» » Develop your CRITICAL THINKING skills

Develop your CRITICAL THINKING skills

Section 1: Getting What Critical Thinking Is All About Lecture 1 01:43

Critical thinking is the ability to think clearly and rationally

Lecture 2 05:05 FatFoe pads are scientifically proven to help reduce weight without the need to diet! Lecture 3 02:18 We can examine product advertisements more carefully using critical thinking Lecture 4 02:13

Because of their large unusual geometrical patterns, croppies believe that crop circles were created by UFOs and alien beings

Lecture 5 01:53

The are many situations where thinking critically will be important

Lecture 6 00:43

If we don't think critically we effectively become robots that just follow instructions!

Lecture 7 01:15 Critical thinking skills lead to more productive problem-solving at work Lecture 8 02:21 Here are four different definitions of critical thinking Lecture 9 01:59

There is a significant difference between a critical thinking process and a non-critical thinking process.

A critical thinking process requires rigor and discipline.

Lecture 10 01:47

Critical thinking involves learning how to think rather than what to think

Lecture 11 01:20

There are many benefits to critical thinking including the ability to solve problems more quickly and ask relevant questions

Lecture 12 02:05 There are many impediments to critical thinking such as laziness, bias and habitual thinking patterns Lecture 13 02:27 As in a court of law, evidence plays an integral role in determining whether or not an argument is to be believed Lecture 14 01:39

Critical thinking involves thinking logically about problems

Lecture 15 01:17

Critical thinking involves creating a sound and believable argument, or evaluating whether an argument is such

Section 2: So How Do Critical Thinkers Think? Lecture 16 02:36 The three modes of character integration represent three distinct types of thinking personality Lecture 17 02:43

We may not all be at the same level of Albert Einstein but we can learn from how other critical thinkers think.

Lecture 18 04:09 Critical thinkers are much more organised and methodical in their approach as compared to non-critical thinkers Lecture 19 01:01 Great problem-solvers possess a number of important traits Lecture 20 02:23 Critical thinking differs from non-critical thinking in a variety of different ways Lecture 21 01:53 The following unscientific but fun 10 minute test can be used to determine if you think like a critical thinker Lecture 22 01:48 Bloom's learning taxonomy illustrates what critical thinking is and how it differs from creative thinking Lecture 23 02:19 Robert Ennis identifies several characteristics of the critical thinking process Section 3: Firstly Recognising the Problem Lecture 24 02:10

A problem is something that requires a solution, decision or response

Lecture 25 02:05 The following shows an example of a vague argument Lecture 26 02:26 An example of how problems which are framed differently provide two completely different perspectives Lecture 27 01:27  Framing is how we perceive an issue or problem  Lecture 28 01:22

There are 4 main causes of poor framing

Lecture 29 02:21 We need to distinguish between real problems and problems which are either imagined, over-exaggerated or mis-guided interpretations of a given situation

we need to verify that the problem is real

Lecture 30 02:31 It is important to ascertain that a problem is indeed a deserving problem Lecture 31 02:16 We need to first accept that a problem exists

People only tend to act on problems when they feel a sense of ownership

Lecture 32 02:07

Individuals might be aware of a problem but choose to ignore it 

Lecture 33

Stakeholders in problem-solving

04:10 Lecture 34 01:19

An unspecified or anonymous source is used as part of an argument, usually with the intent of adding credibility to the argument by providing an imagined authority for a piece of evidence

Lecture 35 01:09 Ownership may be single or joint Lecture 36 01:03 A critical thinker seeks to understand the root cause of a problem not just the effects of a problem Lecture 37 02:15 Being precise about a problem is almost always a good thing because it helps you determine if the problem is a genuine one, and how serious it might be
Lecture 38 01:13 This exercise will help you think about prioritisation Lecture 39 02:59

Correlation, can be viewed as co-relation, or a relationship between two things that happen at the same time

Causation is when one thing causes another thing, or a cause-and-effect relationship

Lecture 40 01:39

False precision gives the illusion of precision to make an argument appear stronger than it really is

Lecture 41 01:47 Lecture 42 02:46 We can prioritise problems based on impact and urgency Section 4: Getting To The Point! Understanding The Argument Lecture 43 03:04 What is the problem, how it is framed and what is the argument? Lecture 44 01:01 Arguments are at the centre of critical thinking - we look at arguments rationally rather than emotionally Lecture 45 01:14 We either make an argument to convince people to believe something or evaluate an argument that has been presented to us to decide whether to believe it Lecture 46 01:59 Formal arguments rely on formal logic; informal arguments rely on informal logic Lecture 47 01:38 The killer robot example shows the difference between formal and informal logic Lecture 48 02:47 An argument has two parts - the claim or conclusion - and the evidence or reasons that support the claim or conclusion Lecture 49 02:41 An argument may have multiple premises and sub-premises as often seen in longer and more complex arguments Lecture 50 02:12 A conclusion can be placed before or after the premises

Indicators are keywords used to identify the conclusion or premises in an argument

Lecture 51 00:58 An assertion is a point of view without any supporting reasons or premises Lecture 52 01:26 Which of the following are arguments? Lecture 53 02:17

A complex argument is more difficult to analyse than a simple one

Critical thinkers are not put-off by complex arguments; a complex argument may take longer to analyse but the basic process is the same

