairly,

thinking rationally, thinking objectively, and thinking

independently
 It is active, persistent, and careful consideration of a belief

in the light of the grounds, which support it and the further

conclusions to which it tends
 In this definition, there are three
main points that we should focus on: active, persistent and
grounds.
Cont..
1. critical thinking is an active ‘process which means:
think things, raise questions and find relevant information
through yourself
2. critical thinking is persistent and careful consideration which
implies:
Not to make a quick decision, thinking carefully again and
again before we arrive certain conclusion
3. ground: which implies a good reason to arrive on a certain
conclusion
 The aim of critical thinking is to arrive at well-reasoned,

considered, and justifiable conclusions.

Standards of Critical Thinking

1. Clarity: refers to clear understanding of concepts and clearly

expressing them in a language
 So critical thinkers always strive not only for clarity of

language but, clarity of thought or ideas

 clarity is a gateway standard of critical thinking
 If we are not clearly understand we may ask question for

clarification.
 Eg. Could you elaborate more? Could explain in another way?

2. Precision: it is a matter of being exact, accurate and careful

 Paying attention to specific detail
 Goes one step further than Accuracy. It demands that the

words and data used are exact.

 Eg belete is over weight. How many kg he is?
Cont..
3. Accuracy:
o Having correct and genuine information
o CT value truth, accurate and timely information
o Every decision should be made based on true
information
o If the input is false information, decision will not be
sound
Cont..
4. Relevance: The question of relevance is a question of
connections in discussion or debate
 Which mean not to round around the bush which are not

related to issues at our hand

 Critical thinkers do not collect any information
 they focus and carefully choose only the information that has

logical relation with the ideas at hands.

Cont..
5. Consistency: is about the quality of always behaving in the
same way or of having the same opinions or standards
 There are two kinds of inconsistency that should be avoided.
 One is logical inconsistency, which involves saying or

believing inconsistent things (i.e., things that cannot both or

all be true) about a particular matter.
 The other is practical inconsistency, which involves saying

one thing and doing another.

Cont..
6. Logical Correctness:
 it means to reason correctly
 To arrive on well founded conclusion
 Having accurate and well supported belief

7. Completeness:
 just discussing issues in depth not be shallow discussion
 Thus thinking is better when it is deep and well discussed instead of

shallow
8. Fairness:
o Treat all relevant views alike
o thinking should be based on
 fair
 open mindedness,
 Impartiality and
o thinking should be free
 distortion,
 Biasedness
 Preconceptions,
 Inclinations,
Principles of Good Argument

A. The Structural Principle

 Use arguments that meet fundamental structural
requirement
 valid form is the First requirement for argument to be

good (deductive)
• don’t use reason that contradict to each other (avoid invalid inference)
• conclusion should follow the premise with strict necessity
 good argument:
o structurally good form(valid)-
o Premises must be compatible to each other (compatibility principle)
o conclusion should not contradict with the premises
 (non contradiction principle)
 B. The Relevance Principle
 One who argues in favor or against a position……?
o Set forth premise whose Truth provides evidence for the truth of the
conclusion
o Premise is relevant if its provides logical reason to the conclusion
o basic question
 - Does the truth of the premise support the truth of the conclusion?
Cont..
C. The Acceptability Principle:
 States that the one who present an argument should provide

reason that are likely acceptable by mature rational person

 Presenting convincing reason that can be accepted by ration

person
D. The Sufficiency Principle: relevance and acceptability
principles together constitute the principles of sufficiency
Premise provides sufficient reason that outweigh the
acceptance of the conclusion.
Questions to test sufficiency of evidence
o Are the available reasons enough to drive someone to
conclusion?
o are key or crucial evidence missing from the argument
?
Cont..

E. The Rebuttal Principle: states meet that other side directly and
addressing those critics and question raised from the other side or
our opponent
 Effective response has to be provided for the argument raised

from the other side

 Ask and answer following questions in applying the rebuttal principle

to an argument.
o What is the strongest side of arguments against the position
being defended?
o Does the argument address the counterargument effectively?
o What potentially serious weaknesses exist in the argument
recognized by an opponent?
o Does the argument itself recognize and address those possible
weaknesses?
o Does the argument show why arguments for alternative
positions on the issue are flawed or unsuccessful?
Principles of Critical Thinking
1. The Fallibility Principle
 Willingness of participants in an argument to acknowledge

his/her fallibility
 Accept one ‘s own initial view thay may not be the most

defensible position on the issue

 Consciously accept that your view may wrong - willing to

change your mind

 An admission of fallibility is a positive sign for further

discussion, inquiry and fair resolution of the issue

 No one is perfect, so everyone must admit imperfection
 If you refuse to accept your fallibility, you are not willing

to change you mind even if you heard better argument.

