The Skills Involved in Critical Thinking

There are many interpretations and definitions of critical thinking out there. They all seem to emphasize analysis and synthesis, conceptualizing and evaluation, belief understanding and generating, etc.

With this in mind, I think one of the most imperative skills involved in critical thinking is being well-informed. Before one can analyze or synthesize or conceptualize, he/she must learn about the topic at hand. For example, if a man wants to create a solution for the melting arctic ice caps through critical thinking, he must first be aware of and understand all the pertinent information, such as why the ice caps are melting, what is being done to prevent their melting already, the rate at which they are melting, the properties of water and ice, how the melting affects the planet, who it will hurt to try and prevent the melting, and so forth. Only after he understands all this information can he begin to analyze it, synthesize it, and begin forming theories on how to prevent catastrophe while satisfying the people this prevention might hurt, such as companies whose excessive emissions lead to the melting in the first place. Without being well informed, one cannot think critically about an issue, because his/her ideas will be based solely upon their own experiences and biases.

This leads directly to the next skill I find very important, and that is the ability to be objective. Naturally, nobody is 100% objective. People innately have biases and prejudices towards certain people, places, companies, practices, etc. However, the more informed people are and the more they attempt to learn about others and their opinions, the more likely they are to be objective. This objectivity is imperative to critical thinking. If one thinks based upon his biases, his analysis of events and solutions to problems will be biased--this may lead to, for example, a solution to a problem that serves a man's self interests and not the interests of the country or world as a whole. However, if he is as objective as he can be, there is a greater chance his critical thinking will lead to ideas and solutions that help more people.

Another extremely important skill involved is creativity. To analyze and synthesize, conceptualize and evaluate, one must be creative. He/She must be able to think outside the box and come up with ideas others haven't thought of before. Creativity is necessary to solve the problems and issues that arise in our world; old solutions rarely work for new problems.

Finally, I believe communication skills are very important for critical thinking. For example, one might be an incredibly objective, talented, creative thinker who develops fascinating and feasible solutions to the world's toughest problems, but if he/she cannot communicate these ideas and solutions, all of the time spent thinking, analyzing, and evaluating is wasted. Communication skills are therefore imperative to sharing the fruit of the critical thinking process.