Andrew Maser acn Tips on Critical Thinking

Develop a ten-step action plan for critical and logical thinking

Knowledge is the genesis of thinking. Identifying what is being said regarding an issue is required knowledge for critical thinking. It is best to have a good understanding of the issue.

Develop a plan. Understand the premise and conclusion.

Logic is important to help determine fallacies and its construction in an argument.

Be flexible in the way you think. Nothing should be considered absolute. Be open-minded and flexible when considering alternative ways of looking at issues and solutions.

Use instinct to investigate information that is questionable to your knowledge.

Bias can influence the way you deal with information. People’s judgment is subjective. Defending an idea logically and understanding your biases and how it influences your interpretation of information is important. It is a consideration to the other people involved.

Think several steps ahead. Always be asking the next question. Relating ideas in a clear connected process with the other ideas helps to construct a solid argument. Organize, construct, compose and create a logic pattern of communication.

Critical thinking requires natural curiosity to expand your understanding and be very motivated to work to evaluate the various sides of issues. 

• create categories and classify items appropriately.

• identify relevant information

• construct and recognize valid deductive arguments

• test hypotheses

• recognize common reasoning fallacies

• distinguish between evidence and interpretations of evidence