I. 3. Critical Thinking – How to define it

Critical thinking is a way of thinking that requires the identification of commonly held truths and beliefs, as well as stereotypes and prejudices. Critical thinking is a process; it requires one to rethink assumptions and to generate new perspectives, definitions, and understandings.

Through critical thinking we recognize that there are different approaches to making assertions, claims and arguments, and that different meanings can be attributed to the same events, issues, data, information.

As stated by John Dewey, American philosopher and educational reformer, this process leads to what is called reflective thought, whereby “the ground or basis for a belief is deliberately sought and its adequacy to support the belief [is] examined. It alone is truly educative in value…” (How We Think, 1910: 2)

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