ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Critical Thought

Updated on May 14, 2010

Critical thinking is akin to the scientific method of solving problems in that objectivity is very prominent in the fact collecting and theorizing aspects of both. Critical thinking has six coherent steps.

The first step of critical thinking is restraining emotions. As wonderful as emotions are, they often cloud our judgment, interfere with our perceptions, and enable us to do things and say things that are not necessarily rational. In order to view a situation, or a piece of data, as it truly is we must control our emotions to ensure we are seeing things as they actually are and not just 'feeling' them. If we allow emotions to dictate something we are hearing, seeing, or reading we risk arriving at an erroneous judgment.

Looking at things differently is the second step of critical thinking. A good example of this is if someone said there's this great house with a blue roof over there. You happened to approach the house from the other side where the roof was painted red; if you don't walk around to the other side, look at things differently, you miss the point. So many things in life are like this, if we don't allow our minds to 'stretch' we find many problems are insurmountable, but if we let things go (our emotions, past experiences dictating that what we see is actually something we remember rather than what is actually in front of us) we often find in understanding the answers we seek.

The third step of critical thinking is vey important: analyzing information. So many subjects when taken as a whole seem to be so huge that understanding them can seem impossible. However if we break the information down into understandable parts, often times by looking at things differently, we can more easily understand the whole. A great example of this is any equation. Trying to solve the entire thing is often impossible with some equations, but if you break it down into pieces that are easily solved you can then unravel the entire problem.

A crucial step of critical thinking is the fourth step; that of asking questions. Only by asking open ended, unbiased questions can we hope to understand a subject, a statement, or even an opinion. By asking questions we learn something we didn't previously understand. Our curiosity is one of our species greatest strengths, allowing as it does understanding, discovery, and even invention. Will this work? Why not? How do I make it work?

Solving problems is the fifth step of critical thinking. One of the most important things to remember is that every problem has a solution. Often times we can only arrive at that solution by breaking it down into easily understood pieces, and looking at the problem with an open mind. It's absolutely important to sort through as many different solutions as possible - discarding those that are irrational or influenced by opinion - to arrive at solutions that are solidly based on viable facts.

It is incredibly important through out every step of critical thinking to distinguish fact from opinion, which is the sixth step in critical thinking. Research based on opinions only yields more opinions, truly having very little to do with finding solutions to problems. In order to fully grasp a statement, discussion, subject, or even an opinion we have to be able to sift through what is actual and what is 'felt'. Too often emotions overwhelm the fact collecting and decision making processes, giving us results that are merely opinions rather than facts. In order to actually be able to solve problems rationally we must be able to differentiate between the two.

All aspects of the critical thinking process work together to allow us to learn, solve, and reach solid conclusions to problems. By restraining our emotions, looking at things differently, analyzing the information we gather through asking questions we are able to solve problems with answers that are facts versus opinions.

© 2009 D A Moore

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)