Lecture 54 02:24 The 2008 global financial crisis is a good topic that highlights the nature of real-world arguments Lecture 55 01:22 Real-world arguments tend to be incoherent, messy and disorganised Lecture 56 01:26 The persuasiveness of an argument depends on logos, ethos and pathos Lecture 57 02:20 Identify whether the following statements are examples of logos, ethos or pathos Lecture 58 01:14 A critical thinker ignores the emotion and tone in an argument Lecture 59 01:41 The example illustrates the use of emotion in argument Lecture 60 01:29 "Appeal to emotion" fallacy is used to call into question the motive of a person or organisation regardless of how tenuous or unlikely the motive may be Lecture 61 01:19

In an "appeal to flattery" fallacy flattery is used in an attempt to gain support

Lecture 62 02:08

A strong argument is one where the premises are reasonable and the conclusions reasonably follow from the premises

A weak argument is one where one or more premises are unreasonable, or when the conclusion does not reasonably follow from the premises

Lecture 63 02:05

Bias distorts our perspective and affects our judgment, often subconsciously without us realising it

Lecture 64 01:58

What do these statements have in common?

Lecture 65 02:45

Prejudice is a pre-concieved judgement towards an individual or group of individuals based on unfounded beliefs or attitudes

Prejudice often results in negative feelings, sterotyping, rejection or discrimination

Section 5: Gathering The Evidence That Supports An Argument Lecture 66 01:33

The main purpose of evidence is either to

1)Support a claim that we are making

2)Evaluate whether a claim can be believed

Lecture 67 01:09 Lecture 68 02:01 The primary means of collecting evidence is by asking questions Lecture 69 01:01

The Kipling method advocates 6 critical kinds of question, namely, what, why, when, how, where and who.

Lecture 70 01:42

The idea of the 5 whys is to dig deeper to understand the root cause of a problem and understand why a problem is happening in the first place

Lecture 71 01:39

Socrates was a famous philosopher and educator who taught by asking questions; he defined six main types of question

Lecture 72 01:46

A questioning strategy is about asking questions in a thoughtfuland purposeful manner to arrive at a point of decision-making in an efficient manner

Lecture 73 01:34 There are several different types of exploratory questions Lecture 74 01:45 Failure to elucidate is a logical fallacy where a response is given that adds little or any additional significant information Lecture 75 02:37 We have a tendency to drift in the search for information due to various biases Lecture 76 02:02

Base-rate fallacy is where a judgment is made that disregards existing information on probability and instead takes into account irrelevant information

Section 6: Evaluating The Evidence - Does It Stack Up? Lecture 77 02:29  We need to evaluate the quality of data that has been collected or provided in support of an argument Lecture 78 01:37

A tool for evaluating the quality of information sources - originally designed for academic use

Lecture 79 01:55

The fallacy of anecdotal evidence is where generalisations are made on the basis of anecdotal, and often insufficient, evidence

Lecture 80 02:27

A non-credible witness is someone we doubt

In legal terms, a credible witness is one whose testimony can be believed

Lecture 81 02:52

If we meet someone for the first time, or are doing business with another company for the first time, how do we establish the credibility of the individual or the organisation?

Lecture 82

Five aspects of credibility

01:57 Lecture 83 02:47

Facts can be verified through observation or an established point of reference such as a book or acknowledged expert

Opinions can only be evaluated not verified

Lecture 84 01:54

An observation is made by gathering data from sight, smell, touch or other senses

An inference is a conclusion one derives based on a set of assumptions

Lecture 85 04:53 Universal intellectual standards are questions which can applied to thinking whenever one is interested in checking the quality of reasoning about a problem or situation Lecture 86 02:16 Are the following statements factual or opinion? Lecture 87 02:05 In critical thinking we should not confuse facts with opinion Section 7: Avoiding Cognitive Bias and Logical Fallacies! Lecture 88 01:04 Look at the two lines - which is longer? Lecture 89 02:07

Anchoring is the tendency to rely on past reference, an anchor when making a decision 

Lecture 90 02:38

A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning

Lecture 91 02:20 There are five main types of logically fallacy, 1) irrelevant appeal, 2) personal attack, 3) presumption, 4) faulty generalisations and 5) distractions Lecture 92 02:19

The use of a person or institution of authority, stature or repute as a premise to support a conclusion

Lecture 93 02:30

A claim that something is true because many other people also alledgedly believe its true

Lecture 94 01:54

An appeal to motive calls into question the motive of a person or organisation regardless of however tenuous or unlikely the actual motive may be

Lecture 95 01:06

In an appeal to ridicule, an argument is responded to as if it so absurd, ridiculous or comical to the extent that it not deserving of any serious merit or attention

Lecture 96 02:04

There are many different kinds of irrelevant appeal

Lecture 97 01:47

Ad hominem is an attack on the person making an argument rather than the argument itself 

Lecture 98 02:05

False dilemna is a false choice it involves portraying situations as a choice between black or white

Lecture 99 01:15  Tuquoqueinvolves dismissing a persons argument because the person does not practice what they say or are deemed unqualified Lecture 100 00:53

The use of exaggerated and improbable consequences

Full curriculum




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