Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking (What)

Critical Thinking (CT) is the subject that equips actors (people and groups) to

Here is a breakdown of the main ideas in this definition

Critical: In the context of CT, critical means careful as in careful not to make a mistake or jump to a conclusion.
Thinking: In the context of CT, thinking refers to whatever the brain does to make a decision.
Subject: A subject is set of information about a topic. Examples: Chemistry, Political Science, US history, and Javascript. Subjects can be taught, learned and communicated.
Best: Best as in “best decision” is the ethical one that provides the highest payoff (rewards minus drawbacks taken holistically) for the arguer’s context (surrounding circumstances).
Arguer: In CT, the arguer is the actor (person or group) who is making a decision.
Justify: To justify is to prove using evidence, reasoning, and so forth. Think of math proofs.

Here are some reasons why CT is worth learning.

Consistently gain an accurate view of reality (AVR).
1. An Accurate View of Reality (AVR) is a comprehensive understanding of the world that aligns with the way things are.
Consistently choose the best action or actions to take.
Be able to explain and justify your decisions and to convince others.
Minimize mistakes especially really major ones.

Here are some concerns.

CT does not provide the absolute truth or the absolute best action or actions to take. Instead, it gives you the choice that maximizes your chances of finding truth or your chances of taking the best actions.
CT is hard to learn and it takes a long time to learn. However, most things worth learning are like this.
There are not many role models. There are fewer mentors. However, there are numerous books etc. that explain the subject well.
CT can make it hard to fit into many groups. Skill with CT can make you an outlier. However, there are social skills that can mitigate this.

CT involves following values: moral values, professional values, group values, and personal values.
CT is always about figuring out what is right; not about being right.
CT is based on intellectual humility which is assuming that you can be wrong, considering other viewpoints, empathy, respecting others, and so on.
CT is based on maximizing your payoffs. A payoff is your rewards minus your drawbacks taken holistically.

Repetitions: While the quality of your argument is improving, take the following actions.

Key Question: Figure out the most useful thing to make a decision about. Describe this issue with a thought-provoking question.
Research: As appropriate, get high quality information relevant to answering your key question.
Logic: Figure out the best way to arrive at truth. Skillfully apply this method.
Argument: State your conclusion (claim) and list the facts that justify why you or anyone else should believe your claim. Assess and improve your argument.
Reflective Thinking: Think back on your experiences and figure out next steps. Also figure out how to increase your rewards, performance, knowledge and so so.

Filter. Filter out any claim unless you’ll get a positive payoff. This means you ignore most claims.
Steel man argument. Figure

CT is supremely useful for every person and every group (family, team, company, government) on the planet.
CT can and should be used for almost every decision made.
CT can be very quick and easy to apply or it can take a lot of time and effort. Skilled practitioners balance their efforts with their rewards such that they routinely get large positive payoffs.
There are many great books that explain CT. Two of my favorites are Logic by Hurley and Critical Thinking by Moore and Parker.
My opinion about CT:

In the history of ever, CT is the best subject ever invented.