What Is Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking is the disciplined process of examining information, reasoning, evidence, assumptions, and conclusions before accepting or acting on a claim. It does not simply mean criticizing something.
Questions a critical thinker asks
What exactly is being claimed? What evidence supports it? What assumptions are being made? Is the evidence relevant? Are there alternative explanations? What information is missing? Does the conclusion actually follow?
In practice
If a report says a new process "increased productivity," critical thinking would examine how productivity was measured, what changed, what comparison was used, and whether another factor could explain the result.
Development exercise
Take one claim each day and write: 1. the claim; 2. the evidence; 3. the assumptions; 4. an alternative explanation; 5. your current conclusion. The objective is better-grounded judgment, not endless doubt.
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