Chapter 1

Entering the Exciting World of Critical Thinking

IN THIS CHAPTER

Getting the big picture on thinking skills

Picking up cool tips for problem-solving

Steering clear of common misconceptions

Never underestimate the power of the “killer fact”! Often used to prove a point, facts are often what it all seems to come down to. But facts are powerless outside of an argument.

What do I mean by this? I mean a logical structure, not a slanging match. And whether pronounced gently or used to close an essay, the logic of real arguments is heady stuff, because, well, you can’t argue with logic. However, critical thinking is about much more than being logical, as Captain Kirk used to remind Mr. Spock in episodes of the much-loved TV show Star Trek. Critical thinking is about pressing points, sniffing a bit more skeptically at issues, and generally looking more closely at everything. Not only at factual claims but also, and most importantly, at the ways in which people arrive at their views and ideas. That’s why critical thinking requires not just a cool head but also imagination and indeed a bit of heart — an underpinning helping of emotional intelligence.

You may think, why bother? Good question! I’ve failed plenty of job interviews in my time by being a critical thinker. Bosses, heads of department, guys in the bar, and many other folks really like people who agree with them, because for many that’s the whole point of becoming the boss! At the same time, the world has no shortage of successful people who scrupulously avoid any appearance of not only thinking critically, but thinking at all. So my short answer to “why be a critical thinker” is that being a critical thinker is the best kind of thinker to be, even if it does sometimes mean that you’re the odd one out on many issues. Critical thinkers are on Mission Truth, and the rewards of that go beyond essay grades and job promotions, but let’s be optimistic — it can surely help there too!

In this chapter I provide an overview of critical thinking and what you can find in the rest of this book. I also cover the importance of “reading between the lines” and set the record straight on what critical thinking isn’t.

Opening the Doors to the Arguments Clinic

You may well have been brought up not to argue. At school you were probably encouraged to sit quietly and write down facts; I know I was. When I was five, one teacher even used sticky tape to shut children’s mouths up in class! (Yes, I was one of them.) Since then I’ve had some very enlightened teachers who encouraged me to use my imagination, to solve some problems, or do research. But still not to argue.

So welcome to a very different way of seeing the world: critical thinking. This is truly the “arguments clinic” in which punters can pay for either five-minute or hour-long arguments (as the famous Monty Python sketch has it). No, it isn’t. Yes, it is. Still say that it isn’t? But yes, it is! (Check out Chapter 17 now to discover ten of the world’s most influential arguments — don’t worry, I’ll still be here when you get back!)

Of course, as the sketch says, this isn’t proper argument at all, merely contradiction: nothing like a connected series of statements intended to establish a proposition. If an ability to contradict people is all you come away with after reading this book then you, like the man in the sketch, would be entitled to your money back. Don’t worry, here you will find so many new ways of looking at issues that you’ll soon be having the full, hour-long arguments on everything under the sun.

My aim by the end of this section is to give you the big picture of critical thinking.

Defining Critical Thinking

If you look up critical thinking in a dictionary, you see that it’s called the philosophical examination of arguments, and I’m a philosopher. But — at the risk of annoying the Ivory Tower experts straight away — I say that this kind of philosophy isn’t the sort most of them do or have a clue about. Yes, as Chapter 12 shows, critical thinking does have one foot in the realm of logic, in tidily setting out arguments as premises followed by conclusions. But if that were all it was, you may as well give the job to a computer, to Chat GPT maybe.

No, critical thinking is really about a range of skills and understandings, including an ability to play with words, a sensitivity to context, feelings, and emotions, and (the hardest skill to develop) the kind of open-mindedness that allows you to make creative leaps and gain insights.

I know that developing these skills sounds rather like a tall order for one book to achieve. But critical thinking is also team thinking, and I draw on the ideas of many other thinkers, including a lot of input from my editors at Wiley. As a result, you don’t get my opinion of critical thinking skills, but a carefully researched and lively introduction to the subject.

Spotting how the brain likes to think

Professors may sniff, but I prefer to work on exercises that are fun or interesting, which is why I have tried hard to make the ones in this book like that. Here’s a rather trivial little exercise, which nonetheless illustrates something important about how the human mind operates.

Should you say, “The yolk of the egg is white” or “The yolk of the egg are white”?

When I first saw this question, I thought for a minute — and then I gave up and looked for the answers. That’s my method with written exercises; it conserves my limited brain power for things like watching TV and eating chips — at the same time! But I digress (not good in critical thinking). This question may form the subject of a five-minute argument, but it shouldn’t stretch to an hour, because neither version is correct: egg yolks are yellow. Boom, boom! Caught you out?

This exercise reveals that people’s normal mode of thinking is bound within the parameters of certain rules and systems, due to thousands of years of evolution. In the jargon of psychology, human thinking uses certain heuristics (mental shortcuts for solving problems and making judgments quickly).

The trouble is that automatic and well-established ways of thinking can stop you from seeing new possibilities or avoiding unexpected pitfalls. Plus, the great majority of people’s thinking goes on without them being aware of it. Although sometimes quick and efficient, in certain circumstances it can rush people to the wrong conclusions.

Critical thinking is your insurance policy against these questionable, but more or less universal, thinking habits.

Evaluating what you read, hear, and think

Critical thinking is about actively questioning not only the conclusions of what you’re reading or hearing but also the assumptions — whether open or hidden — and the overall frame of reference. (Critical reading is discussed in detail in Chapter 9.)

Critical thinkers approach an issue without preconceived assumptions, let alone prejudices, towards certain conclusions. As Professor Stella Cottrell, sometime director for lifelong learning at the University of Leeds in the UK and author of a popular guide on the subject says, critical thinkers are quite prepared to acknowledge a good argument that goes against them, and will refuse to resort to a bad argument even if it looks like the only one available to support them.

Reading between the Lines

Critical thinkers know that real debates take place between the lines, and, all too often, under the mental radar. The job of the critical thinker is to pull the real issues into plain view and, if necessary, shoot them down!

I introduce you here to some of the core skills of critical thinking: “reading between the lines,” examining the evidence, and quickly deconstructing texts. (The chapters in Part 3 provide loads more info on how to do just that.)

Challenging concepts of rationality

Do you know people whose views don’t seem to be based on any sort of rational assessment of the world but rather on questionable information easily imbibed — or even on blatant prejudices? Me too. And what’s more, at least some of my views — and some...