How do you define critical thinking? Describe a situation in which you thought through something critically. Describe a situation in which you did not think through something critically.
Critical thinking requires going beyond the obvious. Humans were made to think, however, critical thinking requires a much greater degree intelligence. It requires using logistics, analyzation, rational thinking and the ability to raise questions that relate to the matter in question. One time in college, I was at Walmart with my friends. They all had money to spend. I did too. So I thought hey maybe I'll splurge as well. I walked down the frozen foods isle and came to the ice cream section. I love ice cream. It is my comfort food, but seeing how the price was expensive, I decided to think a little before. In my mind I thought, "Hey, wow this is really high! Do I really need this right now? I mean I'm in College. I'm supposed to be poor and living off Top Ramen. But then again I am going to a private women's college that has an amazing cafeteria. It is not like I am going to starve if I buy this ice cream. Maybe there is a cheaper kind of ice cream in here. Yep, there is but it is not the kind I like. Well, I need to go get laundry detergent so maybe if I don't see anything I'll come back." I got what I needed but in the end I decided to get a can of Tomato soup, which is a lot healthier. I was surprised that I was able to think through the problem because I used to be what my mother called an ice cream addict. I think critically thinking about whether or not it was smart to buy ice cream when I had a limited amount of money was really helpful because it saved me from spending too much and eating an entire tub of ice cream.
Another time in college, my friends asked me if I wanted to go shopping in Kansas City one sunday afternoon. I had been studying all day for an anatomy test that was the following Monday, as well as working on a story for Creative writing. I thought sure, why not? Before asking them what time we were going to be back, where exactly we were going and what I needed to bring, they dragged me off to the bathroom and started straightening my hair. Instead of asking questions. I just went along with it because I really needed a break. When they were finished, they told me to go change into something cute. I shrugged and skipped mindlessly to my room, excited to finally get off Campus. We did not end up going shopping. We went to a strip club. I have never been to one in my life so I was shocked. I didn't drink any alcohol but my friends did. We ended up staying there all night and I missed my anatomy test. I was foolish too think I could go out on a sunday night before an Anatomy test. If I had analyzed the situation, I would have said no.
Part Two
"We often long for surefire, step-by-step procedures [to help us solve problems] and the more personally threatening a situation is, the more we want foolproof rules. But there are no rules that guarantee our thinking will be correct . . . The only way we can decide whether to follow certain rules is if we use our best reasoning to determine that those rules are reasonable, that they lead to reasonable results when followed." – Gerald Nosich, Learning to Think Things Through
Describe what you think of when you think of “intellectualism”. Does this word have positive connotations or negative connotations for you? Why? Describe what you think of when you think of “logic” and “reason.” Do these have positive connotations or negative connotations? Why?
I think intellectualism is the idea of intellect at the expanse of the emotions. It has a positive connotation for me because deals with intellect. Logic reminds me of those proofs we had to do in Geometry. It was very hard for me at first because I had never done it before. But once I exercised that part of my brain, it came to me easily. I even found them fun. Reason is an explanation for something. It reminds me of my mother and when asked me, "Tell me the reason why you did this."
