Critical Thinking: Intellectual Standards and Thinking Process
One of the challenges that we have to overcome when analyzing our reasoning “is to hold it against the intellectual standards. Paul-Elder’s model proposes nine standards that we can use to judge our reasoning abilities. The first standard – clarity – requires that we identify and resolve any forms of confusion in our reasoning, thus enabling our communication to reflect our understanding of central concepts. The purpose of the accuracy standard is to ensure correctness and truthfulness of what is learned, read, or said. Relevance ensures that any communication or reasoning directly relates to the question being asked or answered. Deviating from the central question leads to distortion of the original purpose.
The purpose of logic in any argumentation is to ensure that everything makes sense fits into the bigger picture; any omitted parts lead to illogical conclusions. Precision and logic go hand in hand; all necessary details and pieces of the puzzle and needed to solve the central question, or for the problem to be solved. The fairness standard ensures that all points of view are taken into consideration in an argument. The standards of breadth and depth are in most cased confused. Breadth is concerned with the incorporation of all necessary contexts, while depth ensures that all challenges and complexities are considered. The last standard – significance – ensures that one’s reasoning if free from all trivial thoughts.
There are a number of benefits in following or abiding by the above mention standards during the critical thinking process. For example, individuals who use the critical thinking process are able to evaluate different issues without being biased. We all approach issues differently, and in most cases, we are guided by the opinions of others, our beliefs, our emotions, and even our experiences. Using the critical thinking process enables us to gather and evaluate information in a relevant manner. It is important for people who are able to identify or analyze problems and solve them systematically.
But despite the above benefit, the critical thinking process is not without limitations. Perhaps the biggest limitation of critical thinking is that it requires one to have the skills and knowledge of the principles that guide it. In other words, only those with critical thinking skills will be able to apply them. Even with these skills, human beings have the potential to be influenced by factors such as emotions, opinions of others, individual experiences, and other factors. Additionally, the process of critical thinking is complex and time-consuming; these factors alone are likely to discourage people from engaging in critical thinking. The process may also lead people into frightening territory where they begin to question even the values that raised them. This can isolate them from other members of society.
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