Critical thinking

Critical thinking is the practice of examining facts, evidence, observations, and arguments in order to make sound judgments or well-informed decisions. This process requires identifying hidden assumptions, justifying ideas and actions, testing those justifications against different viewpoints, and weighing their reasonableness and possible outcomes. The ultimate aim is to reach a conclusion through rational, skeptical, and impartial analysis. The term itself can be traced back to John Dewey, who referred to it as "reflective thinking." How well a person can engage in critical thinking depends on their existing knowledge, as both are intertwined. Philosopher Richard W. Paul argued that critical thinking and analysis are skills that can be taught and learned. Applying critical thinking involves self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-correcting mental habits. It is not something that comes naturally; it must be cultivated, and individuals must take ownership of the process to question and reason effectively. Critical thinking also demands a strong commitment to overcoming egocentrism and sociocentrism, which in turn supports clear communication and effective problem-solving.

In ancient Greece, during the classical period of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, the philosopher Plato recorded that the teachings of Socrates represent the earliest known examples of critical thinking. In one of Plato’s early dialogues, Socrates debates several speakers about whether it would be right or wrong for him to escape from prison. Plato concluded that escaping would violate what he considered greater than himself: the laws of Athens and the inner guiding voice Socrates claimed to hear. Socrates showed that authority figures and their claims to knowledge are unreliable. He believed that to live a good and worthwhile life, a person must ask critical questions, possess an inquisitive nature, seek evidence, examine facts closely, and follow the implications of statements and actions. Socratic questioning is a form of cooperative argument that requires comparing facts, which then reveals irrational thinking and a lack of verified knowledge. Socrates also demonstrated that authority alone does not guarantee accurate or verifiable knowledge; instead, his method analyzes beliefs and assumptions by relying on evidence and sound reasoning.

In modern times, the phrase "critical thinking" was coined by the pragmatist philosopher John Dewey in his book *How We Think*. As a form of intellectualism, developing critical thinking involves applying rationality to critique a subject. According to the Foundation for Critical Thinking, in 1987 the U.S. National Council for Excellence in Critical Thinking defined it as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, or evaluating information from observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, to guide belief and action.

The word "critical" comes from the Greek *kritikos*, meaning "critic," and implies the ability to judge, discern, and evaluate. The intellectual roots of critical thinking are as old as the word itself, reaching back to the reasoning of the Presocratic philosophers and the teaching methods of Socrates 2,500 years ago. Socrates discovered through probing questions that people could not rationally justify their confident claims to knowledge. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the exact term "critical thinking" first appeared in 1815 in the British literary journal *The Critical Review*, where it referred to literary analysis. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its meaning had expanded to describe a desirable general thinking skill.

Traditionally, critical thinking has been defined in several ways: as the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, or evaluating information; as disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence; as purposeful, self-regulatory judgment that leads to interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference; as a commitment to using reason to form beliefs; as the skill and tendency to engage in activities with reflective skepticism; and as thinking about one’s own thinking in order to organize, clarify, improve efficiency, and recognize errors and biases. It is not simply hard thinking or problem-solving; rather, it is inward-directed, aimed at maximizing the thinker’s rationality. One uses critical thinking not to solve problems directly, but to improve the process of thinking itself.