What is critical thinking? Do you have any advice on how to think critically?

A student wrote to me, asking:

What is critical thinking? Do you have any advice on how to think critically?

Here’s my reply:

Critical thinking is a very ambiguous term. It means different things to different disciplines. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few:To be able to critically assess the validity or accuracy of a source

– To be able to critically evaluate the way data is collected

– To be able to critically evaluate the way data is interpreted

– To be able to critically evaluate the soundness of a justification

– To be able to critically identify assumptions underlying arguments

– To be able to critically evaluate one’s self (or others) for biases

The list goes on. And like Pokemon, you should to catch them all!

I don’t have advice that I can fit into this answer. I think for starters, go Google or watch YouTube videos about logical fallacies and cognitive biases. These are fun to learn and a good way to start.

If you want to go further, you should do some 1k or 2k Philosophy or History modules. The humanities specialises a lot in these sorts of things. Philosophy tends to cover the conceptual kinds of critical thinking; while history tends to cover the empirical kinds of critical thinking.