1. Critical Thinking Elijah Levy
Critical thinking is a self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, corrective thinking process that deepens one’s understanding of self and the world.
It cultivates disciplined habits of the mind by using excellent standards of thinking.
It trains the mind to use language that avoids self-deception and a commitment to uncover and modify our conditioned biases and counterproductive assumptions, that when acted on, does not lead to the desired outcomes we want in life.

2. Critical Thinking is:
The intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information generated by observation, experience, reflection and reasoning.
Self-guided, self-disciplined thinking; attempts to reason at the highest level.
Being keenly aware of the inherent flaws in the nature of human thinking; especially when left unchecked.  
Critical thinkers work diligently to develop the intellectual virtues of intellectual integrity, intellectual humility, intellectual civility, intellectual empathy, intellectual sense of justice and confidence in reason.
Striving to improve the world in ways that can contribute to a more rational, civilized society.   

3. Definition of Critical Thinking:
Awareness of a set of interrelated critical questions
Forming logical inferences; applying logic and reasoning
It is a purposeful mental activity that you control.
Thinking means producing your own ideas and evaluating them for accuracy and reliability; analyzing, synthesizing.
Common impediments to critical thinking:
Hindrances that arise from how we think
Wrong conclusions that emerge because of what we think

4. You’re a critical thinker if you:
Question things; are curious
Want to know more about why things happen the way they do
Are interested in examining your conditioned beliefs, biases, assumptions and determining if they are accurate
Are interested in examining your cultural program and how it has influenced your development and thinking
Want to evaluate the generalizations and stereotypes you’ve create
Search for strong evidence to support your ideas; ask are my assumptions valid
Are honest with yourself
Base your conclusions on strong evidence
Resist being manipulated

5. Why Critical Thinking is Important
Success in life depends on how and what you think about.
Critical thinking is a reliable path to: Approximating certainty or truth
The quality of your life and how you live depends on the quality of your thinking.
Shoddy thinking is costly, both in money and in quality of life.
Excellence in thought must be systematically cultivated
Facts vs. Opinions
Facts are realities and opinions are beliefs
Critical thinkers understand it’s easy to be mistaken so they form opinions carefully.
A preference doesn’t need to be defended as long as you say it’s a preference.

6. Three Types of Errors in Critical Thinking
Errors of Perception
Errors of Judgment
Errors of Reaction
Errors of Perception: faulty ways of seeing our reality; my thinking is better than your thinking; pretending to know; being resistant to change; either/or thinking (creating binaries)
Errors of Judgment: overgeneralizing or stereotyping; making hasty conclusions; unwarranted assumptions (if it’s in print it must be true); failure to make distinctions; distinguishing between the person and the idea (if a celebrity or expert says it – it must be true)
Errors in Reaction: don’t attack the person making the assertion – just evaluate their idea; if you can’t defend your assertion – don’t shift the burden on the person challenging you to prove their point

7. Overcoming Self-Interested Thinking
Look for opposing evidence
Do not accept what you read or hear as self-evident truths.
Do not accept things uncritically.
Beware of your tendency to distort your thinking to take shortcuts.
Language of Critical Thinking:
Get accustomed to saying: it’s less or more likely to …
You can expect this outcome to the extent that …..
Why is this the preferred language?

8. What Are The Alternative Thinking Styles?
Panning-for-Gold Approach (Preferred Method)
Where you ask questions about what you read and hear
It is an “interactive” approach; you interact and are challenged with the material presented to you
Sponge Approach
Consists of absorbing information—it is a “passive” approach
You can know lots about the world this way; but it is passive and requires little mental effort
It is quick and easy; but the problem here is that it does not advise you about which information to reject or believe

9. The Myth of the Right Answer
Scientific questions about the physical world are the most likely to have answers reasonable people will accept because the physical world is in certain ways more dependable or predictable than the social world
Questions about human behavior are different—since the causes of human behavior are complex and varied.
So we rely on probabilistic answers—like theories that will explain what unfolds most of the time
Also—we bring our baggage to how we think about issues and decisions we make—the baggage refers to dreams, values, socialization experiences, gender, culture, race, etc.
Remember—emotional involvement should not be the basis for accepting or rejecting a position

10. Critical Thinking Types
Weak Sense
Is about using critical thinking to defend your position or beliefs
It is simply about being rigid and not progressive in thinking where you can grow by engaging in enlightened thought
Strong Sense
Is about challenging ourselves to think differently,
to help protect against self-deception and conformity
You need to be courageous to do strong sense critical thinking

11. An issue is a question or controversy responsible for the discussion
What Is An Issue?
An issue is a question or controversy responsible for the discussion
Descriptive Issues
Raise questions about the accuracy of descriptions of the past, present, or future
Descriptive Example
Do families who own pets have fewer arguments with one another?
This statement demands an answer attempting to describe the way the world is, was, or is going to be; for example, In general, families with pets have fewer arguments with one another.
Another example of a descriptive issue:
How much will college cost in the year 2010?

12. What Is An Issue? (cont.) Prescriptive Issue?
Raise questions about what we should do
These issues are ethical or moral issues; they raise questions about what is right or wrong, desirable or undesirable, good or bad
It is about the way the world ought to be—so the responses include language such as “should…, what ought to be done…, and must…”
Prescriptive Example
What ought to be done about social security?
This statement demands an answer suggesting the way the world ought to be; for example, “We ought to increase social security benefits.”
Another example of a prescriptive issue: Should capital punishment be abolished?
What Is An Issue? (cont.) 12