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    Critical Thinking is considered as an important intellectual skill that is hard to master and needed in everyday life. But, what exactly is critical thinking and what makes it so significant? Well, to give a basic definition, The Foundation of Critical Thinking defines critical thinking as:

    “…the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”

    While the importance of this skill is stressed in debates, critical thinking has more to offer. Critical thinking helps us see all sides of the same picture instead of one or two sides. It also prevents us from being manipulated by other people. What’s more, critical thinking helps us see that there is no one answer to all questions, nor believe all arguments are equal in bearing.

    Now that you know why critical thinking is important, how do you harness this skill?

    Don’t be afraid to ask questions 
    Asking is an integral part of critical thinking.

    Before we start accepting assumptions, we must question what makes them valid arguments in the first place. Questioning these assumptions will help you unravel beliefs that may be false or unproven. It will also help you see what is being hidden in these assumptions.

    To train yourself in this step, you don’t need to listen to complex intellectual debates. When you’re listening to a story or conversation, find what is missing. Oftentimes, a person who is trying to persuade another person will leave important things unstated.

    Another good exercise for this step is asking questions and answering them. In a reading, make a provocative question and write possible answers for it. Then, debate the question and answer with your peers. This exercise will help you develop a thinking habit that is necessary for critical thinking.

    Be familiar with fallacies 
    Fallacies are defined as errors in logical reasoning. Knowing the different kinds of fallacies will help you determine the soundness of each argument that is presented to you. Here are some of the common fallacies:

    • Appeal to emotion: Instead of providing sound evidence, this fallacy focuses on instigating strong emotions to convince people to accept the argument.
    • Ad hominem: This fallacy pertains to the habit of attacking the person instead of the argument. 
    • Slippery slope: This fallacy pertains to the assumption that if A happens, B will happen. Therefore, A should be avoided.  

    Always evaluate the evidence 
    The lifeline of any logical argument is evidence. However, an argument with a seemingly sound evidence means it is already true.

    A task in improving your critical thinking ability is evaluating evidence that is presented to you. You must assess who gathered this evidence, how it was gathered, and why it was gathered for. Some arguments may contain seemingly sound evidence, but it turns out this evidence are from a questionable source.

    Now that you know the basics of thinking critically, it’s time to practice it!

    Sources:
    https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/
    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/memory-medic/201710/how-learn-critical-thinking
    https://collegeinfogeek.com/improve-critical-thinking-skills/

    Contributed by: Allison Julianne Macasaet
    Allison is a freelance writer on the side, a student of international relations on the other. Interests include fantasy books, international relations, and lifestyle.

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