8.11: The Focus of This Chapter

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Jim Marteney
Los Angeles Valley College via ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)

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In this chapter I wanted to focus on the history and goal of critical thinking. Key thoughts from this chapter included:

A Historical foundation to critical thinking and arguing. Critical thinking is not a new concept. We have been exploring how we think and how we can improve our thinking for over 2,500 years.
The goal of an argument is validity instead of Truth. We all want to know the “Truth.” But arguing from the position of Truth tends to lead to dogmatism and hinders individual growth and actual conflict resolution.
There are many definitions and skills of a critical thinker. Being a critical thinker is not to just criticize others, but instead to be open-minded enough to evaluate arguments.
Critical thinking is not a natural, inherent skill. We are not born critical thinkers. Critical thinking is a skill that we all can develop and improve.