The Art of Critical Thinking

Having critical thinking is very beneficial in our life. Nowadays, we often hear about critical thinking. In schools, students are required to have this ability. Also in the social life, this ability is needed to process information. In today's developing digital world, many people use social media to share information. We can easily read, listen, and watch anything through our smart phones. But, have we ever thought more deeply about the truth of the information? According to Kominfo data (June 2020), there are at least 10 hoax news per day. Getting hoax news can be a disaster. Therefore, to protect us from incorrect information, we must have critical thinking abilities.

Source : ileadonline.org

So, what is critical thinking itself? Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly, logically, and rationally about something in order to understand the connections between ideas or facts. After I watched videos on the YouTube channel Latih Logika, I got greater mindset about critical thinking. Such an interesting video considering that people rarely have this skill in Indonesia. People who have critical thoughts will think systematically, logically and objectively. This ability is a protector from various slander, propaganda and hoax. It is also helps one to avoid creating future problems that can result from one’s action (Figliuolo, 2016).

Source : sokrates.id

Critical thinking has a crucial role and it can be applied to any situation (Dorine Neba, 2019). Such as processing information and solving problems. Do you know the basic way to think critically? By asking question. Start with simple questions in your daily activities and it can be the basis of how we answer the big question. By asking, we would know more about the things behind the information. Not only knowing the definition, but also understanding the context behind the information. For that, we must make efforts to obtain information rationally. As time goes by, our thoughts will become even more insightful and systematic. 

Source : kuliahdimana.id

We can apply critical thinking in life. It has been mentioned on Latih Logika videos https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=latih+logika. We can use critical thinking in assessing an argument, critical in responding to generalizations, critical in responding to parables, and critical when quoting experts. 

First, for critical in assessing an argument, we must know that arguments are different from opinions. An argument is a persuasive sentence that aim to change people’s point of view. The argument is composed of conclusion, several premises and also reasons that support the argument. 

Second, critical to generalization. Generalization is inductive reasoning where we make direct conclusion of group based on only a few participants. How can a good generalization be made? You should use reasons that really reflect the whole participants, beware of hidden facts, and test your generalization with opposite example. 

Third, critical in responding to parables. Analogy is inductive reasoning and we often use in daily life. A good analogy uses examples that have similarities with the topic and are also factual (contain premises).

Fourth, critical when quoting experts. Did you know that quoting an expert must be accurate? There are several aspects that must be considered, such as the expert must match with the topic of the argument, the expert's qualification must be complete, and checking the opinion of other experts to make sure that we use an appropriate quotation. 

It should not be instantaneous to have the opportunity to think critically. We must constantly train ourselves. It is even better if this ability is taught as early as possible. Once again, for our lives, logical thinking is very important and definitely useful.

“Seeing both sides of an issue, being open to new evidence that disconfirms your ideas, reasoning dispassionately, demanding that claims be backed by evidence, deducing and inferring conclusions from available facts, solving problems, and so forth” (Willingham, 2007).

References :

Kominfo. (June, 2020). Laporan Isuk Hoaks Periode Juni 2020. Retrieved from

<https://eppid.kominfo.go.id/storage/uploads/2_31_Laporan_Isu_Hoaks_Bulan_Juni_2020.pdf> 

Neba, D. (September 2020). The Benefits of Critical Thinking Skills and Techniques for Teaching these Skills in the Classroom for Quality Education. Retrieved from

<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344175612_The_Benefits_of_Critical_Thinking_Skills_and_Techniques_for_Teaching_these_Skills_in_the_Classroom_for_Quality_Education> 

Lai, E,R. (2011). Critical Thinking: A Literature Review-Pearson Assessments. Retrieved from

<https://images.pearsonassessments.com/images/tmrs/CriticalThinkingReviewFINAL.pdf> 

*This blog is intended for Critical Reading Course only. Thank you :)

Best Regards,

Ramadhani Widita Andini Pratinawang

(Critical Reading C / 195110507111004).

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