 So you are in state of ignorance
Cont..
2. The Truth Seeking Principle
 participant should be committed to search truth
 one should be willing to
o Examine alternative positions seriously
o look for insights and positions of others
o Allow others to present arguments for or against issue
 The search for truth is lifelong endeavor and can be attained if:
o We discuss and entertain the ideas and arguments of fellow
o We listen arguments for positions and
o Have Willingness to look at all available options
o We encourage criticisms of our own views
 So, everyone should have the Willingness to look at all available
options
 Cont..
 3. The Clarity Principle:
 Formulations of all positions, defenses, and attacks should be free

of any kind of linguistic confusion

 discussion is successful if it carried on in language that all the

parties involved can understand

 expressing in confusing, vague, ambiguous, or contradictory

language will not help reach the desired goal

4. The Burden of Proof Principle
 Burden of proof rests on the participant who sets forth the

position or argument
 Participant is logically obligated to produce reasons in favor of

his claim
 The arguer is Obliged to give logical answer to the why/how

questions
 Exception: if claim in question is well established or
uncontroversial, burden to proof rests on the opponents who
5. The Principle of Charity
 If the participant ‘s argument is reformulated by an
opponent, it should be carefully expressed in its strongest
possible version (intension of the original argument)
 Opponent has an obligation of interpreting a speaker's

statements in the most rational way, considering its best

strongest possible interpretation of original argument
 but If we deliberately create and then attack a weak

version-uncharitable version- of the original argument, we

will fail to achieve the desirable goal of the discussion
 Good discussion imposes an ethical requirement on their

participants and there is practical reason for being fair

with one another ‘s arguments
6. The Suspension of Judgment Principle
 suspend judgment about the issue if
o no position is defended by good argument, or
o two or more positions seem to be defended with equal strength
o one has no good basis (evidence) for making a decision
 To make decision: relative benefits or harm of
(consequence) should also take in to consideration
 The Resolution Principle
7.The Resolution Principle
 Issue should be considered resolved if the
o Argument for one of the alternative positions is a structurally good
o Argument provides relevant and acceptable ,sufficient reasons to justify the
conclusion
o Argument provides effective rebuttal to all serious criticisms of position it
supports
 Why are issues not resolved? When
o When One or more of the parties to the dispute:
has a blind spot: not objective about the issue at
hand and rational but not psychologically convinced
by the discussion
have been rationally careless
has a hidden agenda
not being honest with themselves
o are in deep disagreement of underlying assumptions
Basic Traits of Critical Thinkers

 Critical thinkers:
 Are honest, acknowledging what they don't know, recognizing
their limitations, and being watchful of their own errors.
 Regard problems and controversial issues as exciting challenges.
 Strive for understanding, remain patient with complexity, and are
ready to invest time to overcome confusion.
 Base judgments on evidence rather than personal preferences,
deterring judgment whenever evidence is insufficient.
 Are interested in other people's ideas and so are willing to read
and listen attentively, even when they tend to disagree with the
other person.
 Practice restraint, controlling their feelings rather than being
controlled by them, and thinking before acting.
Basic Traits of Uncritical Thinkers

Uncritical thinkers:
 believe they know more than they do, ignore their limitations,

and assume their views are error-free.

 Regard problems and controversial issues as troubles or

threats to their ego.

 Are inpatient with complexity and thus would rather remain

confused than make the effort to understand.

 Base judgments on first impressions and they are unconcerned

about the amount or quality of evidence

 Are preoccupied with themselves and their own opinions, and

so are unwilling to pay attention to others' views.

 Tend to follow their feelings and act spontaneously
Barriers to Critical Thinking

 The following are some of the problems that impede critical

thinking
 like egocentrism, socio centrism, unwarranted assumptions

and stereotype and relativistic thinking.

A. Egocentrism: is the tendency to see reality as centered on
oneself.
 Egocentrics are selfish, self-absorbed people who view their

interests, ideas, and values as superior to everyone else‘s

 Ego centrism is manifested in two ways
 self-interested thinking and the superiority bias.

I. Self-interested thinking:- is the tendency to accept and

defend beliefs that harmonize with one‘s self-interest
 Supporting something or conclusion b/c it in favor of our

interest
 So no one is immune from such a kinds of thinking

II. superiority bias: is a tendency to over rate one self or to

see one self better in some respect than others
B. Socio centrism

 Itis group-centered thinking

 Socio centrism can distort critical thinking in

many ways.
 Two of the most important are group bias and

conformism
 Group bias is the tendency to see one‘s own group

(nation, tribe, sect, peer group, and the like) as

being inherently better than others.
 Conformism refers to our tendency to follow the

crowd - that is, to conform often unthinkingly or

emotionally
C. Unwarranted Assumptions and Stereotypes
 Unwarranted assumption is some thing taken for

granted without any conclusive evidence or without

proof
 It is unreasonable which hinders our seeing things very

clearly.
 Stereotype is one example of unwarranted assumption
 Which means making generalization about large class

of people from small sample- hasty generalization

D. Relativistic Thinking
 Relativism is the view that truth is a matter of opinion.
 There are two popular forms of relativism: subjectivism and

cultural relativism.
 Subjectivism is the view that truth is a matter of individual

opinion.
 Both beliefs are true – for them. And what is truth for one

individual might be wrong for another

 The other common form of relativism is cultural relativism.
 This is the view that truth is a matter of social or cultural

norms.
 Eg. According to cultural relativism, therefore, drinking wine
is immoral in Iran but is morally permissible in France.
E. Wishful Thinking
 It refers to a state of believing something not because you

had good evidence for it but simply because you wished it

were true