Critical reasoning/Readings/Reading 1
Contents
Topic 1: Introduction to critical reasoning
In Topic 1 you are given the opportunity to explore what critical reasoning is and what it means to think for yourself. This topic sets the foundation for everything that follows and should take about 10 hours to complete.
| Activity 1.1 The following are some warm-up exercises to set your thought processes in motion before you embark on the journey to become a serious critical thinker (each question is a simplified version of a real critical reasoning question). Read the following statements and then answer the questions about them:
Feedback:
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What is critical reasoning?
Critical reasoning involves the ability to actively and skilfully conceptualise, analyse, question and evaluate ideas and beliefs. Critical reasoning is the opposite of dogma. Dogma is unquestioned information — information that is embraced without the intervention of active thought or criticism. To reason critically is to question the ideas and beliefs of others and oneself and to challenge dogma and authority.
When we start to question the ideas and beliefs we live by, we start to think for ourselves. To think for ourselves involves a critical attitude of reflecting upon how we think and act. To think critically is to question the world and thus to engage critically with the possibilities and alternatives which the world offers.
Please note that the terms “critical reasoning”, “critical thinking” and “clear thinking” are used interchangeably in this discussion. In other words, critical reasoning implies critical thinking or clear thinking.
We think critical reasoning involves three important components of reasoning. These components are as follows:
- Critical reasoning is thinking for yourself.
- Critical reasoning is informed reasoning.
- Critical reasoning is critical self-reflection.
Becoming a critical thinker
Critical reasoning or critical thinking is a basic skill that all humans are born with, but which can be sharpened with practice. The better your ability to think critically, the better you will be at making good decisions in your life. The skills involved in critical reasoning will assist you in every area of life and study, whether it is deciding which political candidate to vote for or which job to take.
Keep in mind that the foundation for this course is already embedded in you. You can assess yourself to determine to what extent you have already acquired critical reasoning skills by doing the following exercises:
| Activity 1.2 As was mentioned in the Orientation section to this course, you need to keep a hard copy or a digital journal. This journal will serve as proof of your progress towards becoming a critical thinker. For this activity use your journal and write down what the difference in meaning is between the following statements (it is important to write your opinion down; often we think we have an opinion, but once we have to write it down, we discover that it might be flawed):
Feedback: We think that you need all the above-mentioned skills to figure out the meaning of the statements in Activity 1.2
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Which of the following skills were required to figure out the meaning of the above statements? Note whether you AGREE or DISAGREE
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| Activity 1.3 The following is an experiment in psychology. Read the experiment carefully and then,in your journal, capture your answer to the questions that follow: In the 1970s Stanley Milgram set up an experiment at Yale University in which participants were asked to administer electrical shocks to others. The participants were led to believe that those who were being shocked were taking part in a scientific study to determine the relationship between memory and punishment. The participants had control over how severe the shocks would be, from slight shock to severe shock, and when instructed to do so they were to deliver the appropriate voltage. The participants (the “teachers”) are told that they are to administer the learning test to the The results showed that more than half the participants were prepared to, and actually gave, the most severe shocks and nearly 90 per cent increased the voltage when they were asked to, in spite of clearly hearing that their “victims” were in pain. Milgram (1974:5–6) observes the following with regard to his experiment: “Many subjects will obey the experimenter no matter how vehement the pleading of the person being shocked, no matter how painful the shocks seem to be, and no matter how much the victim pleads to be let out. … It is the extreme willingness of adults to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority that constitutes the chief finding of the study … ordinary people, simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process. Moreover, even when the destructive effects of their work become patently clear, and they are asked to carry out actions incompatible with fundamental standards of morality, relatively few people have the resources needed to resist authority”.
Feedback: We think Milgram’s experiment illustrates how readily we are prepared to relinquish reason for the comfort of obedience. It is an example of how easily we take things for granted and assume that the claims of authority figures are true.
The lesson to be learnt from the experiment is that we should be suspicious of the claims of authorities, rather than following their instructions blindly. As critical reasoners we should learn how to think independently, and critically question information and knowledge claims.
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Thinking for yourself
If you think for yourself, you question the world and offer alternative viewpoints about the way the world is perceived by other people.
When we say think for yourself, we don’t mean ‘think selfishly for yourself’. We mean ‘think independently’. A person who thinks for herself or himself has to have a sense of humility, and of modesty, and of relativity because you have to realise that other people are also thinking for themselves and you’re bound to come out with something a little different from what they are thinking. In order to become a critical thinker, you have to have the ability to listen and the modesty to adjust your point of view as you gather more insights.
By doing the following activity, you can determine if you have the ability to think for yourself. For this activity you will need a newspaper and a pair of scissors. The date of the newspaper is not important, therefore you are welcome to use either an old or a new newspaper.
Activity 1.4
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| Activity 1.5 Compare the pictures of the men and women and ask yourself the following questions:
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| Activity 1.6 If I asked you for tips on how to learn to think for myself, which of the following tips would you give me? What would you add?:
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Thinking in an informed way
As you would have seen from your review of the recommended resources, informed reasoning is based on claims that can be substantiated. In other words, your opinion is based on fact and not on personal opinion. In today’s world where we become ever more involved in using technology as a resource for information, it is crucial that we have the ability to think in an informed way in order to be able to decipher the barrage of information available to us.
The ability to form and articulate opinions is extremely important in all facets of life. As citizens, people need to form opinions about political issues and leaders in order to vote responsibly. We must form opinions about social issues, and we form opinions about the people we work and interact with on a daily basis. However, simply having an opinion about a given topic is not enough. In this age of information, if we want to effectively share our opinions with others, we must be educated about the topics we are discussing. Whether writing a letter to the editor about a local issue or trying to convince your boss that you’ve developed a great business strategy or convincing your parents that you should have a specific privilege, presenting an informed, educated opinion is much more effective than sharing one based on emotion or personal experience alone.
To develop the necessary competence to make informed decisions, do the following activity.
| Activity 1.7 Select a topic that is of interest to you. The topic should inspire at least two points of view. For example - “Prostitution should be legalised.” :
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| Activity 1.8 Ask yourself the following questions: When you first selected your topic for the project, did you have a preconceived opinion about the subject? If so, how was your opinion altered by doing research and looking for facts about the subject?
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Critical self-reflection
Please consider our view about critical self-reflection and then do Quiz 1 that follows:
In our opinion critical self-reflection entails the ability to reflect critically on your own assumptions, and to critically evaluate your own prejudicial attitudes and biases. Critical self-reflection relates to self-knowledge and self-awareness. Furthermore, the enterprise of critical self-reflection is liberating in that it allows us to think for ourselves instead of being indoctrinated and manipulated by stereotypical beliefs.
| Activity 1.9 As a starting point for developing your competence at critical self-reflection, it would be useful to express your views on the following issues. Use your journal to write down a paragraph or two on each of the following controversial topics. In each case, ask yourself why you hold this particular view. Keep a record of your responses because you will revisit them when you do the critical self-reflection activity in Topic 2, Preconceived ideas.
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Conclusion
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Do you agree that many of the problems we face in our lives result from a lack of clarity in our thinking about what is real, true and essential? In our opinion, it is rare to find a person who takes the time to think clearly about things. In our fast-paced, overstimulated, I-want-it-quickly society, our response to something is often based on preconceived ideas.
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