What do you understand by the term ‘critical’ as in the case of critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the ability bestowed within individuals which enables them to analyzed information objectively and thereafter make reasoned judgments (Van, 2005). Critical, in the case of critical thinking refers to the reflective and independent nature of human thinking that allows one to think rationally and clearly about what he/she does or believes. Unlike creativity which in most times calls for the breaking the rules of rationality and logic, critical in the case of critical thinking demand adherence to these rules. Critical can therefore be referred to as the nature of human thinking that allows one to; identify logical connections within ideas, create and assess arguments, realize contradictions and regular faults in reasoning, apply systematic solutions to common problems, reveal the importance and significance of ideas, and reflect on the validation of one’s own values and beliefs (Pithers & Soden, 2000). 

The relevance of critical nature of human thinking in the case of critical thinking is explained by six important benefits of critical thinking. In every discipline; education, legal profession, finance, research or even management, individuals are required to critical evaluate ideas and situations to create sound judgments, hence a domain-general thinking skill (Paul & Elder, 2006). In the global knowledge economy that is characterized by information technology, that is fast changing, people need to be critical in analyzing these information as a way of integrating various sources of knowledge in problem solving. The critical nature of individual thinking is also important in promoting creativity, language and presentation skills thus distinguishing critical thinkers from non-critical thinkers. Self-reflection also requires critical evaluation of one’s beliefs and values.

References  

Van, T. (2005). Teaching Critical Thinking: Some Lessons from Cognitive Science. College Teaching, 53(1), 41–48. 

Pithers, R. and Soden, R. (2000). Critical Thinking in Education: A Review. Educational Research, 42(3), 237–249. Paul, R. and Elder, L. (2006). Critical Thinking: The Nature of Critical and Creative Thought. Journal of Developmental Education, 30(2), 34–35