📺 What is Critical Thinking?
This course is all about thinking critically about science. This doesn’t mean rejecting science, but instead reflecting carefully about how it does and doesn’t work, and what it can and cannot say. This short video from Wireless Philosophy is a great introduction.
Before I watched this video when I thought of critical thinking, I just thought of a strong opinion based on observations. Not that this is wrong, but there is more to it. We use it everyday in most situations, we gather information before making a decision or coming to a conclusion. Sometimes this may be in judgement of something and include being rational. I liked how in the video they said that, you should only form beliefs when you find good reasons.
I never realized how critical thinking was something I do on a day to day basis. In school I feel like I have always been conditioned to use my “critical thinking skills,” but honestly I don’t think I was ever taught what that truly means. It makes sense that with a stronger premise, one will have a stronger conclusion. I feel like a lot of what was taught in the video is very second nature to most people and I feel as if we all use critical thinking without even realizing it. I found this video very informative and will definitely think about it next time I use critical thinking.
I also agree with mks1059 because when I also thought of critical thinking I thought it was just a strong opinion based off observations you or others made. I also liked how it broke down not just critical thinking but the difference between good and bad arguments, and the difference between deductive arguments and ampliative arguments because I didn’t know what either of those words were until I watched this video. Overall I really enjoyed the video and what it had to offer.
After watching this video it made me think about how often we really use arguments. When I think about an argument I tend to think about people yelling about something they may disagree about. When in reality we use them in everyday conversation casually without even realizing it. An argument could be about something small such as deciding what time you want to meet for dinner. It makes me think about the little things we do from day to day without even picking up on them.
I agree with Hannahsolar1 I also never realized that critical thinking was something that can be used every day. I thought it was something only used in classes. I also liked how he broke down arguments by saying how the argument has to support the conclusion to allow for it to be a good argument. As well as showing the difference between deductive arguments and ampliative arguments because I didn’t know the difference between the two types of arguments.
Before watching this I didn’t have the same idea of critical thinking as I do now. Before I thought critical thinking had more to do with like thinking of possible outcomes of thinks before they happen. In other words I thought it seemed to be like figuring out the result the of something with little to none knowledge on the conclusion of the experiment. Now I realize that critical thinking is more of every day beliefs someones honest opinion. For example the video stated that you should only form beliefs when you find good reasons, that is how to be correct. This opened my eyes in many different ways.
Going into this video I had an okay understanding of what critical thinking was, however this video really dove into the complexities. I liked how it explained how we use critical thinking to analyze arguments given to us every day,. critical thinking is more than just looking at the big picture of things, It also is used daily.
I also agree with hannahsolar1 because I feel as though we were never taught or learned what critical thinking really is. To me anyway, when I heard a teacher in high school say to use my critical thinking, I basically just thought that they meant “try harder”. It really is cool to learn about it now and realize that we use it in our every day lives.
I think that this is a very useful video and I really liked how the narrator explained critical thinking and argument in a straightforward and brief manner. My favorite part of the video is when he explains the difference between deductive and ampliative arguments. Knowing the difference between these arguments is important because many times people tend to lean on premises of assumptions, prejudices and feelings during an argument rather than legitimate facts. Therefore, it is good to know how to weed out and evaluate what is a good argument and what isn’t.
After I watched this video, I came to the realization that I use critical thinking far more often that I originally thought I did. It is interesting to see the real meaning behind the term “critical thinking” because in school and early education students are generally tested on their skills of how to properly use these skills. Now that I have watched the video,I feel as if I have a better understanding of how it really works and what way of thinking/ terms can help to result in having a clear outcome.
I Like how it showed us how we us critical thinking everyday when making decisions and even when you are deciding what too eat. Whole new understanding of critical thinking.
This video put critical thinking into a new perspective. When having an argument with someone, depending on who you are talking to the premise may always be different. Using critical thinking skills and being rational we must choose how we answer and react. We use these communication skills beyond the classroom in our everyday lives.
I thought of “critical thinking” at first from the English literature point of view. But taking notes from the Foundations of Critical Thinking, I see that the idea and mindset can be applied. My idea of “critical thinking” is rationality, arguments, sets of premises which can be probable or true. To critically think though is making sure we have good, likely factual, repeating, premises to believe in the conclusion. And this approach can certainly be applied to the writing and science we are working up too in this class, I believe.
I thought that this video was very interesting and there’s a lot more to critical thinking that I thought. Critical thinking is something that is used in everyday life. The video talked about how critical thinking is making sure we have good reasons for our beliefs which I think makes a lot of sense. When you’re critically thinking, you have to make sure you have good motives to back up your beliefs.
As someone who overthinks a lot, I feel as if I use critical thinking almost too much sometimes. Before making a decision, every possible outcome goes through my mind, as well as the consequences/benefits to each. I feel like my personality type has a lot to do with this, as my leading traits are introverted intuition.
I honestly did not know how to put a lot of information about critical thinking into words, but this video actually explained it very well. We use critical thinking so much in everyday life and I didn’t even realize how much. However, I did understand the argument part really well because I have taken law classes in the past and was able to learn the science of arguing and debate, and how complex it actually is. Using critical thinking in a position where you need to make a good argument is essential.
I’ve learned about critical thinking in previous courses in college and in english courses during high school. From my experience with these courses, critically thinking has always come to mind as questioning contexts, thinking about contexts in different contexts, and trying to deduct reasoning rationally, and logically. And then of course deduct true from false. I enjoyed this professors much more simplified definition for critical thinking. Making sure you have good reasons for your beliefs. And good is not based on morals or values, rather what is probable or likely to be true or supports the conclusion. The concepts of deductive vs. ampliative arguments seem a great way to find supportive conclusions in the reasoning of arguments in the truths of premises in which ones guarantee truth vs. those that are only probable.