Critical Thinking
Prepared by :
Iyas A. Fares
Topic Outlines
Topic Outlines
What is Critical
Thinking ?
“Critical thinking is reasonable, reflective
thinking that is focused on deciding what
to believe or do.”
What Is Critical Thinking?
Definitions
Critical thinking is . . .

Thinking “outside” the box

Divergent thinking

Forming logical inferences

Limitless thinking

Higher level thinking involving. .
.
 Evaluating
 Analyzing
 Synthesizing
 Forming opinions
 Assessing
 Rating
 Making inferences
 Drawing conclusions
 Critiquing
Final Words
• Critical thinking is “higher level” thinking
• It often requires us to think “outside the box”
• Many occupations/careers require critical thinking
• The things we enjoy in everyday society are the
result of critical thinking
• By adopting certain habits and behaviors we can
learn to think critically.
Q:
Who Should Use Critical
Thinking?
Critical Thinking Application
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How can the definition of critical thinking help you solve this problem? Connect the 9 dots
using 4 straight lines. Once you start drawing the lines, do not stop until all 9 dots have
been connected. HINT: Lines may be vertical, horizontal and/or diagonal.
Solution—
Critical Thinking Exercise
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Who Uses Critical Thinking?
Parents
Nurses
Doctors
Athletic coaches
Teachers/Professors
Air Traffic Controllers
Military Commanders
Lawyers, Judges
Supervisors
Day Care Workers
Students
Benefits of Critical
Thinking
Benefits of Critical Thinking
Examples:

Academic Performance
 understand the arguments and beliefs of others
 Critically evaluating those arguments and beliefs
 Develop and defend one's own well-supported arguments and
beliefs.
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Workplace
 Helps us to reflect and get a deeper understanding of our own
and others’ decisions
 Encourage open-mindedness to change
 Aid us in being more analytical in solving problems
cont
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Daily life
 Helps us to avoid making foolish personal decisions.
 Promotes an informed and concerned citizenry capable of
making good decisions on important social, political and
economic issues.
 Aids in the development of autonomous thinkers capable of
examining their assumptions, dogmas, and prejudices.
Barriers to Critical Thinking
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Lack of relevant background information
Poor reading skills
Poor listening skills
Bias
Prejudice
Superstition
Egocentrism
Socio-centrism
Provincialism
Narrow-mindedness
Closed-mindedness
Critical and Non
Critical Thinkers
Critical and Non critical
Thinkers
The Critical Thinking Mind
=
The Educated Mind
Fact

“The more you look at the world the more
you recognize that people have different
ideas about what’s important.”
Overview slide
Thinking that
analyzes thinking
Thinking that
assesses thinking
critical thinking: disciplined,
self-guided thinking
aimed at living a well
reasoned life.
thinking that
combats
its native
egocentricity
Thinking that
develops within itself
intellectual habits
How Can One Become
a Critical Thinker?
Critical thinkers listen
carefully.
If you’re a critical thinker, you listen
carefully to what others are saying and are
able to give feedback. You are able to
suspend judgment until all the facts have been
gathered and considered.
Critical thinkers look
for evidence….
If you’re a critical thinker, you look
for evidence to support your
assumptions and beliefs. You examine
problems closely and are able to reject
information that is incorrect or
irrelevant.
Critical thinkers are curious.
They are interested in knowing all there
is about a topic. They look for new and
better ways to do everything. They are
not the person who will settle for
“…because that is the way we have
always done it.”
There is no way to
understand anything except
through thinking.
There is no way to
understand anything except
through thinking.
Five Ways to Become a
More Critical Thinker
Becoming a Better Critical Thinker
1. Admit when you don’t know.
2. Realize you have buttons that can be pushed.
3. Learn more about the opposition.
4. Trust and verify.
5. 5. Remember that critical thinking is the
foundation of all academic achievement.
Puzzle 1
Puzzle

Two people are dead in a car, which is locked from
the inside. There's a lot of blood. There has been no
foul play like a crime or suicide.
Can you explain?
Clue To Puzzle 1
Answer To Puzzle
 One
of the dead people is a woman;
the other is the baby she's just given
birth to. She died in childbirth.
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Puzzle 2
Puzzle 2
A man is born
in 1972 and dies in
1952
at the age
of 25.
How is this possible?
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Clue To Puzzle 2
36
Answer To Puzzle 2

37
He's born in room number 1972 of a hospital
and dies in room number 1952. The numbers
can of course vary; it was originally set up
with those numbers reversed (born in 1952,
died in 1972), but I like it better this way.
Hope you Enjoyed
The End