Test 1

Q1)

Critical Thinking is a type of rational, reasonable, reflective thinking that aids analysis and decision-making. A critical thinker must be open-minded, analytical, rational and unbiased to be able to truly analyze facts and state valid points.

Q2)

Barriers to critical thinking include:

1-      Egocentricity:                                    when a person believes all topics are relative to oneself.

2-      Prejudice:                                           When a person forms an opinion before looking at the facts.

3-      Social conditioning:                        When a person is brought up to act in a manner that is acceptable by one’s society.

4-      Limited frame of reference:       When a person has little or no background in the matter discussed.

5-      Drone mentality:                             When a person has no interest in the world around him/herself.

An example of prejudice is when a religious person neglects scientific facts from a non-religious person because he/she considers the non-religious person an “infidel”.

An example of limited frame of reference is when a person that neither studied medicine nor read any medical journals or articles but still chooses to debate the cure of HIV with a doctor.

Q3)

A fallacy is when an argument is unjust or invalid due to poor critical thinking and other related factors.

Causes of fallacies may include:

1-      Inability:                                              When someone states that an argument is wrong because on

                                                               cannot understand it.

2-      Ignorance:                                          When a person believes something is true because he/she

 cannot prove or disprove it.

3-      Personalizing an argument:             When a person verbally attacks his opponent in a debate rather

  than his argument.

4-      Norms and beliefs:                         When a person refuses to accept the facts of another person’s

argument because it contradicts with his beliefs, whether religious, social or personal.

5-      Assuming all criticism is negative (example):

When a religious person criticizes evolution, an agnostic or atheist might call the religious person delusional. When a non-religious person criticizes genesis, the religious person might call the non-religious person crazy or ignorant.

Q4)

Benefits of critical thinking:

-          Increased attention to detail.

-          Increased observation.

-          Versatile analyzing skills.

-          Ability to read between the lines.

-          Ability to conclude the key points of a message or text, without being distracted with meaningless details.

A critical thinker is a keen observer and is very attentive to detail. Critical thinking is considered a soft skill that with time and practice develops into insight and intuition which enables critical thinkers to apply their skills in a wide variety of fields and tasks, ranging from administrative work to technical and even critique of film, literature, music and art.