Critical Thinking

Gerald Rinehart

Carlson School of ManagementUniversity of Minnesota

What is “thinking”

• Producing ideas

• vs. day-dreaming?

What does “critical” mean?

• Essential, indispensable

• Going beyond recall of information

• Evaluating ideas

Critical thinking asks questions about events, issues, information.• Where did it come from? How reliable is

the source?

• How is it similar/different from information I already know?

• What could explain it?

• What causes led to it? What effects does it have?

SituationsSituation Non-

questioningQuestioning

Lecture on cause of Viet Nam War

A friend says your roommate said bad things about you

Your boss is angry with you

Seven Elements of Critical Thinking

• Recall• Similarity• Difference• Cause and effect

“Really Smart Dogs Cook Enchiladas in Eggs”

• Example to idea• Idea to example• Evaluation

Recall

• facts, sequence, description

• Who? What? When? Where?

Similarity:

• Analogy or likeness (with other events or situations

• Discovering that several arguments have something in common.

Difference:

• Distinction/contrast

• What is different in this situation?

Cause and effect:

• What are possible reasons for something that has occurred? Are the stated reasons valid?

• What are possible consequences of an event? Are the stated consequences valid?

Example to idea: generalization, classification, conceptualization. • Grouping facts or events into patterns allowing

you to see a general trend. Classifying a specific fact into a larger category of issues.

• Ex: women make less money than men in many occupations; women occupy fewer leadership positions than men—>

• Conclusion: men are favored in the workplace?

Idea to examples:

• From general principle or statement to specific examples

• (ex. Men are favored in the workplace—example 1, 2, etc.)

Evaluation: value, judgment, rating.

• Once you have the facts gathered, you decide is something is right or wrong, good or bad by identifying its positive and negative effects.

• Cause and effect analysis accompanies evaluation.

• Ex: opportunity to cheat on a test