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Critical Thinker

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In this week’s chapter, the book presented a detailed explanation on what it means to be a critical thinker, and the steps it takes to make educated decisions. I have learned that thinking things through is not the same as thinking critically. A critical thinker incorporates multiple perspectives and evaluates motives and outcomes in order to form a stance and make a decision. Within each argument, there is an issue, reasons, and conclusion behind the outcome. A critical thinker will not be able to make a factual, thought out decision without each of these steps. Chapter 1 also went into detail with the value of each component of an argument. The first component is the issue. The issue of an argument is the question or subject that is being …show more content…

The reasons provide evidence and facts to direct the issue to an outcome. Without reasons, the “issue” is merely a statement, or an idea. There are steps to find the reasons in an issue. First, one must find the stance, and then following will be a “because…” statement. This trick also works with other indicator words such as thus, therefore, and so. Any evidence or explanation with proof is considered reasoning. The last component before an issue can be finished with a decision is a conclusion. Conclusions are the stance on the issue. These are based off of the reasoning. Critical thinkers take in all the reasoning and have to weigh the facts, their own personal input, and any other premises in order to make an educated and thought out decision.
Critical thinkers also have to be introspective. It is important to recognize the human form, which is just that: we are only human. Everyone has limitations, and no one can have knowledge on everything. It is important to constant strive to learn and grow, which includes listening to counter arguments. It is also imperative as a critical thinker to think critically about where the information is coming from. Writers, marketing, and television shows are usually attempting to sway decisions or give a stance; as a critical thinker, it is important to step back and look at the idea as a whole, not as a one sided

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