Critical Thinking (Part 1)

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What is critical thinking? Let us “unpack” the meaning of this phrase by examining each word in turn. A dictionary will provide us with a number of synonyms for the word “critical”. Some of these synonyms are “significant”, “important”, “key”, “vital”, “essential” and “crucial”. These are words loaded with meaning. But what we can take from these synonyms is that if something is “critical" it demands attention.

What is thinking? I will say it is a response to the stimulation of our senses. We see, we hear, we smell, we taste, and we touch “things”, not necessarily at the same time. When our senses are stimulated, impressions are left with us. These impressions are the thoughts that continuously flit through our minds. And, in engaging with these thoughts, we are in the process of thinking.

How do we engage with our thoughts? Some of our thoughts are random. They pass through our minds and then we dismiss them. Other thoughts are tenacious. They demand attention. In order to fully grasp the implications of these thoughts, we engage with them by asking ourselves questions. What exactly is this? How does it work or how does it come into being? Why? In thinking, we interrogate our thoughts. We ask questions and we seek answers to these questions.

When we think critically, we are seeking to come up with a thorough and balanced way of looking at the issues about which we are thinking. Examining an issue from only one perspective is unsatisfactory to the critical thinkers. They want to unearth every bit of substance, every nuance from the issue about which they are thinking because they want to understand it.

When we think critically, we have “problematised” the issues inherent in some of our thoughts. That is, many of the issues which our thoughts reflect we see as problems which need solutions. In thinking critically, we aim to find answers/solutions to these problems. We hope that the answers/solutions that we come up with will help us to further understand other issues and to successfully engage with situations with which we are faced.

Critical thinking is a difficult process. It requires effort, much effort. The effort begins when we take hold of one of these ideas, stop it in its tracks and examine it from all angles. We do this with every idea. And, we do this through a process of systematic questioning.

Critical thinking and critical thinking skills have been prescribed by the drivers of change in the public sector as necessary prerequisites for all workers to possess. The possession of critical thinking skills and the ability to think critically are “critical” to the achievement of the goals of public sector organisations, they tell us.

 Read part 2 of this article.
Read part 3 of this article.

To what extent do we possess critical thinking skills and to what extent do we think critically?

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