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Critical thinking is the active, skillful deployment of ways of thinking which contribute to truth or accuracy in judgment.

To understand critical thinking better, consider some of the things that uncritical thinkers do.  An uncritical thinker:

• accepts things purely on faith

• thinks that a person's beliefs are "true for them" and can't be mistaken or criticized
• doesn't seek evidence or challenge beliefs.

By contrast, a critical thinker asks questions like:

• What am I being asked to accept?
• Should I accept it or not? 
• Why?  What are the arguments and how strong are they?

The Skepto meter

If we accept everything as a strong reason and anything as a good basis then we're completely gullible. But if we won't accept any reasons at all and reject every source of information then we're too skeptical.

Set 8 - Assessing • Second page • Third page • Fourth page • Example • Exercise 1 • Exercise 2 • Exercise 3 • Exercise 4 • Exercise 5 • Exercise 6 • Final

© Austhink 2007.  Rationale Exercises version 0.1, Sep-07

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